If only Madden wasn't around!
Pros:
Very smooth gameplay and graphics, ESPN License.
Cons:
It has to compete with Madden!
The Bottom Line:
Great game going in the right direction, but still #2....for now.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Finally, EA Sports has some competition in the football gaming market. For years Madden NFL games have dominated the gridiron with little resistance from the likes of GameDay and NFL Primetime. Enter Sega Sports and their NFL 2K series.
Sega sports games have always been known for two things:excellent gameplay and fun factor. Sega is banking on these old attributes and some new technology to make a serious run at Madden this year.
The game has simply the most gorgeous visuals the sports gaming industry has ever seen. But looks aren't everything in football games. Well not to worry, this game plays so smooth it'll make you feel like all you're doing is using one button for everything! The animation is excellent, rarely if at all, showing signs of sluggishness or choppiness. The tackles are great as they make you feel like you're Britney Spears being hit by Jevon Kearse! That's not to say the players go down easily though. this is what'll sell this game, looks and gameplay.
The other new feature is the addition of the ESPN license to the game. No longer do we have to look at just a boxscore to see if we won our division or made the playoffs, now we can tune in to Sportscenter and watch the highlights of our rivals' games! Very cool idea but the animation of the show's host is choppy at times and not quite in synch with the audio.
As for gameplay modes this title has everything you'd expect in a sports game. A franchise mode, complete with rookie scouting, free agent signings and trades, an exhibition mode and a situational mode where you can create yourself a situation where you have 2 minutes and 1 timeout to go 80 yards and get the winning touchdown. One aspect of the franchise mode that is a big plus is that if you play your games with 2 minute quarters for example, the rest of the league's simulated contests will also be that long so one doesn't have to get ridiculous numbers for their players to be among the league leaders. It gives everyone a fair playing field. It also supports online features like roster updates and online play. Although these features are much improved over the previous version, they aren't quite up to par in comparison to Madden yet.
Overall this game has strong gameplay, solid animation and incredible, eye-popping visuals, and all the standard features one expects in a football video game. I think it's still a year or two away though from taking away Madden's title as football gaming king. But it's well on it's way!
