News & Announcements

CM2006 is the second attempt (and first on the Mac) of Beautiful Games Studio to revive the successfull managment series which saw a cut when Sports Interactive parted with Eidos to publish their game under a new label ("Football Manager") together with Sega.

CM2006 is different from Football Manager 2006 or 2007 (both also available for Macintosh) as it has a different approach how to present information, action on the pitch and the controls which it gives in your hands to take control of your team.

The features seem less than in FM but this doesnt mean it is less fun. Actually I have the feeling that I can control all important aspects of my team better with CM than with FM. Less is sometimes more. The tools you have are enough to get the feeling it is your decisions which create sucess, fame or fate.

The match day presentation is okay, with different angels to view the action but it is kind of monotone. You hardly see great games rather than a sequence of moves, passes and shots which sometimes happen to lead to a goal. But it still is very exciting and I never got the feeling the Macintosh is cheating on me. It is not prime time quality yet, but fair enough.

The interface is being critisized as being old-fashioned, not polished. I found that all information is presented in an easy to understand manner and ergonomics are better than in FM. I dont mind the "retro" look of the skins. It works for me.

One little "flaw" is the performance. I have hard times on my G4 ibook to proceed quickly through the season. Number crunching in the background makes me waiting a lot for the next match day. You still can do things around your team but sometimes everything is set and ready but you are still waiting for the computer to be ready to move on. My workaround: I run CM2006 in a window while surfing or working and let the ibook work on my inputs. After 3 weeks of downloading the game I am still in my first season (6 matches to go) and I spent quite some time on my team. But the designers of CM are not responsible for the hardware I own; a managment game with this scope has to calculate a lot, but Minimum system requirements, which I exceed by a good number, dont match the reality at all.

If you love managment games with soccer being the topic, oyu have 2 good choices: CM or FM. Go for the demos and compare yourself.

I am pleased with CM2006.

A very nicely done game. One can jump right in without instruction as instructions are incorporated during intial gameplay. Relaxing and non-stressful, but a good workout for the mind. Background music was not intrusive or distracting, but was nice to listen to while concentrating on the solution. Just a well done, overall game.. graphics, sound and animation were excellent. Game concept very entertaining.

As a game, Age of Mythology is a quality installment to the Age series. While the sounds are somewhat iffy (not bad, but don't really leave you with a feeling of satisfaction that you should have when you destroy something big), the graphics are solid and the gameplay is excellent and variable enough to keep you playing for a long time.

The framerate, except during very large battles between 3 or more players, generally stays high. The framerate drops to a crawl, however, on multiplayer games when watching very large battles. Running this on a Macbook can result in infrequent but predictable crashes, especially when playing with more than 4 players (A.I. or human) at once. The crashes are much less frequent on a Macbook Pro and probably nonexistent on more powerful Macs. Even on a Macbook, the crashing is not frequent enough to keep one from playing, unless you have a lazy saving ethic. :-) Overall, it's worth getting if you like the Age series.

Disclaimer: I enjoy the Paradox titles. I've played several of them: EU2, HOI, Victoria, HOI2, and HOI2: Doomsday. And, of course, CK (Crusader Kings).

Paradox isn't known for friendly UIs, CK is no different. But, you do become acquainted with it soon enough.

CK will not be for everyone. I believe one reason for this is because there are significant amounts of time where the player is just waiting for things to happen, such as changes in another kingdom's inheritance line or inheritance rules. Of course, war is always dynamic. I do like how troop strength is recruited in-game, during times of war - then back to the fields when peace returns. I feel research is handled well, through cultural diffusion. Although you are actively researching advancements, you can randomly receive technology through cultural diffusion. You also have to manage those uppity nobles and pesky peasants, as well as the church.

My problem is I'm too impatient. If you don't play as a king, then mustering the forces to take on other Dukes & Counts can be risky, because their leiges almost always come to their defense. Ouch! Patience is a virtue in this game.

Those new to Paradox titles should know that when loading a save game, you need to choose the save then click on your realm in the selection menu. For instance, if you've been playing as the Duchy of Apulia for several in-game years and save. The next time you load that save, you must choose it, then again click on Duchy of Apulia - again. Just like when you start up a new game. I believe this is not required in a couple of the Paradox titles.

As to manuals, forget it. Only the HOI2 and HOI2: Doomsday manuals are worth their salt. That's because Paradox had a fan create them. But, you can get excellent advice on the Paradox forums and more mac-specific feedback at Virtual Programming's forum.

FPS fans beware! :-) This is a thinking man's game! :D

Guys this is so cool!!The geme is very nice apart that you will need a very potent graphic card! But the online game has to be tryed!!!so addictive!!! :)