Well folks this is it. The football game that will end all football games. Well at least till next year when the sequel will hit the shelves. I just don't know how to describe this game. It has everything a football fanatic would want and a non-football fanatic would want. It's got trades, create a player, create a team, season modes, exhibition modes, fantasy drafts, even a practice mode to sharpen your NFL skills. Believe me you're gonna need em'. It's all here and its all for the taking. It's got graphics to die for and the gameplay is awesome. This is easily the best football game out there. Visual Concepts has done an excellent job.
It's Just Like TV!
The first thing that comes to my mind and most likely yours is the awesome graphics. You know you're in 128-bit country now after you've played this. You just can't go back to 32-bit again. It's TV style presentation really made me feel like I was in the game. After each play you do, you see the players get up as if you were watching a real game. I kept on thinking to myself, is this a real game or what? That's how good the graphics are. Each players animation is right on too. They are modeled by a skeletal system which tells how each person will get hit, where they will fall and how hard they will get hit. The animation is fantastic. The player models are equally impressive as well. All the players are different according to their real life counterparts. You can tell say, Jerome Bettis from another running back like Terrel Davis. Each player will have different helmets and most have different faces telling you which player is which. But not all the players have these, most likely the least known players. As soon as you play this game you will experience spectacular one-handed grabs and bone-crunching tackles. Heck even the referees look good as they were motion captured. The fields and the stadiums are great too. Each stadium is meticoulously rendered as if you were right on the field. You can even see some of the cityscapes in the background of some stadiums. I especially like the ship in the stadium in the Buccaneers stadium. The people in the stadium are cardboard cutout also with the players on the sideline. It's kind of dissapointing, but who cares for now. Maybe next years version. The field acts like you're playing in a real game. As the players trod down the field for like the eighth time the field will get brown in the places where the most happened. This is especially true in rainy games. Plus you can even see the footprints on the grass! So you can say this game has the best graphics on a football game to date.
How About the Gameplay?
This wouldn't be a football game without the gameplay now, wouldn't it? Well does it deliver on this department? Uh.....GIMME A HELL YA! The gameplay in this game isn't like all the other football games out there. Remember the first 16-bit and 32-bit games out there? Everytime you passed the ball you had to manually move your reciever to the X? You'd always jump for the ball to catch it and never have a chance to run for much afterwords. Well its different in NFL 2K. The ball moves where the player moves. Not the other way around. Plus you don't have to jump everytime to catch it. The player will move with the ball as the player is in stride. Just like in the real NFL. I found that especially cool. There is also Maximum passing system. It's like Gameday's total control passing. Which means you can throw the ball a little to the left or the right depending where the defender is located at, or overthrow the ball or underthrow the ball. It's great if you want precision passing. Though it took me a little while to get used to. There is also a special move function. This just makes the hit that much more harder. You have to charge up the move my holding down the A button and wait for someone to come and BAM! Mashed potatoes. It was hard to get the timing down to use the special moves so I actually barely use it myself.
Does That Sound Like Breaking Bones?
The sound is equally impressive as the game's graphics. It has a two man commentary that will amaze and astound you. They will talk about the players, the weather, the teams, the plays, and they'll even talk about each other, laugh, and sometimes even insult themselves. It's great. But once after you play the game like a million times, You'll hear almost all the one-liners and it won't be as exciting to hear anymore. The commentary is good while it lasts. The in-games sounds are great. You'll hear players get hit as they go down and the sounds from the line of scrimmage as the offensive linemen try to not get their quarterback injured. There are so many grunts and bone-rattling sounds that you're living room will shake. The crowd noise is good too, but most of it has been heard before. You'll hear the crowd chanting defense and when the visiting team is about to kick a field goal you'll the crowd chant, block that kick. There is also an in-game PA announcer. He adds atmosphere to the game that isn't found anywhere. Now that really makes you feel like you're in the game.
Overall
This is the best football game out there. Great graphics, awesome sound and gameplay. Plus the AI will keep you busy for hours trying to figure out what it'll do next. Buy this game. That's all I ask.
--Alvin
Graphics: 9.9
Sound: 9.8
Gameplay: 8.9
Satisfaction: 9.1
Overall: 9.7
