Are you thoroughly an addict of the Football Manager series and can’t get enough of the multi-faceted game play? Bigger clubs, lower leagues, different nations - maybe you’ve even explored so many options and challenges that you feel there’s nothing left to accomplish. Well, you don’t have to wait for Football Manager 2011 to come out in order to get your ‘fix’ in a brand new format.

Football Manager Live, originally hitting the market in November 2008, has now been re-launched with a plethora of expansive features that truly set out to find who exactly is the best football management gamer on the planet!

In a massively multi-player online environment, FMLive pits your wits against 1000 other users in a single game world. You take on the managerial role of your own customized fictional club, select a starting squad based on the existing FM2010 database (or fictional ones if in a ‘Fantasy Players’ game world) and off to the races you go. You have ultimate control in dictating club policy, managing finances, wheeling & dealing in the transfer market, developing homegrown youth, training & tactics, building infrastructure, handling injuries, growing a scouting network and virtually anything else imaginable - all so without fear of getting sacked.

But there’s a catch. 1000 other human users are doing the same and they’re gunning for you - as everyone fights to climb the ladder of success. It’s this dynamic nature of play that makes Football Manager Live such a brilliant game. There’s little coding involved in decision making within your environment - unlike Football Manager 2010, which is single player vs. a programmed AI by the developers.

Human players like you and I all have our own ticks and nuances. We have different approaches in strategy and tactics. We have emotions. We also have the insatiable need to crush the game. You don’t think those weighing factors put together in one place wouldn’t produce enough dynamic variables of cause & effect that will make your head hurt?

I’ve had over 2 years experience playing Football Manager Live from the early stages in the game’s beta to the recently re-launched worlds we see right now. Do you ever really get bored of it? Absolutely not. That’s because every day is a new adventure. When you’re dealing with other actual human beings and not “play by the book” AI opponents in FM2010, you get a whole new layer of thinking when it pertains to making optimal decisions with your strategy.

• “Do I build a new stand for my stadium or pump it into that expensive striker on the transfer list?”
• “I got a low wage youth from the free agent pool, but after 3 seasons, he’s a damn wonderkid!”
• “Do I risk playing hard & strong in this league competition or focus my energy on the UFFA cup?”
• “Three starters out injured today - let me try to coax out a few good loan deals in the chat room.”
• “I’ve never seen that formation before, but hell, he’s killing me. I need to adjust fast!”
• “Why in the world would someone pay that much for such an unproven player?”
• “I don’t understand why he won’t sell me that player for 3x the free. Oh, it’s his favorite guy.”

These are the types of thoughts you have all the time in Football Manager Live when you log on to play. Sometimes you go in with a solidly thought out plan of attack then need to tweak it to adjust for the ever changing human game play environment. I’ve even went so far to restart my team completely after seeing my long-term outlook standing pat was grim in comparison.

Markets change. People change. Users come and go. An influx of new entries can easily tip the balance as hundreds others race to adjust to it. It’s this never ending period of strategic mindset changes that makes FMLive such a brilliant (and challenging) game to play.

FML is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.

I wouldn’t have it any other way. Why don’t you try it out for a month and see?