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ESPN NFL Football |
by Chad
9/26/2003 |
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By CJ Beckham
ESPN NFL Football. To average gamers, it is a new concept. To the more in-depth gamer, it’s the Sega 2K series reborn. The 2K series of football games has received critical acclaim at every turn, and Sega appears to be quite proud of the work they’ve done.
This year, Sega Sports NFL 2K3 has included one of the things that have made EA’s Madden Football series what it is, and that is a big name sponsor. Right down to the menus, the game has the look and feel of ESPN. The opening menu has you selecting your mode from the Sportscenter set, and you even get the Pre, Post, and Halftime shows, all of which look fantastic from start to finish.
ESPN NFL Football has the typical 2K Series graphics. They aren’t the best looking graphics this year, but they certainly aren’t the worst. The players actually have different faces and body styles, as opposed to many other football games. The power running backs look larger and more intimidating than the runners who rely more on finesse. The jerseys are comparable to the real thing, including the breathing holes in the mesh.
Another big factor in sports games are the action and player animations. While some games rely on a small number of animations, ESPN Football has so many I have yet to see them all. I’m introduced to a new celebration, dance, taunt, or reaction from the fans with every game I play. Speaking of fans, this game actually focuses on them. When the away team scores a touchdown, the home fans are going to let you know they aren’t happy. When the home team scores, you may just get a special dance from the cheerleaders on the sideline. You pass by pushing one of the four letter buttons, or you can try to let the quarterback run the ball by pulling and holding the right trigger.
 
One of my favorite features of this game is the defensive moves to stop the offense in their tracks, and the offensive moves to drive past the defense. For example, you decide to run the ball, only to be met with a very large man who doesn’t like your plan. What do you do? Juke around them or try to run into them with a shoulder charge. Well, I’m sure thinking, “Didn’t you just say a large man?” Well, yes, I did. You can now charge your player and push one of the corresponding action buttons to increase the power of your move, so you player may be able to knock your enemy to his knees.
There are a few different modes of gameplay in ESPN Football:- Season – Play a season as your favorite team and try to rise to the top.
- Franchise – A more in-depth season, you get to draft players, and do the typical owner routine. Note: No, this isn’t as in-depth as the Madden Owner’s Mode.
- Tournament – This one is pretty self-explanatory. Play through a tournament and try to show the fans who to watch for.
- Situation – Recreate specific game scenarios with complete control over the score, clock, yardage and possession.
Of course, if you’re not ready to go straight into the game, just head to the Practice menu, where you can learn the basic moves, scrimmage against a defense, or read a reference guide with everything from terms to explanations of plays.
 
One thing I can’t go without mentioning here is the amazing First Person Football. This feature has been attempted before, only to come off in a disappointing way. I can honestly say Sega has wowed me with this feature. It does take some getting used to, but it is amazingly realistic and fun. There are a few flaws, but for the first attempt, I say, “The feature is up, it’s good!”
As I said earlier, the game gets ESPN down to the nitty-gritty. When you first turn on the game, you’re greeted to the Sportscenter set with, that’s right, the Sportscenter theme.
Let’s face it; the first thing you’re going to do when you turn this game on is go see the bare-boned Crib. When you first enter, you’re greeted to a few rap songs, followed by a few rock songs, which play in loops. You can go to the Jukebox here to set your own custom soundtrack with the songs provided in the game, or you can rip your own soundtrack from your Xbox.
 
