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Developer: Visual Concepts
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Sports
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 03 Sep 03
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- Sega releases it's Madden-beater, featuring a perfect blend of deep gameplay and slick presentation.
Overview
The Madden NFL series has been the leader of console football games for as long as I can remember. For some reason, the Sega football games were always the underdog that didn't make huge profits or was really liked by the reviewers. Sometimes they were reviewed as good or better than Madden but people couldn't trust the reviews and stuck with Madden anyway. EA Sports and Sega have always been fighting for sports game supremacy, and until now EA leads the battle. I really, really want to put emphasis on the phrase "until now."
Gameplay
When thinking of a football game the concept of a first-person football game is so incredibly wild that people usually never think of it. Sure, maybe "other" game companies thought of the idea but never put it to use, afraid of taking a risk with an all-new way of looking at the game. Some hardcore football gamers dread the idea of a first-person football game; it would be impossible to make it good. Right?
Wrong. ESPN NFL Football is the first football game on any console to date to utilize a first-person engine into America's favorite sport.. In fact, they did it so well that those guys at EA Sports were standing there with their jaws on the floor when they saw the commercial. No joke.
Upon turning on the game the first time, you will be astonished with the very strong emphasis on ESPN. Everything about this game has to do with the ESPN channel and the main menu looks just like the ESPN show SportsCenter. The music sounds just like the music from the ESPN channel, and during gameplay you really feel like you are watching an NFL game, curled up on your couch in front of the TV tuned to ESPN. This game offers pre-game shows in which the two teams playing are compared and ESPN veteran Chris Berman picks his choice for the game. Another feature are the NFL Primetime shows which you are able to view after certain weeks to see actual highlights from other games around the country.
You are probably worried that the whole game is in first-person perspective and you might not be able to get used to it. Fret not my friends, this game just like any other football game and can be played in the usual camera perspective of games like Madden. The first-person perspective is only a feature, which you can toggle on and off. But if you really want a challenge, keep it on.
First person perspective puts you right into the helmet of any player on the field. This gives you the most life-like simulation of actually being in there with the big boys. When you choose to be the quarterback and stand there looking into Warren Sapp's face before you hike the ball is really incredible; and somewhat scary too. When the other team punts the ball to you and you are the only guy standing there with five savage beasts running to knock you down as if you were looking through your own eyes, you really feel that this game can't give a better simulation of getting bruised up on the football field. Even though First-Person mode can take a while to get used to, it is a blast after you master it. If you want to play some real football but it's 5 degrees outside and you don't want to turn into a human icicle, turn this game on and play in First-Person mode; it's practically the same thing.
This game has a lot more stuff that is just as cool as First-Person mode. For instance, you have good old Franchise Mode, in which you take a team through as many seasons as you want and manage every aspect of your team. From trading players to receiving e-mails, you are the manager. What will probably push you to play this game the most is your Crib. Your Crib is your hang-out place with a home theater system, a hot tub, a bar, and a game room. Sounds great right? Well, to some extent it is, even though you have to unlock every single thing inside your crib. Your Crib has a trophy case and a bobble-head showcase in which you will want to collect every trophy and bobble-head to show off your game. There are three unlockable mini-games in your Crib as well; they are Paper Football, Air Hockey, and an NFL Trivia game. These are very fun games, but take a lot of work to unlock.
Overall, ESPN NFL Football has the best gameplay of any football game on the market, no doubt.
Graphics
By now you have to be tired of the same Madden models from year to year with no improvements. Well let me tell you, you aren't going to need improvements with graphics on this game. This game easily boasts the best player models of any game on the market. The stadiums look just like the real stadiums, and out of the NFL stadiums I have been to, this game matches them all exactly. Even watching your player get tackled makes you seriously feel like you are watching football. They perfectly mimic the moves of a struggling player going for the extra yard. The menus are wonderful, everything looks very smooth and sharp and the frame-rate is top notch with no video lag.
In First-Person mode you can't even imagine a better image from the helmet view. Everything looks so real it is scary. Dirt kicks up off player's cleats, and rain makes the field look soggy. This game has the best graphics in any sports game, they are untouchable by any other game in its class.
Sometimes I about how long I have had my PS2, I got it the first day it released. So the system is a senior citizen compared to the GameCube and Xbox. I could never imagine that the good old PS2 could deliver graphics that match the Xbox when it comes to sports games. It's happened though.
Fun Factor
Possibly the greatest thing about this game is that it will keep you going for a pretty long time with so many items to get and new stuff to uncover. To complete 100% of your Crib it would take at least 500 hours of gameplay because you get certain rewards for playing the game for a certain number of hours. To get the last reward, you are required to total 500 hours on your memory card. Sounds crazy, but if you are like me you'll reach that in 2 weeks.
Some challenges in this game are so difficult it's mind boggling, like keeping your opponent to 0 or less total yards to get a Julius Peppers bobble-head doll for your collection. Because of the number of things you can do and items you can unlock and interact with, this game should last a very long time...unless you just get bored of it, but you won't. I don't think that is possible.
Overall
To close this review of probably the greatest football game ever I want to make it short and sweet.
Madden is better? Hell no. Go buy this game now.
- Gameplay
10.0 - Graphics
10.0 - Fun Factor
10.0 - Overall
10.0
