NFL Head Coach

The Good
Perhaps the best part of NFL Head Coach is that the game allows you to play from a different perspective. Instead of being tasked with scoring touch downs, players now have to be in charge of the functioning of an NFL team and attempting to guide them to victory.

The game aims for a more realistic tone as far as coaching goes. Players must apply for jobs to get to work for a team and must always be answering the questions of your superiors. Also taking into account is if your players can actually execute the plays you give them, and the task of having to go to plan B at a moments notice is what helps this game to stand on its own.

The Bad
Due to the fact that you are standing on the sidelines instead of facing down linebackers on the grid iron, NFL head coach doesn't seem to follow what exactly makes football video games fun in the first place. Gamers trade in the field for an office, and their should pads for a clip board and head set. While it may be nice getting to call lots of the shots, for the most part, this is a backwards move that seems to take control out of your hands as much as possible.

Often times, just telling your players what to do can lead to aggravating results. If you do not follow the game's advice on which plays to do, you will not succeed and may end up looking like a jerk in front of millions of people. Since following the game's advice is the only clear cut way to victory, because you can't control players, the game doesn't really make you feel like you're making any important decisions on the field, where it counts. And not to mention the fact that since you are not controlling players, you have to always pray that they don't mess up since you can't count on them for anything.

Compared to previous and current NFL titles that have allowed you to create your own teams, players, and rosters, Head Coach is lacking on all accounts. There is no "Create-A" options to speak of, the ability to customize and name your own coach is pathetically shallow.

The Bottom Line
Though coaches have become just as famous as the players they have led to victory, overall EA treats the job as no more than a menu surfer. You sit in the office, do a countless number of tasks, listen to countless meetings, and answer dumb questions, then finally get to take the field and get to enjoy watching the game from the sidelines while 'hoping' your players can do things right.

For those who are contemplating playing this title, give this exercise a try before you do so: Instead of playing the latest Madden NFL, have your friend play as you shout commands to him and see how much fun that would be. Because that is pretty much all you will do in NFL Head Coach, minus the friend.