Bringing all the ecstatic highs, tortuous lows and tough decisions of football management to PlayStation 2, LMA Manager 2005 kicks off a new season of frustration and anguish alongside EA's Total Club Manager 2005. Both series are well established and try to outdo one another as the years pass, but which gets off to a flyer in October 2004, and who's dropped vital points at the beginning of the season? Let's see... Of course, this latest version in the LMA series is the most extensive yet, and the 2005 version delivers more countries, leagues and trophies than ever before. The game's also packed with more official football content, including English leagues, The Championship, League 1 and League 2 with all the real clubs, players, badges, and trophies, along with all of The Conference teams. Also included: leagues from Portugal, The Netherlands, Scotland, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. Clubs from 32 different countries in total are available to play in friendlies. This time around, your man-management skills are even more important: in LMA Manager 2005, players have more detailed personalities. If you're to get the best out of them, there's a whole host of things that can influence a player's mood. The game has you managing players' personalities and temperaments, and you may even have to deal with virtual tantrums with the new 'player-personality' system. So, whether you plan to revolutionise the team's training regime with some boot camp-style treatment, or plan to leave your star striker on the bench for a few games, if your playing staff are unhappy, they'll let you know one way or another. The LMA Manager user interface hasn't changed much over the years - Codies know a good thing when they're onto one - and there are just a few minor alterations for 2005. The match highlights feature has been tinkered with (and improved, natch) with the wit and wisdom of Messrs Lineker, Hansen and Davies intact in the in-game commentary. LMA Manager 2005 is fully supported with Net Play too, which means additional content will be downloadable post-launch. Codemasters has provided budding managers with the opportunity to get in the game too, simply by taking a selection of digital photos of your emoting face: when you win awards or face the sack, it's your own smug mug or rear-stained cheeks that'll be seen on the newspapers headlines. You can also keep an eye on your photos on the in-game 'Performance' screen and discover how the fans and the board rate you. When the downward glances and grimaces begin to appear, it may be time to start clearing your desk. Whatever, it may be time to clear out your personal space in real life, 'cos LMA Manager 2005 is about to put a few relationships in jeopardy - we can feel it in our water. Welcome to the all-consuming football management experience. Codemasters 1, EA Sports 0.