Football Manager Goes 3D.

attended a special event last night to showcase the most important new features that will appear the latest instalment of the Football Manager series.The most ambitious - though potentially risky - of these new ideas is undoubtedly the new 3D match engine, which has been beta tested over the past few months on Football Manager Live. Using full 3D and motion-capture taken from SEGA Japan's Virtua Striker football game, wannabe Wengers will now be able to see their team's exploits in three dimensions and from multiple camera angles, as well as rewind and fast forward the action. Those either afraid of change or with slower computers will still have the option of using the 2D match engine, however.The second big addition is added interactivity with your assistant manager. You're number two will now provide pre-match and, intriguingly, in-match feedback on your team's performance, motivation, whether if your tactics are up to scratch, or which players aren't pulling their weight.

As with every Football Manger update, a raft of new media features has also been introduced. Players will now have to give pre- and post-match press conferences with local and national media, with managers now able to develop relationships (or feuds) with individual journalists.The FM programming team has also completely re-written the transfer system this time round. This major under-the-bonnet change has been made to make the in-game transfer market more realistic, with AI-controlled teams' purchasing habits made more authentic. A new transfer rumour feature has also been added too, with players now able to see the latest serious speculation - and spurious gossip -emerging from FM's virtual tabloids.Some of the other areas to get a revamp are individual player training, board interaction and club finances, which have all also been expanded upon in this latest instalment. Football Manager 2009 is released on November 14th.