10-Yard Fight

"I see the yards, but where's the fight? ::pummels the game::"

Ratings:

Graphics: 5/10
Sound Effects: 5/10
Music: 3/10
Originality: 10/10
Play Control: 7/10
Group Enjoyment: 3/10
Individual Enjoyment: 6/10
Challenge: 7/10
Ending: 3/10
Overall:5/10

What an...interesting idea! Make sports games for the Nintendo! This game created a whole new genre of game for the NES, featuring the 3/4 overhead football game, with you behind the players. So, does ''10 Yard Fight'' win the big game, or does it fumble the ball and end up pulling it's hamstring, thus getting itself benched for the rest of the season?


Good Points:
This game was groundbreaking when it came out. It featured the ability to choose if you wanted to pass or run the ball, and even gave you the ability to lateral to a fellow teammate! It was an awesome idea, and it created an entirely new genre of gaming for other systems to follow.

Bad Points:
Even though this was a VERY early release for the NES, this game doesn't sound very good. The play control is ok, considering the speed of the game, but it’s not good enough for you to run the ball quite what you’d like to be able to. The passing ability is hard to handle, period. I wish you could pick which plays you wanted to run, but I guess running and passing are good enough for this game. I believe my largest gripe with this game, though, is...what kind of a football game goes off of points? I don't mean points as in you scored a touchdown points, I mean points as in ''Gradius'' or ''Contra'' points.


General Ratings:

Graphics:
Well, they're average for the Nintendo. When they came out, they were probably considered good, but compared to some of the later titles, this game just doesn't show much mettle. The players don't look like walking blocks, but the certainly aren't so detailed that you can see the complete horror on the quarterback's face when he gets blitzed for the umpteenth time. The ball could look a LITTLE oblong, though.

Sound Effects:
Come on...in Tecmo Bowl, at least there was a guy saying ''Down...Set...Hut hut hut!'' This game has some wierd sounds that don't really apply to football. There jsut wasn't much put into the sound of this game. That's a shame too, as some football games have created the neatest sounds I've heard in video games (those gratuitous sounds of people getting tackled are funny). I think the main problem with the sounds is that they are horribly out of place. I THINK that odd-sounding static is supposed to be the crowd cheering, but at the same time it might just be someone running some clothes through a washing machine.

Music:
I'm going laugh a bit, and move on to the next catagory. This one doesn't really deserve my attention! My comment is ''Where's the music?'' These little snippits of sound I hear MIGHT be music, but at the same time it might be a glitch in my game. I looked in the box, on the label, all around my house, all I couldn't find ANYTHING that actually passed for music. Therefore, I will just move onto:

Originality:
This is where the game shines. It's a football game, which had been done sparingly before (but not on the Nintendo). It was greatly improved on previous versions (Atari, Commodore 64), giving you the ability to pass, run, scream and drop the ball while crying like a little baby (ok, maybe not). Good job here, folks. I especially liked the idea of being able to lateral the ball. You HAVE to score by the end of the period, or else you lose. You are given 50 seconds per period to score, and if you fail, you lose the game. That's an odd perspective on the game...

Play Control:
Well, it's not amazing, but it is above the par. When you move, it's not the tightest movement in the world, but at least you're not excessively sluggish. The controls aren't hard to figure out, either. I think the only real problem with the play control is the fact that the game moves SO SLOW!!! They could have expanded the playbook (to actually include a playbook), or given more options when it comes to passing...

Enjoyment:
Well, if you're playing solo, then you might not have much fun. After all, there's only so much you can take of 1 team moving in 1 direction with a certain amount of moves. I, personally, prefer to get some friend over and make fun of the game while playing it.

Challenge:
Ok, this game certainly does have the challenge up there. Maybe it's the lack of plays, or the slighly-imperfect controls, but SOMETHING in this game makes it harder than it should be. It's uber-slow, it's hard on the ears...am I leaving something out?

Ending:
You win the game. Oh boy. This isn't a spoiler, folks. I mean, what did you expect from a football game? You win and get captured by aliens, and are then forced to play in an intergalactic league? Not bloody likely...


Overall:

This game has its flaws, as does any game. The challenge and play control are good, although a little stiff, but the majority of the game's features simply come up average. That's right, average. An average game for an above-average system. Didn't I already use that as a synopsis for another game? I don't remember any more...stupid brain, never working right...

So the bottom line is that this game has average graphics, below average sound, mediocre music, poor play control, and a bad challenge-factor. Now, why couldn't they have gotten SOMETHING right from the arcade? This WAS a popular arcade game, and they had to do THIS to it!

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 08/23/00, Updated 08/23/00