Next-gen Madden killer!
This game, while lacking current NFL teams and players, manages to still make the teams and players worth playing as. Unlike the Arena Football game, where you have no clue who is who and star power is non-existent, the presence of NFL hall of famers and not quite hall of fame stars is almost more enjoyable than playing with the real players of today. Imagine Gale Sayers in the backfield behind Steve Young, with Andre Reed going out for passes, or "The Fridge", Dick Butkus, and Too Tall Jones all coming at you on D. The possibilities are endless.
Not to mention the gameplay is much more realistic than the recent incarnation of the Madden game. While the running game could use a little tweaking, the game as a whole never feels as clumsy as next-gen Madden. People may say, "Well last years Madden was the first on the new consoles, its going to get better." Remember, this is not only the first football game for the 2K guys on the next-gen consoles, its also their first in 3 years, and its still better than Madden.
Play selection is one thing thats always been great about the 2K franchise. When on defense, you select a formation, whether 4-3, 4-4, Bear, etc. Then you select what the linemen do, followed by what the secondary does. This gives you much more freedom than the preset plays of Madden. Selecting audibles coudn't be easier, you press a button, it brings up your plays. You pick one of them, you run your play. Done and done.
The replays are amazing as well. But, come on, every game has replay features now-a-days, what makes these so special? The Halftime report and end of game report are what make the replays great. During the halftime report, the commentator perfectly summarizes the half while the highlights from the previous half are shown. This is really fun to add some more trash talk to that insanely long run from earlier or those two gut wrenching interceptions.
EA has gotten comfortable in the top spot because they don't have any NFL competition, but you know what, here comes the number one contender, and it's not even an NFL game. Now we just have to wait for EA's ridiculously long contract with the NFL to expire...
and oh yeah, Rush on the soundtrack? Niiiice. I couldn't take much more of the crap Madden's been shipping with (except for the NFL Films music, which is always classic).