ESPN NFL 2K5

"ESPN brings good football at an affordable price"

The game ESPN Football 2K5 for the PS2 and XBOX. Most people would see the price of this game and think, "It must not be good if it THAT cheap." On the contrary, it is affordable because of the competition...Madden. This game isn't as bad as most people think, give it a try and you may change your mind. (This review was posted before playing Madden 2005 and it will in no way compare the two.)

Graphics: 8/10
The graphics are solid with expressions on the character's faces and if you know football, then you will recognize the many faces of the star players. The field, players, coaches, and even the cheerleaders are displayed pretty well. Of course the crowd could have done a little better, they are copied and pasted several times so you'll want to be chewing doublemint gum when you see them up close.

Sound: 5/10
The sounds of the players on the field are good when they're yelling at each other and yelling while hustling after the ball. The voiceovers are spliced together pretty nicely without a lot of noticeable breaks in them. I enjoy watching SportsCenter at the end of each week to hear how well Chris Berman does the voiceovers. I didn't really like the broadcasters in the booth nor did I remember their names. They do an OK job but I start to ignore them because they just state things I already know or will shortly learn like how far the pass/run was.

The music was good and upbeat when I first played it but it got old quite quickly. I was annoyed by the stadium music but luckily you can customize your stadium music and make it the way you like. The Crib music is annoying, as I can't understand what the "rappers" are saying. It would have received more points if they had actual songs.

Gameplay: 7/10
This part was decent too. With many different options such as "quick game," "franchise," and a cool new feature where you can play some of the most memorable games of the last 25 years such as "The Immaculate Reception" and for more recent years, "A Yard Too Short" to name just a few. The many different gameplay options to this game give the points. And the First-person view which lets you see in the eyes of the player, adding to the realism but it isn't as good as it sounds. You can't clearly see everything like you'd like and who knows where everyone is. Of course, it seemed I was passing better and running worse in that mode.

Controls: 8/10
Once you learn the controls they are easy to use and placed well on the PS2 controller, you'll be able to score touchdowns a lot easier. Just be sure to go through practice mode to learn them all.

Replay Value: 10/10
The replay value is through the roof on this game. With so many different options and the ability to do a fantasy draft, you can have countless combinations of players and teams with different difficulty options or a custom difficulty.

Extras: 7/10
The main extra in this game is The Crib. You can buy posters, rugs, furniture, movies and more with credits you earn while playing the game. You can also go head-to-head with celebrities and their teams to earn points but be careful, their teams are quite good. The other extras are of course, creating a player or team that there isn't really anything spectacular or new about these options.

Buy/Rent: Well, at $20 or less and the endless replayabilty, it would be cheaper to buy it than to rent it.

Overall/Conclusion: 7.5/10.
With the replayabilty of the game really good and the ability to do mostly whatever you want in the various modes of the game and of course the price, this game does quite well. If you aren't a big Madden fan or don't have $50 to spend on a game, then go with this one. You shouldn't be disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/29/04