July 26th, 2005 (1:30pm) - Codemasters’ best-selling football (soccer) management series, LMA Manager, is set to leap the generations as development is announced of a massively expanded edition of LMA Manager 2006 for PC and the Xbox 360.
The Xbox 360 edition will launch in March 2006, alongside the PC edition, which, for the first time, is being designed and produced by Codemasters’ LMA development team for the format.
LMA Manager 2006 is a thorough evolution for the genre-leading series. Utilizing a new game and database engine, a Transfer Market system with greater depth enabling more complex contract negotiations, and a detailed 3D match section, it’s set to be the most powerful edition in the series.
The capabilities of the Xbox 360 and PC systems allow for more information than even the expanded current-generation console editions. Both the Xbox 360 and PC editions will feature over 1,000 teams to manage or pick transfers from.
You’ll be able to view far more data than ever before and store full player and manager histories for up to 20 massive seasons. In that time, your up-and-coming teenage striker will have become an old professional looking to retire and run a bar in Marbella.
Plus, with a March 2006 release, the Xbox 360 and PC editions will include fully updated player databases, including all the transfers from the January market.
LMA Manager’s intuitive and user-friendly interface, where every piece of information is no more than a couple of button-presses away, will also be enhanced to take advantage of the new hardware.
The Xbox 360 edition will see the game utilizing all four shoulder-buttons featured on the console’s pad to aid swifter movement between screens. The PC edition will further benefit from a bespoke mouse/keyboard interface, which combines icon-driven commands with collapsible folders.
LMA Manager’s ever-popular 3D Match section will play out in more detail. Match day action, where you can holler additional commands from the dug-out, will have a full wide screen option giving you an even better view of the on-pitch action.
For those of a technical persuasion it will also feature normal mapping for realistic lighting effects and advanced rendering on players and stadiums for even more detail that will really enhance the atmosphere.
The game’s match report section and Football One, the interactive TV section, also receive additional attention, making your virtual football (soccer) world seem even more realistic than before. Football One will deliver highlights for every match played, not just the ones your team is involved in.
You’ll also be able to read a full report for every match played thanks to the processing power of Xbox 360, something that just can’t be done on current generation consoles. This will give you even more chance to work out your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses as you see who are the danger-men and where your opposing teams leak goals and chances. If your team’s doing well, you’ll also be earning gamer points over Xbox Live.
The higher-resolution displays offered on PC will see more information and detail available on a single screen; effectively 3 console-screens’ worth of information will be visible, resulting in even less flicking between different screens for the essential information you need.
With more content than any LMA Manager game previously, LMA Manager 2006 will launch on Xbox 360 and PC in March 2006. Get yourself in training online at the game’s website, www.codemasters.co.uk/lma2006 and on the ever-busy forums at www.lmaforum.com
