Pro Cycling Manager 2022

Thoroughly enjoyed the game-play as a Pro Cyclist and a Team Manager. Scouting and the development of riders is a great feature, however the constant regression of potential becomes a little depressing. The scenery on the rides can be quite enjoyable and imagine how amazing the game could be if it had graphics similar to those of Medieval Dynasty. A heavier weighting and recognition of National Jerseys by sponsors would not go amiss and a more dynamic relationship between country achievements and spaces awarded in World Champs would be an improvement. When counting, a useful filter would be to identify which riders will be 18 and available for drafting in the year. Hundreds of hours of game-play very much enjoyed. Unfortunately there has been the rare occasion where a race has not been possible to run in 3-D due to bugs, however that has been rare.

This was my first PCM game, and I have a lots of fun with this. The game sales came at perfect time since last year I started to follow cycling more closely, thanks also to Netlix Tour de France documentaries and the TdF itself last summer. The rider career mode is the best one to play for me, I tried the manager one, it can be too much even if you ride the race which are the most important one for your team objective (sponsors). FYI, you need to learn a lot of things/mechanic though, so it is best to look around tips online (forum and youtube) just to nail the game mechanics.

This game has an incredible amount of potential that it unfortunately fails to deliver upon. It feels like a game that was released as a 1.0 and then never updated again, which given the schedule it's on might actually be the case. It's entertaining, but unfortunately it is also wildly frustrating. Just a few of the reasons: - Some roads are so small, you can't pass other riders. If you're in 10th position when starting said section, you finish 10th. - Tying into point 1, attacking is near impossible as your stamina runs out before even reaching the front of the peloton if you're more than 5 positions back. - The AI is infuriatingly dumb, with your own teammates chasing you down if you're in a breakaway, or them sometimes fully stopping in front of you. - There is a 'Hold Position' button that seems to do anything but that - Unless you start as a Baroudeur in pro cyclist mode, your stamina is capped at 75 rather than 85. Good luck winning on a climb then even with a maxed out climbing stat. - Breakaways never stay away, the peloton chases you down no matter how far down in GC you are. - The 'Race Strategy' to keep your team manager satisfied is random, sometimes giving mutually exclusive goals. Defend your place in GC, but also go in the breakaway, that kind of thing. - Some UI bugs and occasional crashes when instructing riders to follow others. I want to love this game so much. It's a good passtime, it's tolerable but rarely ever gets truly enjoyable.