Xbox

ESPN NFL Football

ESPN NFL Football earns kudos as a masterful effort. It literally redefines itself within the span of one videogame football season and is a worthy preseason Pro Bowl pick. If this game can?t get you excited about pro football, you must be a Cardinals fan.

ESPN NFL Football is truly the best playing football game available for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The responsive controls and gameplay mechanics are better than any other NFL football game available. That said, if you're a fan of the off-the-field options and gameplay modes found in Madden, you might find that ESPN's franchise mode, and other options, come up a bit short on the simulation side of things. Ultimately, though, the two games have pretty different styles that will appeal to different players. Fans of previous NFL 2K games will love ESPN NFL Football, while fans of Madden will probably still go with Madden. If you're on the fence, trying out both games is really the only way to know for sure, though you absolutely can't go wrong if you go straight for ESPN NFL Football.

For those who have been waiting patiently for ESPN NFL Football, the extra time was worth it. This is the tightest offering of the series to date, with improved AI--especially in the passing game-- and loads of features. In fact, the only thing that may be slightly disappointing is that the Franchise Mode, aside from better overall trade AI and player progression, seems very similar to last year's offering--certainly not the kind of leap that Madden made with the addition of Owner Mode. But it's a great package nonetheless, and NFL 2K faithful will again have something to brag about.

ESPN Football finally gives Sega a football title that doesn’t stand in the shadows of EA’s Madden franchise. With its improved gameplay, incredible presentation, and online capabilities, it’s definitely one of the top football choices for the Xbox.

Add Xbox Live support to the mix and you have the recipe for a great football game, with practically unlimited replay value. I can honestly say this is, by far, the best playing and most polished game in the entire NFL2K series. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a newcomer, this game deserves your attention.

The online features improve upon last year's cheat fest, so you can assure a fair game online. The first-person mode is boring, despite the polished gameplay. It's nothing more than a novelty. Luckily the solid football series you come to expect from Sega still shines despite being in the shadow of EA's depth with the Madden franchise.

Während das ohnehin über jeden Zweifel erhabene Gameplay nur an einigen wenigen Stellen aufpoliert wurde, sorgt im Einzelspielermodus das neue Crib-Feature für frischen Wind. Statt Sammelkarten wie bei Madden gibt es für besondere Leistungen auf dem Spielfeld neue Gegenstände für die eigene Luxusbude. So können Sie beispielsweise einen Air-Hockey-Automaten erspielen. Auf dem Spielfeld ist die zusätzliche Ego-Perspektive ein witziges Gimmick. Die exzellente Xbox-Live-Unterstützung rundet das beste Football-Spiel für die Xbox ab.

In the end this game is about the best football game you can expect until next year when they can fix things under the new license. The gameplay itself does not particularly shine, but the graphics are second to none, the first person view mode makes this completely different then any other title on the market

Sega and Visual Concepts have really stepped up the game once again this year. And people might actually give this game a look because instead of it saying Sega Sports on it, it actually says ESPN. As much as there are some excellent things about this game that really shows the commitment to the franchise for Sega, there are a couple of major gameplay issues I mentioned that keep this from being the only football game I'll play this year. As I thought when I started playing them both, I will play ESPN as a "pick up" game, and play Fever as my league and serious football game. Believe me, it's not a slight at ESPN NFL Football at all.

Ultimately ESPN Football is a very good game, but not good enough this season to beat Madden unless you own an Xbox and are dying to play online. If ESPN wants to compete with an EA Franchise that has made some serious leaps and bounds this year, they’re going to have to buckle down in the off-season, tighten up their offense and maybe learn some new plays on defense.

This is one of best-looking games of any genre I have played for a while. It really does look that good. I never thought that another football game would come between me and my beloved Madden. And, while I am not going to toss out my copy of Madden just yet, this game will get a lot of time in the rotation. Which game should you spend your hard earned cash on? It is really too close to call. My advice -- middle of the road as it is -- is to rent both and see which one fits your style of play the best. You can't really go wrong with either.