Failure to juggle all of the aforementioned and get your team to the top of the league will see you unceremoniously sacked. On a passing note the game is highly addictive, so be prepared to put friends, girlfriends and family on hold for quite some time should you have designs on becoming the next Sir Alex Ferguson.
Onimusha 3
Designer: CAPCOM, Japan
International distributor: Sierra Entertainment, Vivendi Universal Games, Liquid Entertainment
Local distributor: Electronic Arts Taiwan
Platform: Japanese version for PS2 to be released next week
The somber and secretive combat adventure series Onimusha, which portrays contemporary stars as Ninjas in 16th century Japan, is releasing its third-generation game. It aims to offer more fun with intertwined historical developments.
Japanese pop idol Takeshi Kaneshiro plays a Samurai character Samanosuke, and he is sent from Japan in 1582 to France in 2004. He meets a killer , Jacques, played by French star Jean Reno.
The player gets to kill warlord Nobunaga Oda in a temple in ancient Japan, and is also able to visit famous scenic spots in Paris. But the two heroes' ultimate goal is destroy evil and ghostly warlords.
The heroes are getting better, but so are the evils. The new evils in Onimusha 3 are combined with modern-style machinery. Although they look stuffy, they are actually quite nimble.
The heroes also own their unique weapons: Jacques has something close to Indiana Jones' all-powerful whip, which can block enemy action. He can also use his handgun to shoot at his enemies. The game has a secret weapon for Jacques, a flaming sword that can extend and cut.
"The player plays two superstars at the same time to proceed with the adventure and kill, just like stars in a movie," said game critic Liu Chien-chnag (劉千菖).
Sengoku Musou (戰國無雙)
Designer: Koei (Japan)
Local distributor: Taiwan Koei Entertainment Software
Platform: Chinese version for PS2 to be released next week
Tom Cruise's Last Samurai allowed the world to see the spirit of ancient Japanese warriors, but youngsters have been experiencing that same spirit through playing electronic games produced by Japanese companies for a long time.
Among these type of games, based on the ancient Chinese and Japanese civil war periods, those produced by KOEI have been the most popular and expected.
The American-styled first-person shooting game is based on historical battles and allows the players to control weapons and kill, on maps based on the real world.
Every generation of Sengoku has sold more than a million copies, and the latest version of Sengoku Musou returns to 15th century Japan, a time when Japan was divided up by warlords. The player gets to be a leader of Japanese warriors and achieve the goal of uniting Japan.
"The [defining] feature of the new game focuses on the interaction of different factors, including time, changes in weather, traps on the battlefield and changes in the terrain. These are factors that are difficult for the player to control as he has to conquer to complete the missions," said Sammy Liu (劉政和), general manager of the Taiwan Koei Entertainment Software
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"The new game focuses on attacking the cities and citadels. Through his warrior the player can learn excellent fighting skills by accumulating experiences. He can learn to detect the enemy's ambush and fight back, destroying a whole army on his own," Liu said.
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