I like football soccer but not in a way that FIFA or Call of Duty fans who purchase the games’ yearly iterations religiously. When I do purchase a soccer game, I do it when it’s on sale, or when my kid wants it (he loves soccer). Even if I don’t like it that much, I was always curious about what happens backstage on a soccer team–about the management aspects, about what kind of education you need to become a technical director of a football team, or to become a manager of said team. While I didn’t get all the answers, FM Touch 19 made me understand most of the aspects of how to manage a team and get that team to victory…if possible.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started to play FM 19 Touch, since I wasn’t aware this series existed. After some research, I noticed that it is a series that is loved by fans. That is good and all, but what could FM offer for someone completely disconnected from the series and the experience it wanted to convey? For starters, FM is not your conventional soccer game. This is more in the vein of simulation games. When you first start the game, you choose which one of the many football teams available and from many leagues in the world like premier league, or BBVA league. After choosing your desired team, you can continue with your character creation. Needless to say, mine looked like one of the characters from Thomas the Tank engine. But, it didn’t matter because in the FM series graphics don’t matter. Here what matters are numbers, getting the right players, and the victories of course.
But, what can this game offer to someone new to the series? Unfortunately, as you boot the game, you discover that this a game that didn’t take newcomers into consideration. At least the touch controls are implemented well and work as they are supposed to, but when you have to use the controls is where things don’t work as well as touch. They feel that they need a little more polish to make a good experience control wise. You do get used to them after playing for a while, so it’s not like all is lost. For those of you who used to play the Ultimate Team mode in FIFA, you have knowledge of what to expect. However, in FM you need to keep an eye on everything, from the training to what the upper management thinks of your achievements. Everything is taken up a notch, and because of this, it can become a really interesting and engaging experience. It feels more like a football soccer strategy game than a normal soccer game.
During matches, you will only be able to see decisive plays that could end with a goal or not and can make decisions on the go. If you are losing, you need to rethink your strategy and the choices you make to affect the performance of your team. It’s nice to see that your input can make a difference in the match. Another good thing is that for a player that is on a good streak, that player can score goals like taking candy from a baby. However, if you compare to a player that is always on the bench, and you put it to play, he won’t perform as well as a seasoned player. It’s a really good way to balance out the strengths and weaknesses of your team.
Another thing that is commendable is that just because you like a formation, it doesn’t mean that is infallible. Here is where paying attention to your scouters pays in the long run, since they can give a detailed report of the teams you are playing against and which strategy will work best. Like in any other sport, your players can injure, often times more than you want. Keeping the players in good and healthy conditions is an integral part of the game, and even the assistant coaches can tell you which players are in top condition and which are more likely to get injured.
As I mentioned previously, my character looked really bad, so graphically, the game is not a powerhouse. The menus and player portraits are good and work as intended. However, they can be a little hard to read in handheld mode, but in TV mode, there aren’t any issues. While some things were done to make it more friendly to newcomers like the brief guided tours, whenever you get to a new section on the menus, it is still not enough at least for me.
Once you get the hang of it, the game play can be enjoyable. However, one thing that really bugs me is that there is no sound in this game. Yep. You read that right: no music on the menus, no sounds typical of a soccer game on the matches or noise from the spectators. All stadiums have the same atmosphere and feel lifeless. I still don’t understand this decision, and honestly, I feel it hurts the game because feels lifeless.
Bottom Line: Football Manager 2019 Touch is an interesting game that puts you on the role of a team manager, and for those curious of the inner workings of a team, it can be an educational experience. However, I feel that the game is targeted to established fans of the series. For me it was fun, but some design choices and the lack of music and generic sounds, I can only recommend it to fans of the series. Newcomers are better of playing something else.
A Review code was provided for this review.