Federation Wrestling is all well and good, but that game was a mere warm-up act - it's time for the main event! The fact that you won control of "Federation Online" in the first game was no empty gesture - in the sequel you step into the office and do it for real. Titled "Federation Booker", this new game brings you the same action-packed gameplay of Federation Wrestling PLUS a plethora of unsurpassed management features. A promising combination if ever there was one! Here's the definitive preview of what you can expect from the full game...

Mother Booker
Federation Booker is arguably the first pro game EVER to take you behinds the scenes and give you control of your own wrestling promotion. We all know it's what every wrestling fan has always dreamt of - but no other developer seems to appreciate that, leaving this lucrative genre completely untouched. No longer though! This is potentially the ultimate wrestling package, offering unsurpassed detail in AND out of the ring. We all know about what happens in the ring - that's what Federation Wrestling was about. So what 'booking' aspects have been added to this new game?

All About The Ratings
The big difference is that this game is all about 'entertainment'. Everybody knows that wrestling is 'fake' and this game is no different. For the first time ever, it doesn't really matter who wins or loses - you're playing for a good post-match score. Your matches are accurately assessed and awarded a 5 star rating based on how entertaining they were. Exactly what makes a match entertaining is split into 2 parts: hype and execution. Your choice of match, angle, and the wrestlers involved constitutes the hype - but that's nothing without good ring action, and that's what you're responsible for as a player. When you step into the ring you've got to use your imagination and playing skills to steer the match in a fun and coherent direction. Although there's an in-game display, the crowd are your natural yardstick. Their volume is linked to how entertained they, so you always get a good feel for how into a match they are. You also know when they're not into a match, thanks to the new "boring" chant! Although it signals the death of your bout, it's always fun to hear. A good night of action will improve the whole show's popularity rating, whereas a bad one will decrease it - and that's where the long term game lies. The aim of the game is to make Federation Online the most popular TV show in the world...

Statistics
A whole host of new wrestler statistics have been added because of the booking. In addition to the existing ones there's Charisma (how good they are at cutting promos and putting over feuds), Toughness (how resistant they are to injury), Happiness (how happy they are with their career), and Attitude (how well behaved they are in real life). Additionally, some of the existing stats have taken on new meaning. "Popularity" actually means something now, as it's the key ingredient for an entertaining bout. It also matters whether the characters are Heels or Faces because there's a chemistry bonus when putting good guys against bad guys. There are further statistics that relate more to business, such as how old they are, how many matches they've worked, their weekly cost, and their contract length...

Practice Makes Perfect
The statistics fluctuate as they would in real life. Over time, wrestlers can get better or worse in every single area. Some you can influence, such as Popularity and Happiness which increase with wins and decrease with losses. However, the physical statistics are a little less reliable. Injuries and beatings take their toll, and sometimes the only cure is to commit guys to the gym. Here you can train any of the key attributes - but the trainee will be held off the active roster until they return. How well they progress depends on their Age and their Attitude. As in real life, wrestlers reach a physical peak around the age of 35 - and from thereon it's all downhill. There is one saviour for old and lazy wrestlers alike though: chemical enhancement! At the risk of a humiliating scandal, you can boost the effects of training by prescribing steroids...

Best of the Best
A great stats feature is the ever-changing "World Leaders" list, which calculates the best/worst wrestlers in the world. There are some 20 categories, ranging from "Most Popular" to "Most Troublesome"! It's your essential tool for assessing who the best wrestlers are...

The Evolution
A wrestler's skills aren't your only concern though. There are over 200 real-life events that can affect your company and your wrestlers! At the beginning of every night you're met with a news summary, where you will be kept abreast of all major events. These can include reminders about a wrestler returning from injury/absence/training, suggestions and complaints from the locker room, wrestlers making friends and falling out, wrestlers leaving, etc.. Then you've got news about your actual company, which can include financial advice, roster suggestions, PPV reminders, etc...   

Meet The Neighbours
The world doesn't revolve around Federation Online though. You operate in a living and breathing world, featuring a phenomenal 250 wrestlers spread across 7 talent pools! There are 4 major wrestling promotions: your "Federation Online", the WWF-inspired outfit "All American Wrestling", a British outfit called "United Kingdom of Wrestling", and a Japanese promotion called "Rising Sun Puroresu". In addition to those there's a "Wrestling Schools" pool (full of impressionable trainees), a "Hollywood" pool (full of celebrities), and a "Deceased" pool that immortalises the wrestlers that have passed. Each promotion has it's own booker, champions, popularity rating, and reputation rating. You are, of course, the booker of "Federation Online". Upon first loading the game you get to create your character, and the torch is then passed to him in a special introductory promo...

