ESPN NFL Football

"Good Graphics? Yeh. Great Gameplay? Yeh. Better than Madden? Inside."

Introduction

So here we have another year of ESPN NFL Football, formerly known as the Sega 2k series. What they’ve done here is taken last years game, slapped the ESPN logo on it, and made an actually very fun game. Thumbs up to them.

Gameplay

Alright, I don’t care who you are, this game is fun. It’s easy to pick up, easy to control, just flat out easy. Who doesn’t love a game that’s easy? There in lies the problem. It’s TOO easy. I have played well over 60 games on this thing, and I’ve yet to lose any of them. Even on the hardest difficulty level, you’ll still win 9/10. But that’s not always a bad thing, I guess. Especially if you have a little cousin who begs you to death to play it. Just hand him the controller and he should be rolling in no time. But for the older gamers, they will get frustrated because after a while, they will want a challenge. But to cover up for the lack of challenge, there are many modes to play in. You have regular exhibition, franchise mode, and the newest and most innovative thing I have ever seen in a football game. First Person Football. Yes, you heard me right. You ARE the football player. The view allows you to get inside the helmet as you play, so you will know how it is for Clinton Portis or Jake Delhomme. But with every treasure in a game, there is always something bad about it. If you have a friend over, for the sake of sanity, do not let him play this mode. If you are watching someone play in First Person Football, you will literally get nauseous and want to swallow your own vomit. The screen is flying everywhere, and half the time you don’t know what in the blue heck you’re doing. But it’s still fun for YOU AND YOU ONLY to play, as long as you’re by yourself. Next we have franchise mode. This is the basic concept: You go in, play 17 games, read pointless e-mails, go to the next season, NFL Draft, rinse, rather, repeat. It is so shallow. Oh, and you can unlock items for your ‘Crib.’ If you’re looking for in-depth franchise mode, go for Madden.

Verdict: 8.7/10.

Sound

The tackles in this game sound great. Chris Berman in this game sounds great. (Yes, Chris Berman is in this game.) The soundtrack is mediocre. Then you get to the announcing. Dear Lord, have mercy. The announcing in this game is the most repetitive that I’ve ever heard. While they do give you a sense of excitement, they say the SAME thing over, and over, and over again. I heard that Steve Smith was a ‘very slippery man’ at least 15 times in one game. No kidding. So let’s put this in order: On-field sound = Great. Chris Berman = Great. Soundtrack = Mediocre. Announcing = Repetitive. (AKA bad.)

Verdict: 8.5/10

Graphics

Can I be the first to say that the players in this game just look kind of… Weird? The body models just look… Weird. The bodies seem so fake looking, plus, the player faces look nothing like there real life predecessors. In this game, they had Doug Brezizinski BALD. Anyone who knows who this is knows that he is the only human bear known to man. And they had him bald with NO BEARD. What gives? They also have Brad Hoover bald. They need to go back to the drawing board with player models. But as for the on-field graphics, it really looks like an actual game. If you watch a demo from a distance away, you’ll be saying ‘WTF, the Bucs are playing on Thursday?!’ The players look real and fluid when they run, the replays are great, and it actually looks like they are catching the ball and everything. However, as in every 2k Sega game, they do put a little much on the tackles. You could be 10 feet away from the ball-handler and still tackle him. Oh well, the game looks great, hands down. It’s just those player models that they should work on.

Verdict: 9.0/10

Control

If you’ve played this game for all 3 systems, then you know that this game was made for the PS2 controller. I'm not trying to sound biased, but the layout of the buttons on the PS2 controller helps. A lot. But, none of that matters. This game is flat-out the easiest football game there is to control. You know how on Madden it never really feels like your cleats are digging into the dirt so it is very hard to turn and stuff? Well on here, it’s the exact opposite. Running in this game is easy, scrambling in this game is easy, and everything about this control is easy. I love it. You’ll find yourself juking and jiving, spinning, jumping, and diving in no time. Thumbs up on this control.

Verdict: 9.7/10

Presentation

ESPN, baby. Prime Time, Sportscenter, NFL Countdown. No, I’m not talking about the line-up of shows on Sunday. This is all in here. Oh, and the halftime show. Chris Berman is there to give recaps on all the action, and I’m loving it. On the halftime show Chris is there to give his thoughts on the stats, records, big plays of the half, and everything in between. In Franchise mode, are you curious on who won the Patriots vs. Dolphins game? Go watch Prime Time! Berman will tell you what happened and maybe even show you a clip or two from the game. It’s great.

Verdict: 9.3/10

Final Verdict

This game has replayability. This game is fun. This game is easy. This game is not as good as Madden. I know, I know, you hate me for saying it. This is still a great game no matter how you cut it, though. If you just want flat out fun for you and your friends, this is a great buy. If you have no friends and are a sad man looking to relive the dream of Steve Spurrier and want an in-depth franchise mode, Madden is for you. And if you just want to have fun, then this is the game for you.

Final Score: 9.0/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/16/04