Orange Gooner
Conference
I think I'm right in saying we don't yet have a thread where users can discuss everything related to Master League/Football Life. Having secured an early copy I've immediately downloaded the Fire Patch and jumped into Master League straight away.
First impressions are that despite the fact it doesn't seem too different from last year, there are a lot of tweaks and small additions which greatly improve immersion and fun. There are lots of cutscenes, some of them interactive, which greatly improves the feeling that you're actually managing a football club instead of buying players, playing games, buying some more players then playing some more games.
I've only played two games so far, but I can already tell squad management is going to be much harder this year. As Fulham, I've already lost Senderos and new signing Kerzhakov* to injury, whilst fatigue seems to play a much bigger role now as well. I've had interactive (though basic) talks with players who complain about tiredness, being placed on the transfer market or forced to play out of position. One negative however is that as manager of Fulham I was given £54 million to spend, which seems a little over the top and as such I've forced myself to limit spending as much as I can.
Another thing I think I'm noticing is the step up in gameplay and difficulty. I've complained about how predictable and one-dimensional teams play in exhibition mode, but the first league game against Wolves was an absolute thriller, proper end-to-end stuff with Wolves constantly exploiting my high line until I instructed them to defend much deeper, which did make me less potent in attack, completely changing the dynamics of the game. Perhaps it's just placebo, but as I play more I'm hoping the game stays like this.
*They've added a nice cutscene where your player is presented to press and gives a short interview, which I thought was very nice indeed:
Highlights from the Wolves game. I really liked the short tactical preview from your assistant:
First impressions are that despite the fact it doesn't seem too different from last year, there are a lot of tweaks and small additions which greatly improve immersion and fun. There are lots of cutscenes, some of them interactive, which greatly improves the feeling that you're actually managing a football club instead of buying players, playing games, buying some more players then playing some more games.
I've only played two games so far, but I can already tell squad management is going to be much harder this year. As Fulham, I've already lost Senderos and new signing Kerzhakov* to injury, whilst fatigue seems to play a much bigger role now as well. I've had interactive (though basic) talks with players who complain about tiredness, being placed on the transfer market or forced to play out of position. One negative however is that as manager of Fulham I was given £54 million to spend, which seems a little over the top and as such I've forced myself to limit spending as much as I can.
Another thing I think I'm noticing is the step up in gameplay and difficulty. I've complained about how predictable and one-dimensional teams play in exhibition mode, but the first league game against Wolves was an absolute thriller, proper end-to-end stuff with Wolves constantly exploiting my high line until I instructed them to defend much deeper, which did make me less potent in attack, completely changing the dynamics of the game. Perhaps it's just placebo, but as I play more I'm hoping the game stays like this.
*They've added a nice cutscene where your player is presented to press and gives a short interview, which I thought was very nice indeed:
Highlights from the Wolves game. I really liked the short tactical preview from your assistant:
