Championship Manager 2011 will be coming out late this month or early Oct from Beautiful Game Studios and will be published by Square Enix Snippets of info: revamped UI: Switching to landscape orientation has opened the field of play up, allowing for a horizontal strip at the bottom of the screen to provide quick and intuitive access to key features, such as league table, inbox, and tactics. Scouting: For example, when scouting for the next big thing Romelu Lukaku, anyone? managers can now set their search parameters by spinning the iPhones familiar picker wheels until the desired age, position, value, and type appear. On the subject of transfers, all of Harry Redknapps wheeling and dealing on transfer deadline day will be reflected in Championship Manager 2011, ensuring that squads will be bang up-to-date for your new Championship Manager season. And addressing one of the more common App Store complaints of last years model, Meredith and his teammates have introduced the transfer window. Not only does this bring greater realism to the series, but also an additional strategic dimension, since the playing staff can now only be changed twice a year. A further RPG-ish twist, which has survived the rebuilding process, comes in the form of regular press conferences. The manner in which you respond to the hostile, and not-so-malevolent, members of the media has a knock-on effect on your relationship with the clubs board and supporters. Five European leagues are available for budding Bruces and fledgling Fergusons to get their coaching teeth into, including the top flights in England, Scotland, France, Italy, and Spain. Anyone up for a greater challenge than managing Chelsea to Premier League glory again will be delighted to note that Championship Manager 2011s playable divisions stretch all the way down to the Blue Square Bet Premier. To the uninitiated, this means five - yes, FIVE - tiers of English football are present. Of less importance, perhaps, is the inclusion of the Community Shield and Europes equivalent season curtain raisers, but its another example of the increased depth on offer in Championship Manager 2011. 4-4-2 or 4-3-3? One of the biggest complaints among the Championship Manager community about the 2010 edition was the limited, and limiting, pre-loaded formations. In this seasons edition, squads can be more freely manipulated, allowing even for that rarely seen 9-1-1 line up. OpenFeint: yes. Game Center: no Should you manage to frequently get the better of your counterpart in the dugout, OpenFeint support is provided, offering achievements and leaderboards. Unfortunately for the Championship Manager 2011 team, the launch of Game Center tomorrow (September 8th) has arrived too soon, so integration with Apples social gaming service is off the menu. Championship Manager 2011 is, of course, compatible with iOS 4.1, meaning that matches and indeed seasons with the assistant manager taking over the reins - can run merrily in the background, leaving you free to multitask on the commute into town. Championship Manager 2011 for iPhone should kick off on the App Store at the end of September or the beginning of October, pending the legendary Apple approval process. Read full versions here: PG and here PG
