The highly anticipated Pro Cycling Manager 2013 has finally arrived and it’s very similar to the Football Manager series. You have full control over your teams and their choices via the micromanaging commands. There are plenty of real licensed teams and sponsors to choose from (much like the 2012 release of Pro Cycling Manager).
Pro Cycling Manager 2013 includes a polished interface that is complete with the same calendar system from last year’s release, so managing your teams, training sessions, and upcoming events is still easy. The calendar system shows every event, regardless of when it’s scheduled. It even shows events that are scheduled months in advance.
The main dashboard is setup similar to the previous dashboard from 2012, but it has been remastered to look sharper. All the same features that made the game popular are still present – e-mailing, scouting rosters, and performing objectives, just to name a few.
Juggling different tasks can prove to be a difficult at times. If you schedule a training event too close to a racing event, you can overwork your cyclists where they will not perform at peak performance during the event. This will take some time to master, but once you figure it out, you’ll be managing your teams with ease.
There are three difficulty levels you can choose from when creating a new career. You have your choice of Cya World Tour, which is the flagship division. This means you can compete with the ‘big boys’ in 28 of the biggest races of the year. The Continental Pro is a step below the Cya World Tour; it’s the second level hierarchy.
The Continental Pro is still made up of the Cya World Tour division teams; it’s just not on the same level as the World Tour. The last selection is Career Mode, where you can choose standard Continental. This is the lowest tier of cyclists you can manage on the pro level. This option is best for players who are not familiar with managing their own team and want to learn everything from the ground up.
Even the 3D simulation portion of Pro Cycling Manager 2013 has received an overhaul. The micromanagement system has received an updated interface that makes it easier to initiate orders such as – giving commands to your cyclists like overtaking, relaying, and snatching positions.
Knowing when to give orders is the key to your success. Pushing your cyclists too hard, too early during a race will result in them growing tired and losing momentum. But if you don’t push them enough, they will fall too far behind and they will never catch up before the finish.
There is also a nice feature where you can either shrink or expand the GUI (Graphic User Interface) bracket, making it easier to see the commands depending on the resolution you have selected. It’s simple and very efficient to use your mouse combined with a few keyboard shortcuts; it makes selecting your cyclists much easier. There has been a lot of changes made to Pro Cycling Manager 2013, but most of them are cosmetic.
The online multiplayer experience has changed slightly since 2012. The Armada game mode offers non-stop cycling where you can collect cards to enhance the performance of your team. Plus, Pro Cycling Manager 2013 comes complete with a track editor. You can now make your own tracks and share them with the online community.
If you have played any of the Pro Cycling Manager releases, you will know that it’s not easy to form a winning team. It takes a lot of training, dedication and patience to win the gold. It all boils down to good micromanagement skills and spending your money on salaries, equipment, and the right trainers at the right prices. Otherwise, you can easily go bankrupt.
Pro Cycling Manager 2013 has the right balance of micromanagement and strategy. Moreover, it includes all your favorite cyclists such as Van Den Broeck, Nibali and even Pinot, to name just a few.
With Le Tour de France happening right now, there is no better time to play Pro Cycling Manager 2013 and capture the goal for yourself, if you have what it takes.
James ‘Daripp3r’ Pittaro
Platform: PC
OS: Windows XP SP3/Windows VISTA SP2/Windows 7/Windows 8
Processor: AMD/Intel dual-core 2.2 GHZ
Memory: 2048 MB
Graphics: 256 MB 100% DirectX 9 and Shaders 3.0 compatible NVidia GEFORCE 7900/ATI RADEON X1600/Intel HD 2000
DirectX: 9.0
Hard Drive: 11 GB
Sound: DirectX 9.0 compatible
Developer: Cyanide
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
ERSB: N/A
Price: $39.99
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |  |
| Pro Cycling Manager 2013’s photo-realistic environments are beautiful. | |
| Sound | |
| Races are narrated by a real news broadcaster who updates you on the race and any highlights that occur. The music is very relaxing and the best heard in a micromanagement simulator. | |
| Gameplay | |
| A compellingly intricate micromanagement system that gives the player plenty of flexibility. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Pro Cycling Manager 2013 incorporates the best features from previous releases while adding new courses and teams. | |
