When the Dreamcast came out in September of 1999, the first game that caught my attention was the amazing NFL 2K. Being a long-standing John Madden Football junkie (still am), the DC didn't really appeal to me because EA Sports wasn't a developer on the system. But one the pictures of NFL 2K were so awe-inspiring that I had to check it out.
So in November of 1999, I got a Dreamcast, along with NBA 2K and WWF Attitude (shudder), I picked up NFL 2K. I got home, set it up and popped it in. The menu screens turned me off at the beginning, as they are kind of clunky and hard to navigate at first. I set up an exhibition game between Cleveland and Chicago (the only team the Bears could beat!). When the actual game finally started, the first words that came out of my mouth were "holy sh...!", it was unbelievable how pretty this game looked. The stadiums were very well detailed, the fields looked accurate, the players themselves were darn-near real, with moving eyes and clear names on the jerseys, so it's easy to guess which which is which. Many, many times I sat there in total awe of it all.
The usual features are here: exhibition, season, playoffs, player creating, and deep stat tracking. Yet, there is one thing lacking that really upset me: no Franchise mode. NFL 2K's competitors (if games on different platforms are competitors), NFL Gameday 2000 and Madden 2000, each have some form of a Franchise mode, with Madden being the deepest. Hopefully for NFL 2K1 a Franchise mode will be included. Come on, if it will have internet play there better be a Franchise mode!
The sound is very good. Two good announcers (can't remember the names), with a lot of different things to say, but considering how many times I have played this, I have heard everything once or twice. The crowd is also great, booing when the visitor scores and cheering wildly when the home team scores. It really does feel like the actual NFL experience (menu music is cheesy though).
Control is also solid. You can only use the analog stick, so that takes getting used to (trust me you will look silly trying to make your man run with the d-pad, I know from experience). But the stick is good and the man you are controlling responds well, almost too well. Sometimes though, you will over run a pass from the quarterback and drop it, even if you are in the exact same position and caught it the play before. Outside of that, no real problems with the control. It is very tight.
NFL 2K's play calling process is innovative though. You can use the VMU to hide your plays from a human opponent, so they can't see what you call. Problem is, it only tells you the name of the play and not the pattern. You definitely need to know the patterns for each play, or at least recognize them. If you don't use the VMU, the play calling process can be difficult. It seems very clunky picking plays off of the screen, it can be hard to find a good play. But, you can get used to it, so it's no problem.
The only other real flaw with NFL 2K is the difficulty. Rookie is very easy as it should be. But you take it the next level, it gets way too hard. For example, on rookie I was leading 31-0 at half one game. The second half I bumped it to medium, and by the end of the third it was 31-28. I got negative yards running every play and barely could complete a pass. I know Sega want's it to be difficult, but that's ridiculous.
But that really doesn't bother me. It is still a very enjoyable game, that once you get past the pretty graphics, you will see a tight playing game with solid controls and good gameplay. The difficulty may make you want to pull your hair out, but just be patient. And if you want a football game for Dreamcast, what else is there? Oh, NFL Quarterback Club 2000. Like I said, no competition on DC in the football game market. It's not Madden, but it is still better than the rest.
Why watch the game on TV when you can be right there on the turf, delivering bullet passes and bone-crushing tackles along side the pros? Dreamcast no...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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