Buying Talent
The beauty of this ever-evolving world is that you can, of course, interact with it. Wrestlers come and go as they would in real life. Whether they get better or worse, or just itchy feet, every wrestler eventually moves onto other things. You have full control of who comes and goes from Federation Online. You can approach any living wrestler about joining your group - even if they're tied to a contract. In that case though, you have to buy out their current contract just to get your foot in the door. In addition to buying wrestlers, you can also renew the contracts of those that you already have - which is actually a similar process...

Make Me A Deal
It's a wrestling match in itself trying to get a wrestler to sign on the dotted line. There are all kinds of issues to deal with. First is the contract. You must offer a salary and a contract length that appeals to them. Then you may have to address any other grievances they have. They might think you're beneath them, they might not be a fan of your brand of wrestling, or they might simply hate a member of your locker room! You see, all the wrestlers in the world have relationships with one another. There's people they like and people they hate (Triple H springs to mind!). The interesting thing is that this information isn't displayed anywhere, so you just have to get a feel for it from negotiations, famous disputes, etc...

YOU'RE FIRED!
The other half of the trading system is selling and releasing wrestlers. There are 2 ways to sell: you either drag someone around the world trying the 'hard sell', or you simply wait until they are approached. The latter is the most lucrative, as the ball's in your court, but it doesn't happen too regularly. There are some wrestlers that you simply cannot find a buyer for, in which case you may have to release them. This means you have to buy them out of their contract before kicking them into the gutter. If you've got a trouble causer that you're desperate to get rid of then that's sometimes your only option...

In Loving Memory Of...
Sometimes God 'releases' wrestler for you. In what is unfortunately a realistic feature, wrestlers are prone to paralysis and even untimely deaths. Excessively violent matches, steroid abuse, old age, depression, and accidents can all lead to death. Far from a comical feature, it's all kept very tasteful - even extending to memorial shows. You can dedicate a show to anybody in the Deceased pool; the catch being that all proceeds go to a memorial fund. A similar gimmick is the charity show, "A Match Made In Heaven", where again all proceeds are donated to good causes. Both events yield improved reputation, so a cynic could see it as buying popularity. Another nice touch to these events is that there's a promo dedicated to each one, so you can send wrestlers out to acknowledge the meaning of the shows...

When Promotions Collide
The ultimate novelty event is an inter-promotional match. Once you sign up to the 'Wrestling Union' you will be able to receive challenges from other federations. A date will be set, and on that day your best guy will go to war with their best guy - in a shoot fight! The winning wrestler takes a huge purse home to his promotion; not to mention a valuable boost in popularity...

Keep It On The Sidelines
There's a lot on the line then, but it's largely out of your hands. All you can do is choose the participating wrestler, and then you have to stand on the sidelines - leaving the fighting to him! It's much more fun that it sounds - as you will your guy to win, like betting on a horse. All in all, inter-promotional matches are a very special occasion. There's a special promo at the beginning, whereby the guest referee (some random neutral wrestler) introduces the 2 participating promotions and their wrestlers - and then implores the bookers to keep their hands to themselves...

Calendar
With so many events surfacing throughout the year - not least your 12 monthly PPV's - you'll be glad of your annual calendar. It displays where you are in the year and charts the PPV's to come. It even indicates an inter-promotional match, showing the logo of the opposing company...

In The Pipeline
When you assume control of "Federation Online" you're forced to start from scratch. To spite you, everything has been either confiscated or destroyed - and you've got to build it all back. There are 19 productions to work on, ranging from arena improvements to paperwork such as Health Insurance and membership to the "Wrestling Union". Each one takes a certain number of weeks to manufacture, and they also carry a weekly fee. This means there's a good cross-section of productions - ranging from the cheap to the expensive, as well as the quick to the slow. If you can't afford to pay the team they'll bring production to a halt, so you have to be careful. Another reason you have to choose wisely is that you can only build one thing at a time - so you need to figure out what you need before what you want...

