Football Manager Handheld 2010 Review (PSP)

The updates on last year's game are minimal, but the core concept is still engaging if management is your cup of tea.

Doing exactly what it says on the tin, Football Manager Handheld 2010 is a game where you manage football teams in the palm of your hand. On your PSP to be more precise.

Football Manager Handheld 2010 is a subtle jump-up in quality from last year's iteration. Developers Sports Interactive decided to improve their existing engine, rather than overhaul it. It's a shrewd move, seeing as last year's FMH was a good game. This iteration doesn't feel overly different, but is vastly superior thanks to improved AI and the Assistant Manager's helpful hints. The latter is something that makes the game a little more accessible for newcomers, telling you the roles and importance of all your players, and also helping you scout out newcomers.

The game follows a rather static formula. You deal with club affairs until matchday, then you pick a team, mull over the outcome of the match and repeat. There's a lot to Football Manager however. You'll need to deal with stroppy players, fight off the board, make signings, hold off bids from other clubs, and more. All just to avoid relegation. At times it really can feel like you're getting nowhere, but then, that's exactly how David Moyes must feel.

Football Manager Handheld 2010 will not be a game for everyone. The interface is clunky and the gameplay is, well, non-existent really. This is a simulator, dealing with stat management, and you should be well aware of that before propping up the money to buy the game. That said, the PSP version of Football Manager is more accessible than its PC counter-part, so if you're looking for something a little less hardcore, look no further.