Premier Manager 2004–2005

Premier Manager 2004–2005 is a football management simulation video game, developed and published by Zoo Digital Publishing and released for the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, and PC Windows in November 2004.[1][2][3] It is the tenth game in the Premier Manager series.

Premier Manager 2004–2005
PlayStation 2 cover
Developer(s)Zoo Digital Publishing
Publisher(s)Zoo Digital Publishing
SeriesPremier Manager
Platform(s)Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, Windows
ReleaseGame Boy Advance
  • EU: 26 November 2004
PlayStation 2
  • EU: 5 November 2004
Windows
  • EU: 5 November 2004
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

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Premier Manager 2004–2005 is a football management simulation game that puts the player in charge of a team of their choice from English, French, German, Italian, Scottish, and Spanish leagues.[4] As in the previous titles in the series developed by Zoo Digital, players are required to undertake meetings with chairmen, coaches, scouts and players, with dialogue choices impacting how club personnel perceive the manager, as well as the performance of players on the pitch. Players select their starting line-up and formations, with matches realised in a 2D isometric view.[5]

Development

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Before release, Zoo Digital stated that "improvements throughout the game [compared to Premier Manager 2003–04] include a new slick and intuitive interface, improved tactics, and transfer system, and a host of new features".[2]

Reception

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The title reviewed poorly. The PC version was heavily criticised by Steve Hill of PC Zone who gave it a score of just 12/100, describing the game as "more primitive than the original [Premier Manager]", with gameplay "painfully slow to the point of being unwatchable for more than a few seconds".[5] The Daily Record's review also pointed to the slowness of the gameplay, with the game characterised as a "clunking mess which actually makes fast PC chips redundant, grinding away to yet another spreadsheet where it should be flashing through them like Wayne Rooney on speed".[6]

P2 magazine's Kendall Lacey was equally damning of the PlayStation 2 version, pointing to its "clunky interface" and "budget-title feel", imploring readers to "stick to LMA Manager" in his 4/10 review.[4] The Game Boy Advance version was more positively received by Cube magazine, with their review describing the game as "quite easy" but a "worthwhile attempt at recreating a football manager game away from powerhouse consoles".[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Premier Manager 2004-2005 (2004) release dates". MobyGames. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Premier Manager 2004/2005". GamesIndustry.biz. 1 September 2004. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Premier Manager 2004/2005". IGN. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b Lacey, Kendall (December 2004). "Review: Premier Manager 2004-2005". P2 (54). Highbury Entertainment Ltd: 73.
  5. ^ a b Hill, Steve (February 2005). "Review: Premier Manager 2004-2005". PC Zone (151). Future Publishing: 85.
  6. ^ "Games reviews: PREMIER MANAGER 2004-2005 (PC)". The Daily Record. 4 February 2005 – via The Free Library.
  7. ^ "GBA Reviews: Premier Manager 2004-2005". Cube (39). Highbury Entertainment Ltd: 118. December 2004.