DESCRIPTION

The developer of the arcade-style baseball game The Bigs returns to the field with an entirely different take on America's pastime in MLB Front Office Manager. Designed for statheads and sabermetricians, Front Office Manager puts players in the role of general manager of a MLB team and tasks them with building a winning franchise. Gamers create a unique GM by choosing appearance, age, nationality, and most importantly, professional background — a decision that will determine if the GM is stronger with money and contracts or scouting and development. Aside from the standard tasks of making trades and signing free agents, players will also need to manage minor league rosters, set budgets for worldwide scouting, participate in the Rule 5 draft, and even bid on posted Japanese free agents.

Solid personnel moves increases a general manager's attributes and mistakes have the opposite effect, but luckily gamers can consult Billy Beane, GM of the Oakland Athletics and star of the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, for in-game advice and encouragement. Players can also watch broadcast-style presentation as they manage some of the finer points of each contest, while gamers looking for multiplayer action can head online for fantasy leagues featuring traditional rules for rotisserie and head-to-head scoring systems. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide