My biggest passion when it comes to sport is cycling and, as much as I would like to keep work and personal life separated, end June and early July is a glorious moment because developer Cyanide and publisher Focus Home Interactive release this year’s edition of Pro Cycling Manager.The 2012 version of the game offers a number of upgrades and changes that will appeal to long-term fans, but it’s pretty clear that the main aim of the game’s evolution is to appeal to cycling and sports fans that might pick up this simulation for the first time.
The concept of the game is simple: take control of a team from the Pro Tour, the Pro Continental tier or even the Continental one (added for the first time this year), and then control both the general director elements, handling training, financing and pre-race setup, and that of directeur sportif, the person who directs the cyclists once they are on the road.
Pro Cycling Manager 2012 introduces a new interface, which I am still coming to terms with, and makes it easier to see the race situation at a glance, which can be helpful during hectic stages.
It also seems easier than ever to create a solid sprint train and, though I lose the race in the attached video, there’s more realism when it comes to the point when racers go for the line.
On the graphics front, there are some improvements regarding the way faces and equipment look and, of course, it’s all upgraded to include current models (although the community still has to make an effort to better portray a lot of the items used).
Be warned that the multiplayer side of PCM is completely changed and it now involves something called Armada, a twist on the popular Ultimate Team formula, which sadly means that there’s no way of taking custom database teams online.
Is Pro Cycling Manager 2012 worth a full Softpedia review?
Yes.
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