- It only costs $20US for the same
quality of EA’s Madden 2005
- Xbox Live gameplay, including the option to form leagues and
tournaments
- Saturated in ESPN broadcast-quality presentation
- VIP system allows you to game plan for opponents in your
league and tournament matchups
- Great player and stadium graphics (crowds and cut-scene
visuals leave a lot to be desired)
- Generally excellent controls help create a totally genuine
virtual NFL experience
- Animations aren’t too smooth
while players are running
- Crib mode doesn’t add much to the game
- Too easy for some online gamers to get continual sacks and
heavy pressure on your quarterback
- A.I.-assisted defensive backfield not the smartest online
- Trying to find someone online ready and willing to play isn’t
always easy
- Average franchise mode
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NFL 2K5
Score: 9.2 / 10
Drastic measures were needed. Despite
creating an extremely good football video game since the inception of
the NFL 2K franchise on the Dreamcast, developer Visual Concepts and
publisher Sega could not get any better than a miniscule share of the
football game market against Electronic Arts’ juggernaut Madden
franchise. That’s even with the inclusion of mega-sports media
organization ESPN’s branding into the NFL 2K game. So this year, not
only have the developers given us the best ESPN NFL 2K game yet, they
have done the unheard of by selling a fully-loaded football game for
only $20US. Yes, just $20 bucks. And they also released ESPN NFL 2K5 a
full three weeks before Madden. (That same aggressive pricing plan is
being implemented by the entire 2K5 sports lineup).
Sega doesn’t realistically think it will sell more copies than Madden,
but they want to close the gap as much as possible and the early release
date coupled with the lower price has apparently worked wonders for the
early sales of ESPN NFL 2K5. Madden is such a gaming phenomenon, selling
by name and reputation alone, that Sega needed a clearly radical
departure from the usual selling tactics. If it was a competition based
solely on game quality however, Madden may find itself settling
for second place. ESPN NFL 2K5 is a solid
football gaming experience, although not quite perfection.
The newest additions to the game are a much more refined online gaming
setup and more use of the ESPN elements. First, online play (which was
part of last year’s game, too) is much better, although it has a few
weaknesses. Borrowing from the popularity of fantasy
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league sports, you can create your own leagues and tournaments. You can
have as many teams in a league as you want and they can be private
leagues for a group of friends or colleagues or open to the public.
There can be trading allowed and perhaps the best feature is the VIP
(Virtual Identity Profile) system.
Each online player has a VIP that records their playing tendencies: what
their favorite plays are; if they pass more than run; which direction on
the field do they run to or pass to most; everything about their playing
style. You can download their VIP to your Xbox and play a game with the
Xbox using the VIP as its A.I. in respect to play-calling. You have the
opportunity to truly prepare for a league matchup much like a real-life
NFL coach would do on a weekly basis.
Online play isn’t without its flaws, though. Depending on the time of
day or night, trying to find someone that’s willing to play a game is
sometimes difficult. When you do find a game, some issues prevent ESPN
NFL 2K5 from shining at a five-star glow. The A.I. defensive backfield
oftentimes doesn’t cover receivers too well, even when you assign double
coverage to key players on opposite teams. It is much too easy for good
running backs to slam through and shake off defenders with what seem
like impossible to shake tackles. Too many times I have had a runner
wrapped in the backfield only to see him scamper out of a tackle for a
huge gain.
Receivers make improbable catches too. I tossed a Hail Mary pass
downfield and my receiver, literally covered by six defenders, caught
the ball for a big yard-eating play. You can also get heavy pressure
each down on the opposition by blitzing with your defensive line. This
leads to an overwhelming number of sacks.
These types of scenarios just don’t play out in a real NFL game much,
and it can get very frustrating for both yourself and your opponent. But
almost always you can get a competitive game online, because what little
tricks and deficiencies work for your adversary also work for you.
Another impressive feature that you’ll notice is the saturation of the
ESPN-quality presentation. Chris Berman lends his voice and likeness to
the game, and ESPN NFL 2K5’s highlights using the ESPN SportsCenter
studios are amazing. At halftime, Berman will talk about the game you’re
playing just as if he were really describing it live, including specific
plays, situations, and the score at that time in the game. It really
adds a sense of realism to your game. ESPN’s Suzie Kolber also appears
as the game’s sideline reporter and does post-game interviews. The only
criticism of including Berman and Kolber is their graphical appearance.