Level Design
You know what the levels are in this game, but I know your concern: Do the stadiums look realistic? Well, yes and no. The stadiums seem to be very close to the real-life counterparts, but as I said earlier, this is definitely not the top game on the market as far as graphics are concerned. I can honestly say I think you’ll be okay with them, since the only time you really see the entire stadium is before and after the game.
Immersion
Many sports games rely on the fans of the sport to succeed. Hey, it’s football, and if you bought this game, chances are you love football just as much as the next guy. I got home, fought the game out of its plastic prison, and went to work. After what I thought was thirty minutes had passed, I checked my playing time and saw over two hours! Once you get started, you can’t stop. Sure, you’d think you’d get bored after a while, but when you have all the secret mini-games and goodies waiting to be unlocked, you’ll be surprised when you see how long you can really go.
This game keeps me playing, almost as if it were virtual crack. If you get bored playing the AI, so what? You can jump online and kick some butt from across the country. With Xbox Live, you’ll be good to go for a very long time.
Live Features
With Xbox Live up and running for almost a year now, people have become accustomed to having Live in their games. Be honest, you wouldn’t buy this game without Live, would you? I didn’t think so. This game has the typical Live features of a sports game. You can head first into a quick match, or you can take some time and set up an OptiMatch to avoid getting crushed. You can set up your own game, invite your friend to it, or you could always barge in on some lonely guy waiting for a match.
Polish
Face the facts; no game comes complete without bugs. As far as in game goes, I’ve yet to see anything that hampers the feel of the game. That’s a definite positive, considering the major bug-ridden games we’ve seen this year. However, the one glitch I have heard of seems to turn off many Live gamers. Apparently, after you finish a game and try to go start a new one, or even go to the main Live menu, the game freezes, forcing you to restart your Xbox and the game. I can’t personally vouch for this, because I have yet to experience it.
Replayability
Again, it’s a football game. It doesn’t get old with roster updates coming from Live and a few good friends. Football games like this one tend to keep you going just long enough to survive the wait for next year. With the chance to keep your team going in season after season after season, you’ll have a hard time growing tired of it.
I haven’t got bored with it yet, but the game has only been out for a week.
Difficulty/Challenge
ESPN NFL Football has a level of difficulty for everyone, and I mean it when I say it. If you’re a football gaming n00b who can’t handle the tutorial, you can slap on the Easy difficulty and feel like a gaming great. If you’re like me and prefer a bit of a challenge, but not to get beat down by the computer, slap on Pro and you’re set. Got some gaming grapefruits? Change the level to All-Pro and watch as you get torn to shreds or get the best challenge you’ve ever had. But alas, there is one more option: Custom. You can set the intelligence of the AI and your own team to whatever you please if the preset levels aren’t your style.
Wow factor
Sports games are my area, and it generally takes a heck of a game to get me going. With so many games by so many developers to choose from, you sometimes can spend up to twenty dollars just renting games you hope are good, then another fifty if you like it that much. Well folks, after reading the things I’ve read on this game, I bought it on blind faith. I can honestly say, I’m glad I did. This is one of the best football games I have ever played, and Sega has already won me over for next year’s game.
Graphics - 8
Overall, I give the graphics for this game a solid 8.
Sound - 8
The sound comes in very clear, whether you’re listening to the jams in your crib or the referee call penalties. That is a big positive for people like me who are forced to use mere stereo sound. So, for the experience I get from the game in this category, sound gets an 8.
Gameplay - 9
The gameplay for ESPN Football is really all you could expect from a football game. I give gameplay a solid 9.
Overall - 9
This category gets an awesome 9. What are you doing still sitting around reading this? Go get this game now!
Related News, Images & Links
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HOVA-187
Heckler
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ESPN 2K4 is the most realistic football game available. This
game was reborn again and came back with a vegence. Im glad
I waited for ESPN 2K4.................
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Mr. Big Black Box
X365 Member
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ESPN IS THE BEST FOOTBALL GAME THIS YEAR, PERIOD!
I RENTED ALL THREE AND ESPN IS #1!
YOU CANNOT BEAT THE FURST PERSON FOOTBALL ANYWHERE! I CANNOT BELIEVE THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT WENT INTO THIS GAME! LEAVES THE COMP. SACKED IN THE END ZONE FOR A SAFTEY! =)
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IP: i.am.a.member
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Livan
Heckler
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I too had the "Freezing" problem with ESPN after playing an Xbox Live game. I emailed techsupport@espnvideogames.com and they responded the very next day with this ...
"The problem is caused by Dobly Digital. You can fix the problem by disabling the DD5.1 from the Xbox´s dashboard.
-Go to the Xbox Dashboard (Pop the tray, select Dashboard)
-Go to Settings
-Go to Audio
-Disable Dolby Digital
-Restart the Xbox with game inside.
We are currently working on a patch to fix this problem and it should be updated soon via Xbox Live Patch soon."
Thank you techsupport. They showed (to me at least) that they care about their product and their supporters. Great Job !!!
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*Grampa Game*
X365 Member
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great story Levan.
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RFC
Heckler
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SEGA ROCK LAST TOO
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RFC
Heckler
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OOSH I MEAN LAST YEAR TOO.
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masterchief1028
Heckler
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SO THATS HOW YOU FIX THE PROBLEM WHEN YOU KEEP GETTING KICKED OUT OF THE GAME (NOT BY PLAYES).
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TIMDOG ONLIVE
Heckler
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I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW GOOD THIS GAME COULD BE IF THEY DIDNT HAVE TO KEEP PS2 AND GAMECUBE IN MIND FOR MAKING A PORT. JUST IMAGE WHAT THIS GAME WOULD BE LIKE IF IT WASNT SLOWING ITSELF TO PS2´S STANDARDS. ITS AMAZING NOW, BUT, WOW, YOU CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN. HDTV IS HOT, COME ON PS2 LOVERS, GET OFF THAT CRAP SYSTEM AND JOIN THE JEDI. YOU SITH LOVING INSECTS NEED TO CHANGE YOUR WAYS. JOIN GATES AND THE GREAT ONES. HOLLA BACK ONE TIME FASTER LOAD TIMES TOO.
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Livan
Heckler
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Just to let you know, ESPN Football will be getting an update via Xbox live soon to correct the problem with the freezing / Dolby Digital option so that Dolby Digital can be enabled. Also, the update will address the divigerence issue. I was told that the update will lessen the amount of times an online game will have divigerence. ESPNVideogames cares about us. Go to ESPNVideoganes.com and look at their forums to let them know what you think. Also, include any ideas you might have to make "ESPN Football 2 / NFK2K5" better next year. Now, if only Microsoft would allow ESPN to sponsor online tourneys like it does for the PS2, that would be great! See ya.
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dgtlfnk
Heckler
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I knew this one would be better than the rest. It truly is awesome! I, too, am glad I waited. And it´s not just the fans who agree... the "experts" are rating this one, on average, half a point higher than Madden... and a full point to a point and a half better than Fever.
Good job Sega!
Boycott EA.
... funk... out.
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radgamer1
Heckler
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madden is still the king.
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Madden is the way to go
Heckler
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ESPN gets a 7/10---- Madden 2004 is the way to go 9.5/10--the graphics are much better
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Steve
Heckler
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I´ve gotta tell you, the AI and player ratings on this game are completely screwed up. Unless you think Antowain Smith is the single best running back to ever play the game of football, you´ll realize immediately this game has its shortcomings. For a league based on parity, there are only about 6 good teams in the game. Was this thing programmed by a Patriots fan? conspiracy...
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Ryan
X365 Member
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This game rocks. Let me just clarify though that "Steve" sucks. His real name is Stephanie and she is arguably the worst player of all time. Antowain is excellent in this game and the Patriots are as well- just like it is in something I call "real life". The sad thing is Stepahanie can not win with any team. I beat her myself just last night 50 - 0 and thats no lie.
So don´t take her word for it.
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