Pros: Visually gorgeous, Easy and Fun to play, More realistic action
Cons: Hard core Madden fans may find it too arcade like
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a fun football game, that isn't too arcade-like -- yet still easy to play and beautiful to watch -- your wait is over.
Ok, so maybe the title of my Epinion was a little over the top... you can tell that it's still a computer game, but just barely.
(I've been playing this game for only a week so I'll have to come back and add more reactions and opinions on the game, but this is a good start!!)
With NFL Fever 2002, Microsoft has tried to fill in the gaps where EA's Madden series has left off. This game is a great blend of coachability, realism, and playability.
THE GAME
Ok, this is just a football game, afterall... so how original can this be? You start by picking the teams to play in the game (all NFL teams are there, plus a bonus "expansion" team). You go through a coin toss, kick off, various plays, and proceed through 4 quarters of play. Whoever scores the most points wins... You can play a full season, individual exhibition games, or just hit the practice field. No big surprises here. Where this game excels is in the interface, realism, and graphics.
** The Interface **
Using all buttons on the control pad, you can do actions like juke left/right, jump, spin, dive, gain a turbo boost, etc. It's all pretty intuitive actually, and you can learn the buttons in about 5 minutes of play. You use the left analog stick to maneuver your player and depending on whether you're on offense or defense you can pass, juke, tackle, dive, etc. by using the 6 buttons on the right side of the controller and the two trigger buttons. Players are very responsive to the controls.
When you're picking a play to execute you start by selecting the formation you want, then the specific formation variation (3 WR or 4 WR? for instance), and finally the play. All players on your team are active during a play, although from the play selection screen it is apparent that the play is designed for a specific individual. Each receiver is assigned a certain color button, and passing the ball to them is as simple as hiking the ball and then pressing their color button. One of my pet peeves from other football games is that once I choose my play I sometimes forget the full set of options I have. In Fever you can simply press the Yellow button before hiking the ball and get an ariel view of your play -- complete with routes and button colors of receivers. If you don't like the way the defense is lined up you can simply call an audible (selecting from one of three plays you've defined ahead of time as your audible plays).
Defense is similar in that you also pick a formation and then a play, and then before the ball is in play you can view the player assignments. In both offense and defense play selection the first option that comes up the "Recommended" plays, so if you don't have any idea whether you should run or pass try those plays.
The kicking interface has always been a factor for me. Sometimes it's easy/too easy, and sometimes it's just not intuitive. In Fever it's just about right. When lining up to kick (any kind of kick) a big white arrow pivots around the ball in the direction of the kick (think of a clock hand moving from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock and back). The closer you are to the endzone, the faster the arrow moves. Press the button once to initiate the play, and the arrow starts to "fill up" with red -- indicating kick power. The closer to the top of the arrow, the more powerful the kick. Simply press the button again to kick, but don't take too long to press it because the defensive rush is coming!
When in Replay mode you can maneuver anywhere around the field; keying the camera on a particular player, location, or the ball. You can zoom in and out, pan around, change your angle of view, camera height, etc. It's very impressive, and very easy to use. I didn't even have to look at the manual because all the controls for forward, reverse, and slo-mo are right there on the screen.
** The Realism & Graphics**
The realism in this game is incredible. You think you're actually watching an NFL game. The elapsed time for a play to unfold is realistic. The speed of the players is realistic, and varies with the attributes of the players.
You see an unprecedented level of detail in the game as well. You see fabric textures in the flow of the player jerseys. You see INDIVIDUAL blades of grass on the ground (or astroturf). When it snows in Green Bay, you see snow on the ground -- AND BETTER YET(!) when a player runs across a patch of snow you see actual footprints (and they stay the remainder of the game). When it's sunny out and you're playing on the grass at FedEx Field in Washington DC you see the players develop grass stains or mud stains on their uniforms -- as their uniforms get progressively more dirty throughout the game.
Individual players have their own trademark moves/celebratory dances, etc. When they make a big play they do these moves for you, and you even hear players trash talking (in a clean way) to other players -- taunting is great!!
The crowd and the stadiums are realistic depictions, and not just flat, blurry blocks of people cheering for their teams... They look like actual individual people.
Another great example of the sharp detail is when you do a replay and zoom in on the football itself. You can see individual pebble texture of the ball, and you can read all the text on the ball. It's almost scary...
Statistics are kept on each player throughout the game and throughout the season. Supposedly the productivity of the players changes with the performance of the player statistically, but I haven't noticed this significantly impacting the game yet.
MULTIPLAYER
There are multiplayer aspects of the game as well. You can play against or with your buddies (up to four at a time), and statistics can be kept on individual gamer profiles. I don't believe you can play NFL Fever 2002 across multiple Xbox's -- yet.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I have heard from some die-hard Madden fans that this came does not quite match the statistical accuracy of Madden Football. I have not played Madden enough to know if what they say is true, but I definitely can believe it. NFL Fever is not for the statistician in all of us. It was designed for those people who want an easy to play, yet fun, football simulation where they can knock some heads on the gridiron without strapping on a helmet.
This item is BRAND NEW and factory fresh (sealed if applicable). This item is NOT returned or refurbished. May have store or price stickers affixed., ...More at Amazon Marketplace
YOU ARE BIDDING ON: the GREATEST MICROSOFT XBOX GAME EVER RELEASED!It is ULTRA RARE HIGHLY DESIRED by any GAME COLLECTOR! *UNLIKE the rest of the NEW ...More at eBay
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