Let There Be Light!
Eventually, you'll build it back better than ever because there are several productions that weren't in Federation Wrestling. Most noticeable is the Lighting, which makes a triumphant return to the game. There are 9 different schemes that you can assign to a wrestler as easily as an entrance theme. They range from general disco colours, to bright, to dark, and of course specific colours. The lighting is particularly effective for interferences, as the arena is cloaked in colour whilst the invader storms the ring. Best of all is when sinister characters like The Undertaker intrude, because the arena goes much darker and there's a scary sense of confusion...

"If I can be serious for a minute..."
Although there were promos in Federation Wrestling they've all been replaced for this game, because they were of course too specific. The promos in Federation Booker are a little more vague so that they can apply to any set of characters. They're still quite good though, and they benefit from an increased range of crowd responses. The best thing about these new ones though is that they have very real consequences. They can be used to form alliances, trigger feuds, and turn wrestlers face/heel. There's about 30 of them in total, covering everything from tag team issues to championship quests and just general mockery. There are even a few special promos for things like tribute and charity events. The main reason for promos though is that they are potentially an entertainment booster. That is, if the guys on the mic are charismatic. While a promo is taking place the entertainment score starts to go down, so if the speaker's pops don't compensate you may end up doing more harm than good...

Dressed To Kill
With some 250 wrestlers working throughout the game it was important to make them as unique as possible. To this end the range of costumes has been vastly extended. Not least in the head department, as there's now a staggering 180 of them! Not only have the numbers improved, but so too have the designs. There are all kinds of new clothing types, including shirts with patterns across the chest, bikini tops, baggy pants, etc. Even novelty costumes like LOD's shoulder pads and Demolition's leather straps are in there...

Celebrity Deathmatch
It's not just wrestler body parts that have been made either. The Hollywood pool contains all kinds of familiar images - including Michael Jackson, P Diddy, The Notorious BIG, various boxers, and some action movie stars. Even 'The Incredible Hulk' managed to muscle his way in there! I should point out that, for copyright reasons, none of the famous stars or wrestlers are referred to by their real names. It's plain to see who they're meant to be though, so you can always change their names with the editor...

Location, Location, Location
The game's new look is further complimented by a vastly increased range of arena scenery. There are new aprons, new backgrounds, new grounds, and even whole new rings - complete with different coloured ropes. They were designed for the rival promotions, to make them more distinguished, but you can use them too. The new aprons include a slight reworking of the PPV calendar. There's a better looking "UK Tour" apron and the "Idigicon" PPV has been replaced by the "Japan Tour". Those 2 touring events carry special significance in this game because wrestlers from the local promotions can appear on the show! That is, if you're part of the Wrestling Union...

The Director's Cut
Technically, this game is being published by myself - so not only did I get to design the packaging, but I also got to call the shots on what goes into the game. What does this mean? Gore is back as standard and so is the controversial GUN weapon! They were censored under Idigicon, but now they make their triumphant return. You may remember the gun from the very early demos of Federation Wrestling. It was a stupid but very fun weapon, and that's pretty much still the case. It's more devastating now though - often resulting in serious injuries, as it would in real life. For this reason, it does appear too often in the random weapon selections - but if you want to guarantee it you can always select "One of Each" or "All Guns"...

The Squared Circle
The game boasts the new boxed presentation, as seen in Big BumpZ. This is much easier on the eye and generally makes the game feel as professional as it should be. Furthermore, the content of the various screens has improved. Thanks to clear instruction displays, there's never any doubt as to what you're doing and how to do it. This is useful because several new options have emerged throughout the game - such as the "Match Speed" option that makes matches fly by in a matter of seconds...

McMahon or a Mouse?
To compliment the boxed presentation, and to make your managerial tasks easier, the menus can now be controlled by MOUSE! This makes things infinitely sharper, but purists will be pleased to know that it's merely an option - you can still use the keys or pad at anytime...

Cerebral Assassin
The gameplay has been tinkered with ever-so-slightly for this game. For a start, there's a new "Extremely Hard" difficulty setting - which I'm glad of, I can tell you. Like most games I make, I soon reached the point where I simply can't lose - but this new difficulty setting challenges even me, and bolsters the game's lifespan. The new setting is down to slightly improved artificial intelligence, which is something that the new refs have also benefited from. They're much more volatile now, lashing out at intruders and over excited team-mates alike - which is very funny to see! In a final gameplay tweak, eliminated wrestlers now go to either side of the arena and stay away from the ring. This helps you focus on the guys that are still in it, and more importantly it prevents those never-ending brawls at the front of the ring...