Football Manager 2007

"Having honed so many elements of the strategic side to a shine, refining the interface, and improving the realism with every version, you might assume that all they had to do was rebadge the game with '2007', apply a data patch to ensure that all the clubs in all 50 of the represented countries are up to date and, bosh, new version. But actually, deciding whether to buy the latest Football Manager isn't a hard decision - especially if you've taken a break from the genre. If you want a game that lets you take a club to glorious heights or just go on a one-man sabotage mission to ruin Manchester United, then this is by far the most refined, in-depth and yet most approachable version Sports Interactive has come up with to date."

"Sports Interactive's best game to date combines stability and variety in a truly immersive football experience."

"What was revealed about the title is that there will be over 40 new features from last years version, which Jacobson viewed as an evolution of the game's design rather than a revolution."

"Football Manager 2007’s greatest achievement - and the most compelling reason to buy it - is the incomparably immersive world it creates. You find yourself ‘ooh’ing at big money transfers between other clubs, you feel good when one of your players praises you up and you develop personal rivalries with other managers and clubs, making you actively and emotionally involved in the whole experience. There are very few games that can generate that level of involvement and it’s for this reason Football Manager 2007 cannot be beat. Just be prepared for a serious lack of social life after it’s installed on your hard drive."

"The most addictive database of all time is back, once again dooming a large proportion of football fanatics to late nights, stress, pressure and a lack of sleep. Football Manager might not be the real thing, but those who play it live every moment, agonising over every mouse click. It was inevitable that this year's version would be great, but given such a strong starting point developers Sports Interactive could have rested on their laurels and delivered nothing more than a stat update. Thankfully, Football Manager 2007 is much more than that."