Both are done virtually, and when they speak you lose that sense of
reality because their mouths aren’t moving in sync with the
vocalizations. Crowds close up also don’t look to well, but at a
distance they are good. Stadiums have a high level of graphical detail,
but where ESPN NFL 2K5 really stands out visually is the player
modeling.
Arguably, ESPN NFL 2K5 has better player modeling and visuals than
Madden. Players look like they should, including the proper body sizes
for specific players and you’ll really notice that for bigger
300-pound-plus players along the defensive and offensive line. The
uniforms are impressive down to the last stitch and shine gleaning off
helmets. Unfortunately, the animations of the players in motion don’t
nearly impress as much, particularly when they are running. They all
seem to run with an unsightly gait that would indicate they blew a
hamstring. The animations of the quarterback and both lines fares a lot
better with much more realism to their movements (unless they are in
full running mode). The cut-scene animations after a big play have been
increased in number fivefold and are fluidly placed in the game’s
presentation, although after a while you’ll see the same animations.
The announcing tandem in the game doesn’t come from ESPN’s ranks.
Instead, it’s the twosome of Terry McGovern as "Dan Stevens" and Jay
Styne as "Peter O'Keefe" who have been around the 2K series since the
pre-ESPN involvement and are two of the best announcers (real or
fictional) in sports video games today. I did notice a few name
mispronunciations throughout the course of playing both my preferred
team, the Philadelphia Eagles, and others, but the announcing and
commentary remained top-notch, even considering the numerous repeat
phrases and comments you’ll hear in a typical game.
A couple of other game modes are the Crib and franchise. In the Crib,
you get a NFL superstar-type house that you can decorate any way you
choose a la Sims style. You earn money with your performance in games to
buy such things as new furniture, audio-video equipment, NFL-related
merchandise (including bobbleheads), and unlockables for the game. In
the Crib, you’ll also receive phone calls of challenges from celebrities
including Jamie Kennedy and Carmen Electra, who play against you with an
All-Pro caliber roster that’s extremely hard to beat.
NFL 2K5’s Franchise mode gives you the chance to run a NFL team from top
to bottom. It’s not bad as franchise modes go, but can get a little too
detailed, especially when you have to set up training regimens for
players to try to upgrade their performance for the upcoming game. Not
as detailed as an Electronic Arts sports title franchise mode, but not
weak either.
Considering that there are some weaknesses in the online gameplay, ESPN
NFL 2K5 still plays a genuine game of NFL football on the highest
challenge settings. That is in large part due to the stellar control
setup that takes every possible type of player control into
consideration. Running controls allow for sneaking through the small
spaces that good running backs find. While passing you can throw a lob
or bullet-type pass and also lead receivers to avoid interceptions. The
quarterback scrambling controls are easy to use. On the defensive side,
you can shift not only your line, but your linebackers and defensive
backs, including assigning double-coverage to players.
Maximum tackling gives you the option of a quick tackle or a wrap-up
tackle depending on the situation. Every move is well designed
seamlessly into ESPN NFL 2K5. Assisting the control setup in its quality
is a Madden-like playbook selection, which doesn’t allow your opponent
to see which play you’re selecting as it had in previous NFL 2K games.
Despite the hard-to-believe $20US price, ESPN NFL 2K5 won’t outsell
Madden again this year. But it will find its way into many, many more
gamer’s homes than it has in season’s past (at the same $50US price as
Madden) and the distance between Madden and another competing football
game has clearly narrowed to the slimmest of margins. In fact, some
people may commit the ultimate sacrilege for the Madden-heavy football
gaming community and actually prefer ESPN 2K5 to Madden 2005. But even
die-hard Maddenites will acknowledge that ESPN 2K5 is a very good
football game that deserves all the praise it gets for making a strong
goal-line stand head-to-head against the Madden powerhouse. ESPN 2K5 is
so good, it isn’t laughable to suggest that it claims the trophy as the
best football video game of 2004.
