Xbox

NFL 2K2

Unlike football purists, there's not much I can personally address in the area of disatisfaction. (There's plenty of highly extensive articles out there which can report such I am sure). I've addressed this title as a casual player, which when it comes to sports games like football, is basically what I am. One has to truly be searching (read: anal retentive) for nitpicks to come up with issues to suggest that NFL 2K2 isn't a solid title. As expressed in the outset of this review, this is the best edition to date. Players that aren't too fond with Madden 2002 will no doubt be fascinated at the package Visual Concepts has served this year. If you've been indecisive as to your choices, get off the sidelines and out to your local retailer and pick this game up.

Too bad NFL 2K2 didn't make it to the Xbox show in time to seriously mix it up with Madden NFL 2002 and NFL Fever 2002. But now, NFL fans aren't going to find a better, classier trio of games for any other system.

I tell ya what, Visual Concept’s Xbox conversion of their premiere sports franchise really threw me for a loop. Why’s this you ask? Having played only the Dreamcast versions of the series, including this one, I never expected such an enhanced, well-playing game. And I’m not just talking about the graphics either. This game is choked full of some nice tidbits that make it a totally different experience from the Dreamcast days.

NFL 2K2 for the Xbox is marginally better looking than its PlayStation 2 counterpart, but it doesn't really take advantage of the Xbox's hardware. Aside from this slightly enhanced visual presentation, the differences between the two versions aren't that noticeable and really only lie in the AI department. The question for Xbox owners of course is whether it's better than NFL Fever 2002--which really comes down to personal taste, since both games are very good.

If Dreamcast owners got the shaft when the significantly improved PlayStation 2 edition of NFL 2K2 came out, then this version might give back a little love – provided they have an Xbox.

NFL2K2 is an exceptional game that gives all its competition a run for its money on the Xbox. Whether you’re new to the series or a long time fan, you should find all the good looks and outstanding gameplay that you’ll need this year.

Well it’s January and Visual Concepts took their sweet time porting over this sweet title to the Xbox. Is it all for naught? No…as NFL 2k2 for the Xbox is a very fine Football game with just a few flaws.

Just because the NFL's regular season is over, that doesn't mean it's too late for Xbox gamers to get fired up all over again for NFL 2K2. When it debuted on the Dreamcast two years ago, the Sega Sports franchise was the first real challenger to Madden's throne with its solid and intuitive gameplay. Now in the year 2K2, NFL 2K2 arrives on the Xbox, as the first Sega title for the system, with the enhanced graphics and improved audio elements like you expect from Microsoft's console.

Sega promises that the game is so real it sweats. Not quite true. Sega Sports NFL 2K2, for the Xbox, is not quite the game it promises to be. To its credit, this game supplies some nice elements, but when stacked up against the football competition for this platform, it comes up short on a fourth-and-inches play.

While the improved running game is a welcome sight, the passing game is downright ridiculous. Way too much luck is involved and this makes the game more of a exercise in frustration. This is really the only thing holding this game back from greatness. With one more year, Sega could easily have the ultimate football game, unless of course, Microsoft tackles them with and even better version of NFL Fever. 2K2 isn't a bad game, and any other year it could've been a contender, but EA and Microsoft pulled out all of the stops this year. It's sad to see that Sega didn't.

In the end, NFL 2K2 might make a decent football game, but it comes nowhere near the glory that Madden has finally recovered after so long. NFL 2K2's three GiN Gem rating is based on the simplicity that it demonstrated, and the frustration that the cheap computer AI exhibits. If you like football, go ahead and get this one. Just don't expect anything too spectacular.