Premier Manager 3

Infobox VG| title = Premier Manager 3


developer = Realms of Fantasy
publisher = Gremlin Interactive
series = "Premier Manager"
designer = John Atkinson, Paul Atkinson, Alex Kewin, Tony Casson
released = vgy|1994
genre = Sports simulation
modes = Single player, Multi-player
ratings = PEGI: 3+ [cite web | url=http://www.pegi.info/en/index/global_id/23/?searchString=Premier+Manager+3&submit=Search | title=PEGI ratings information for Premier Manager 3 | publisher=PEGI | date=2004 | accessdate=2008-03-12]
USK: 6+ [cite web | url=http://www.usk.de/64_Pruefdatenbank.htm?s=search&title=Premier+Manager+3&s.x=0&s.y=0&s=search | title=USK ratings information for Premier Manager 3 | publisher=USK | date=1995-02-01 | language=German | accessdate=2008-03-12]
platforms = Amiga, DOS
media = CD-ROM, Floppy disk
requirements =
input =

Premier Manager 3 (also known as PM3) is a football management simulator video game for the Commodore Amiga and DOS platforms. It was released in 1994 by Gremlin Interactive. The objective of the game is to manage a football club successfully within the top 5 divisions in the English league system, starting from the 1994-95 football season. The game was re-released a year later to included updated teams and player details for the 1995-96 football season. Gremlin also released "Premier Multi-Edit System"; software that allows the user to edit the statistics of football players and teams in Premier Manger 3 to their liking. Premier Manager 3 followed "Premier Manager 2". There is an AGA version of Premier Manager 3 as well as a standard version for all Amigas.

Format

Premier Manager 3 is a football management video game that puts the player in charge of a football club. The player has to manage not only the team and tactics to win football matches, but also the club's finances such as applying for bank loans, organising advertising boards and scheduling stadium improvements. The primary interface is made up of 12 main sections. These are team settings, telephone, fax machine, sponsorship, ground improvements, business case, club finances, transfer market, history, league tables, cup competitions and play the next match. From this interface the player can access all the settings necessary to manage the football club. [cite | title=Premier Manager 3 manual | author=Calpin, Martin | publisher=Gremlin Interactive | date=1994]

When the game starts, the user takes control of a conference league team of their choice. If the user manages the team poorly and finishes in last position in the league, the team will not be relegated. This is unlike in the real league system where the team would go to the Conference North or Conference South. To be successful, the user must not only win football matches, but also manage the finances of the club well. If the player is in too much debt then the player can be fired even if he had good results.

The user can change the club he manages by taking job offers from other clubs at the end of the season or applying for a position at a club where a manager has been fired mid season. The managerial rating of the user affects whether or not this application is successful. Premier Manager 3 can be played by two players, though they have to take turns accessing their teams. In a new feature to the series, the users can attempt to outbid each other. Previously in Premier Manager 2, the second user had the advantage of bidding after the first user.

In 1996, Premier Manager 3 Deluxe was released which included the updated league, team and player statistics for the 1995/96 football season.cite| title="Premier Manager 3 Deluxe" CU Amiga review | date=April 1996 | publisher=EMAP | work=CU Amiga | author=AD]

Reception

Critics received Premier Manager 3 well. Amiga Format rated the game 85% and noted that the game is difficult enough to challenge even experienced players of management sims. [cite| title="Premier Manager 3" Amiga Format review| author=Bradley, Steve | publisher=Future Publishing | work=Amiga Format | date=December 1994 | accessdate=2008-03-08] CU Amiga also rated the game 85% and praised the game for the user friendly interface. However the review also criticised how similar the interface and game in general was similar to "Premier Manager 2". [cite | title="Premier Manager 3" CU Amiga review | author=Broughton, Matt | date=January 1995 | work=CU Amiga | publisher=EMAP | accessdate=2008-03-08] The review from Amiga Computing gave the game its "Gold Award" and recommended readers purchase Premier Manager 3. The review also noted how similar the game is to Premier Manager 2, and suggested it may not be worth buying if you already own the previous 2 games in the series. [cite | title="Premier Manager 3" Amiga Computing review | author=Maddock, Jonathan | work=Amiga Computing | publisher=Europress | date=December 1994 | accessdate=2008-03-08] Amiga User International magazine did not like Premier Manager 3. The review stated that it is too similar to Premier Manager 2 and the improvements were minimal. The review also attacked the method of playing the game is flawed due to not being able to compare tactics against the opposing team's players. [cite | title="Premier Manager 3" AUI review | date=February 2005 | publisher=AUI Limited | work=Amiga User International] The game was also re-released as part of a budget set called "Soccer Stars 96", which contained "FIFA International Soccer", "Kick Off 3" and "On the Ball: League Edition". The collection received good reviews in general but it was noted that none of the games, including Premier Manager 3, were as good as more recent football games at the time. [cite | title="Soccer Stars 96" Amiga Computing review | date=March 1996 | publisher=Europress | work=Amiga Computing | author=Maddock, Andy | accessdate=2008-03-12] The team and player statistics were updated for the release to the 1995/96 football season. Premier Manager 3 was re-released again in April 2004 by the holders of the Premier Manager trademark Zoo Digital. It was released on CD ROM with the warning that it will not run on Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating systems. [cite web | url=systems.http://www.zoodigitalpublishing.com/product-item.php?id=157 | title=Premier Manager 3 on "Zoo Digital Publishing" | accessdate=2008-03-12]

"Multi-Edit System"

After the release of "Premier Manager 3", Gremlin Interactive developed and released the "Premier Multi-Edit System". This was separate software that would allow the user to edit statistics of teams, players, stadia, and other in game details. Players can be swapped from team to team, managers could be changed and the football strips altered. This was so the user could update the game as the seasons progressed. This was further emphasised with the subtitle of the software being "You'll never need another management game... ever!". [cite | title=Premier Manager 3 Multi-Edit System | date=1995 | publisher=Gremlin Interactive | author=Calpin, Martin] As a stand-alone product, the Multi-Edit System was received well and received a rating of 86% from CU Amiga. [cite | title="Premier Multi-Edit System" CU Amiga review | publisher=EMAP | author=Skews, Rik | work=CU Amiga | date=May 1995 | page=56 | accessdate=2008-03-08] The Multi-Edit System was bundled with the Premier Manager 3 Deluxe release in 1995.

External links

* [http://www.zoodigitalpublishing.com/product-item.php?id=157 "Premier Manager 3"] official website
*moby game|id=/premier-manager-3
*Allgame|id=871|{PAGENAME}

References