Football Manager 2016 Demo Is Out, 4161 Megaballs Big

You've watched other kids play it, but never had the courage to try for yourself. You overhear friends talking about it, but when you ask, they brush you away with a dismissive, "Oh, you wouldn't like it." You fear they may be right, but you need to find out for sure. You've called in sick, you've taken the phone off the hook, you've drawn the curtains closed. Today is the day you try Football Manager for yourself, and the FM2016 [official site] demo which came out last Friday for Windows, Mac and Linux is just the way to do it.

You've tried it now. And you know what? You liked it. You liked the six months of play it offers, the pages and pages of graphs, those mischievous dots shuddering across a peaceful green field. There's an extra spring in your step when you return to work. You're ready to join the conversation.

Your good mood lasts just long enough for someone to say that this year's edition doesn't seem particularly strong. Better to stick with Football Manager 2015, if you've already got it. You don't, this is your first Football Manager, but the excited conversations you've been spectating for years seem to have turned dour at the very second you joined in.

You end the day in a fug, uncertain, but... no. You decide not to let it get you down. You did have fun. It ran fine for you. You didn't notice a thing wrong with the match engine before, and other people's nitpicks aren't going to stop you rushing home tonight to transfer your save over from the 4161MB demo and into the full game.

Adam's review of FM2016 will be along shortly. In the meantime, here's mine.