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It doesn't really bear close examination though, and over time begins to resemble blind football, with only a bell in the ball required to complete the macabre image. A variety of camera angles are on offer, although the default 'TV view' is probably the best, and at first glance it appears as if a game of football is being simulated. On the pitch, the aesthetics improve marginally from CM5, with the action played out by what appear to be headless Subbuteo figures. And while the news messages work in a largely identical format to previous instalments, 2006 sees the addition of some reasonably comprehensive pre-match previews. As for the tactics screen, players can be instructed via a great big arrow to make a run, feed the ball, or - excitingly - both. When it comes to actually picking the team, it's a fairly irksome business, making it all the more tempting to reach for the auto-pick button.

PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER ONLINE SERIES

Negotiating your way around it takes some getting used to, but it's moderately functional, and most of the information you need is at your fingertips, albeit spread over a series of miserable screens, many actually copied word-for-word from ancient incarnations of the game. But if Football Manager is the functional M&S of the bunch, this is in the realms of Lidl, with a cheap and nasty looking interface, whichever of the various skins you choose to use. It's still a brutally ugly beast though, admittedly in a genre where looks aren't everything. To the studio's credit, this year's model is a considerable improvement on CM5, in so much as it actually works without grinding to a halt. Nevertheless, those same beautiful people have been tethered to the same typewriters and instructed to try harder. When the game informs you that you've secured a 2-1 draw, for instance, even the most casual of football fans will realise that something is seriously amiss. Rarely was a studio less appropriately named, as to the surprise of few and glee of many, Championship Manager 5 was a shambolic bug-ridden mess that sullied the good name of the series. Something of a tall order, it was a bit like The Beatles being replaced by some buskers and told to follow up The White Album. While SI went from strength to strength with the newly-branded FM, development duties for CM fell to bespoke outfit Beautiful Game Studios. Following a decade of dominance, Eidos acrimoniously split with original CM developer Sports Interactive, with the name reverting to the publisher. The Championship Manager/Football Manager saga has been well documented, but for those who've just come in, here's the latest score.

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