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Platform: Xbox Genre: Sports Publisher: Microsoft Developer: Microsoft ESRB: E (Everyone) Released: November 2001
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NFL Fever 2002Score: 8.0/10 |
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Pros: - Excellent graphics - Much options - All the pro teams included - Neat weather effects - Difficulty settings actually work
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Cons: - Too many penalties - Some repetitive animation - Announcers don’t sound all that happy to be there - Weather effects don’t seem to affect the games
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Related Links: Madden 2002 (Playstation 2) Review NCAA Football 2002 (Playstation 2) Review
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"After only a couple of games into the regular season, I noticed the players constantly perform the same victory moves no matter the team."
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“He’s
going back – WAY back. Here
comes the throw… the receiver is clear and catches it.
He’s going in all alone. Touchdown!
What a run.” My
two year-old is getting to be an old hand at playing video games but
when he scored a touchdown, practically hitting the buttons at random,
and actually make good on the extra point, my opinion of NFL Fever 2002
(NF2) nose-dived. To be
fair he was playing on Easy mode and his defense was really bad so it
wasn’t a total rout. Stepping
up the difficulty level beefed up the opposing AI and my son didn’t
stand a chance. On Easy,
anyone should be able to score a lot of points and shutdown the opposing
offense. (Of course, this is different when you’re playing against a
human opponent.) As I
played more, my opinion of NF2 gradually increased.
Beside
the one two-player game of Madden 2002 I played with Mr. Nash, the last
football that impressed me was Tecmo Bowl on the old NES.
NF2 is light-years beyond Tecmo Bowl in terms of graphics, sound,
available plays – but it didn’t change my overall opinion of
football. It’s too slow!
Too much stop and go, stop and stop.
Instead there are bursts of action usually about five seconds in
duration. Playing a pick-up
game with some friends is a thousand times better than watching a game
on a TV. Some may say the
strategy involved in football necessitates this, but I say it just
foists boredom on the watcher. (Lee
would be turning in his grave. . . if he were not still alive.)
I only mention this as I think you should know my bias up front.
As
I don’t follow the NFL by any stretch of the imagination, I had to do
a little research on the teams, etc.
They’re all here, plus a few extras.
Also modeled on real life are the various stadiums.
While I wouldn’t know the 49ers home turf from a hole in the
ground, they certainly all look good.
The crowds are animated (though one-dimensional) so it lends that
extra touch of authenticity, of “being there.” There
are more plays in NF2 than I thought possible.
There’s a strict time limit enforced by a penalty so you
can’t take too long, even though there are so many plays to choose
from. For the most part I
used the Recommended set of plays (defensive and offensive), while
occasionally trying something else just for flavor – like punting it
down field on a first down. Getting
the ball where you want it, whether by passing or running, is easy to
do. Pressing “Y” pulls
back the camera so you can see the entire line of scrimmage, the lines
of movement, and what button corresponds to those lines.
Going long or making a break up the middle, it’s all a simple
button press. Your
receivers have a plethora of moves available including a couple of speed
bursts, straight arms or spins – none of which help much if you face a
really tight defense but at least you have the option. The
graphics are quite awesome! No
slow down to speak of either. Animation
is good as well, if on the repetitive side.
After only a couple of games into the regular season, I noticed
the players constantly perform the same victory moves no matter the
team. But that’s a small
point. To really appreciate
what’s happening on the field make use of the instant replay.
The replay allows you to position yourself anywhere on the field
and at any angle. I found
myself looking at the replay even to watch the most mundane plays.
But it does come in handy to find out where things go wrong.
Because the main action uses the traditional back to front view
(rather than side) there was one moment that really had me scratching my
head. My receiver dove for
the ball but didn’t catch it although from my angle he should have.
In the replay I saw the reason why – the ball hit him in the
back of the head. (WARNING: Only make use of the replay during
single-player games as you could incur massive bodily harm.) Sound
is sparse. The crowds,
while maintaining that traditional crowd background noise, never seemed
to explode. They do get a
little louder when you score a touch down, but it didn’t feel right.
Play-by-play and color commentary is solid in execution but
didn’t add any tension – the pair sound bored. A
couple of other features worthy of note is the general manager mode and
practice. Practice lets you
do just that – practice the moves and various components of defense
and offence. If you’re
really getting your butt kicked, I recommend spending some time in
practice. The GM mode is
great if you’re into that kind of thing, but for most players this is
an option they’ll never touch. As
the final whistle blows, NFL Fever 2002 is a solid football game for
X-Box. It’s definitely a
showcase for the graphic capabilities and executing plays is fairly
easy. I found the
difficulty level to be fair and that the AI didn’t “cheat” by
performing sack after sack or blocking field goals.
NFL Fever 2002 didn’t blow me away, but I did find myself
having fun on a rainy day. - Omni (November 29, 2001) Search for Related Topics: ...More Sports Game Reviews... ...More Reviews of Games Developed/Published by Microsoft... |
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