14 DAY TRIAL // It’s no surprise that I like to spend a lot of time with Football Manager 2015, the newest installment in the long-running series from Sports Interactive, because the game further refines the mechanics that have made the franchise a wish fulfillment machine for those who are interested in the sport and have a club that they have supported over the years.
I am over the 100 hours played mark at the moment, and the total will probably increase significantly as I have a few more free days for Christmas and New Year’s Day.
It is a surprise that I am currently also thoroughly enjoying This War of Mine, the 11 bit Studios title focused on the experience of civilians who are caught up in a city siege situation and need to focus on getting the resources required for survival.
The two are very different when it comes to gameplay and the emotions that they generate, but they manage to create exciting moments of tension which punctuate long stretches where I, as the gamer, have a lot of options to manage my characters and try to improve their lives.
Agonizing defeats and surprising survivals
In This War of Mine, the emotions run much deeper and the stakes are higher, but the game is surprisingly cerebral at times, asking gamers to take stock of the resources their survivors have, evaluate what else they can obtain by scavenging, and then decide what comforts they can do without in order to have a chance at long-term survival.
11 bit Studios understands that it needs to create at least a feeling of control for the player, even if at times the characters are basically forced by circumstances to make some choices that are uncomfortable, and the entire experience manages to offer good gameplay and intriguing storytelling.
Meanwhile, Football Manager 2015 communicates to players that they are in charge and can control as much of the affairs of their favorite club as they want, with their decisions laying the foundation of long-term success or failure.
But the Sports Interactive football sim has so many moving parts, all of them important in their own right, that it is almost impossible to predict where a team will be in two or three years, even if everything about their current situation is known.
The two games dominate most of my free time these days and I like how they both create emotions, both positive and negative, while also showing players how little control they have at times, even if they believe they are making all the choices.
