Wednesday, August 04, 2004
You don't have to run and hide away
I see our fans have been clamoring for more gaming opinions, so I am happy to oblige by writing a little something about the game I have been playing for the last week: NFL2K5. Yes, this is a sports game, so for those of you averse to hearing about games involving balls, please bear with me.
I have been trying to figure out how to write about this game since I first popped it in my Xbox. The game is fun, no question there. It is absolutely gorgeous, or at least as sexy as 300 pound men can be, and has some of the best sound in any sports game I have ever played. It has a ton of options and different memorabilia to earn (unfortunately, no Monkey Fables, though) and the best online mode of any game I have played.
But, the game plays exactly like previous NFL2Ks. Seeing as this is my favorite NFL franchise you would think this would be a very good thing indeed, and it is… for a while. The problems this game has, though, are the same problems found in the first game of the series released five years ago. So, while I dance with joy when things are running smoothly and the game is living up to its enormous potential, I turn manic depressive on this thing in a heartbeat as its evil soul awakens from sleep.
For instance, this game once again gives receivers the uncanny ability to drop any and every pass thrown their way. In double coverage along the sideline: drop. Coming out of the backfield in the flat: drop. Running a seam up the middle: drop. One handed, diving, tipped passes: all dropped. Wide open in the middle of a zone: dropped. 90% of incomplete passes thrown in this game are the result of blatant drops. This does not happen in real life.
The only other major problem with this game is the worst AI since Defender. Offensive lineman will sometimes completely forget to block a person directly in front of them, resulting in a quarterback sack some 3 tenths of a second into plays. Fullbacks leading the way for Halfbacks will run past an unblocked linebacker to double team a tackle falling down 10 yards away from the play. Wide receivers twice the size of their cornerback counterparts will get thrown to the ground like a crippled retard any time they go against one another.
Oh, and don’t even get me started on route running in this game. You would think if a wide receiver is supposed to run across the middle of the field they will do just that. I wish I had video footage available to show just how ridiculous this simple task gets, but you’ll just have to trust what I tell you. There are many times when a WR will be open in the middle of the field. I will hit the corresponding button to pass to them and then, just as I release the ball, the WR will turn abruptly in the opposite direction. Has this ever happened in real life? Even one time?
The game is still fun, though. Playing online with friends, where you can bitch to them about how retarded the game is, has instantly become the focus of my life. There is nothing quite like coming back from 5 down in the closing seconds to beat some trash talking punk from Ohio.
I just remembered a piece I wrote a few years back. I was desperately trying to get on the staff of a now defunct website and submitted a review for NFL2K1. I loved that game too, but the flaws were so obvious my review centered mostly on the inexcusable negative aspects of the game. I submitted this review in the hopes I would be hired to write full time. The editor in charge happened to love the game in question and, apparently, promptly discarded my work. It took the love of a truly great game: Soul Calibur, almost a year later, to bring out my passion in an appropriate enough way to be hired. I could easily post my NFL2K1 review on this site and all of my complaints will still be relevant. If I can scrounge it up from the depths of hard drive hell I will post it, giving more in depth analysis of the problems in NFL2K5, while showing just how ridiculous Visual Concepts is for not updating their game in almost half a decade.
So, in conclusion, the game is fun, but severely flawed. If they would just let me help them, show them that Charlie Garner is 30 years old and could not possibly overpower a linebacker. Make them understand how it is not fun to watch wide open WRs drop passes on 4th down. If I could just help them clean up this game a little bit we would have video game perfection. As it is, though, we have the perfect appetizer for God’s gift to sports. Best $20 I ever spent.
I have been trying to figure out how to write about this game since I first popped it in my Xbox. The game is fun, no question there. It is absolutely gorgeous, or at least as sexy as 300 pound men can be, and has some of the best sound in any sports game I have ever played. It has a ton of options and different memorabilia to earn (unfortunately, no Monkey Fables, though) and the best online mode of any game I have played.
But, the game plays exactly like previous NFL2Ks. Seeing as this is my favorite NFL franchise you would think this would be a very good thing indeed, and it is… for a while. The problems this game has, though, are the same problems found in the first game of the series released five years ago. So, while I dance with joy when things are running smoothly and the game is living up to its enormous potential, I turn manic depressive on this thing in a heartbeat as its evil soul awakens from sleep.
For instance, this game once again gives receivers the uncanny ability to drop any and every pass thrown their way. In double coverage along the sideline: drop. Coming out of the backfield in the flat: drop. Running a seam up the middle: drop. One handed, diving, tipped passes: all dropped. Wide open in the middle of a zone: dropped. 90% of incomplete passes thrown in this game are the result of blatant drops. This does not happen in real life.
The only other major problem with this game is the worst AI since Defender. Offensive lineman will sometimes completely forget to block a person directly in front of them, resulting in a quarterback sack some 3 tenths of a second into plays. Fullbacks leading the way for Halfbacks will run past an unblocked linebacker to double team a tackle falling down 10 yards away from the play. Wide receivers twice the size of their cornerback counterparts will get thrown to the ground like a crippled retard any time they go against one another.
Oh, and don’t even get me started on route running in this game. You would think if a wide receiver is supposed to run across the middle of the field they will do just that. I wish I had video footage available to show just how ridiculous this simple task gets, but you’ll just have to trust what I tell you. There are many times when a WR will be open in the middle of the field. I will hit the corresponding button to pass to them and then, just as I release the ball, the WR will turn abruptly in the opposite direction. Has this ever happened in real life? Even one time?
The game is still fun, though. Playing online with friends, where you can bitch to them about how retarded the game is, has instantly become the focus of my life. There is nothing quite like coming back from 5 down in the closing seconds to beat some trash talking punk from Ohio.
I just remembered a piece I wrote a few years back. I was desperately trying to get on the staff of a now defunct website and submitted a review for NFL2K1. I loved that game too, but the flaws were so obvious my review centered mostly on the inexcusable negative aspects of the game. I submitted this review in the hopes I would be hired to write full time. The editor in charge happened to love the game in question and, apparently, promptly discarded my work. It took the love of a truly great game: Soul Calibur, almost a year later, to bring out my passion in an appropriate enough way to be hired. I could easily post my NFL2K1 review on this site and all of my complaints will still be relevant. If I can scrounge it up from the depths of hard drive hell I will post it, giving more in depth analysis of the problems in NFL2K5, while showing just how ridiculous Visual Concepts is for not updating their game in almost half a decade.
So, in conclusion, the game is fun, but severely flawed. If they would just let me help them, show them that Charlie Garner is 30 years old and could not possibly overpower a linebacker. Make them understand how it is not fun to watch wide open WRs drop passes on 4th down. If I could just help them clean up this game a little bit we would have video game perfection. As it is, though, we have the perfect appetizer for God’s gift to sports. Best $20 I ever spent.
// posted by Tom @ 3:57 PM 
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