I figured some die-hard Madden fans like myself would like to hear some detailed impressions of ESPN /2K4 Football. Ok, where to begin. So I've played the old school 2K series games on Dreamcast and loved them. But since I've had a PS2 (launch day), I've been dedicated to and have loved Madden. While I agree this year's Madden didn't do too much to improve, I honestly believe it's a great game of football with not much to improve ON. And please, no [censored you naughty boy] comments. Anywho, I tried 2K3 last year and didn't give it enough time because it "wasn't like Madden" and I became frustrated with a few things. BUT, I still wanted something different this year and have been following the progress of 2K4 / ESPN Football since updates began leaking back in like Febrauary/March. I also have to thank Kanobi, since he was a big promoter of this game on MaddenMania... even when everyone gave him crap. Without changing any sliders or default settings, I jumped right into a game. Pro level. Chargers (me) @ Baltimore. Obviously the first thing that grabbed me was the presentation. Awesome use of the ESPN license. It feels like a true broadcast. Pre-game animations are great, pre-game commentary is even better. Stadium looks pretty good... grass is a little too green for my taste, but whatever. I think that also has to do with that new crappy synthetic grass they're using. I win the coin toss and receive. Running back the kick off, I juice my returner up a bit and shoulder charge a defender, leaving him on his back... but only to gain an extra 2 yards as I'm gang tackled by a couple of other defenders. VERY good looking animations!! After a few running and passing plays, I turn the game speed from Normal to Fast. Much better IMO. Without getting into details of my awesome battle during my first game, I've gotta make a few comments: - Best player models in any football game to date. No contest - Amazing animations. Tipped balls pop up in the air allowing for an interception opportunity. Defenders pushing runners out of bounds. Great running animations. Last year's version made the runner a little too 'upright', but dead on this year... with the runner lowering himself when speed burst is used. Receivers and DB's watch the ball over their shoulder as the ball flies towards them. Great looking tackles. I was impressed to see my CPU-controlled defender trying to take down Jamal Lewis, only to have my user controlled defender run towards Jamal and assist in the tackle. In Madden, my user controlled tackler would simply bounce off the tackle in progress. GREAT tackling animations. Whoa, my running back followed a blocker and even pressed up against him with one hand on his blocker's back to get into the endzone!! Collision detection is also close to perfect in this game. Not just with the players, but ball physics and collision detection are dead-on. - THE best commentary I can think of in any sports game. Period. These guys comment on EVERYTHING, like - how many times Tomlinson has carried the ball so far. The fact that he has 71 yards on 16 carries so far today. I only heard the same line once. Other than that - fresh, life-like commentary. Commentary in a sports video game is very underrated and good commentary like this makes the game feel soo alive. - Awesome presentation. Did I mention that already? Seriously though, it's amazing. I love it when a player makes a big play and it cuts to that ESPN style of replay followed by a player biography. Just awesome. Again, it really looks like an ESPN broadcast. I can't remember much of my first game since I lost in the last 1:30 on a Jamal Lewis 21-yard TD run and I got pretty freakin p*ssed off. But then I reflected back and realized what a great first experience I just had!! After the game, I checked my stats and noticed 1/2 sacks. SWEET!! 8 min. quarters produced very realistic stats. Tomlinson carried the ball 23 times for 105 yards. Jamal killed me for 171 yards on 26 carries. 26 carries by the CPU? I love it. Next up was First Person mode. I was expecting something different, maybe a little gimicky, but I was looking forward to it. Dolphins (CPU) vs. Packers (me). Again, without getting into it too much, let me just say that I FREAKIN LOVE FIRST PERSON MODE!!!! I enjoyed playing defense SO freakin much on FPM, I decided to finish the game instead of only checking it out for a few minutes (my original intention). Running the ball in FPM is also very cool. I wasn't too sucessful throwing the ball, but that just takes practice. But wow, nothing beats a sack or a kick @ss tackle while in FPM. I recommend everyone check it out. I feel embarassed saying this, but I was having SO much fun with this mode that I laughed out loud because I was so happy with the experience. This is as close to being on an NFL field on a Sunday afternoon, as you will ever experience. Ok, this is getting way long. I haven't even checked out Franchise mode. Also, I'm not going to grade this game or give it any scores, because I haven't played long enough. But if I had to give it an OVERALL score right now, it's an easy 98. I don't see myself going back to Madden anytime soon. I can also honestly say that I have no complaints concerning the gameplay or anything else that I've seen. Like I said, I think Madden is a very good football game this year, but VC just thought 'outside the box' and did a lot of things that football video game fans have been asking for, for years now. They've made incredible improvements all across the board. But the real meat and potatoes is gameplay. And this game has gameplay NAILED. I think I touched on everything. Remember, these are just my first impressions. I'll definitely add to this after a few more games and after I jump into some Franchise action. To anyone who's yet to play this game, it HAS to be seen to believe. If anyone has any questions, comments, etc; please post 'em!! ** Wow... just started a franchise. I am loving the email updates!!! Power rankings ROCK. The NFL Primetime show at the end of each week is amazing with the video highlights. This game is still blowing me away. Thanks for reading!
Ive been playing Video Games for over 20 Years. This is the single greatest football game ever made! I hate the fact that Madden is going to out sell it 10 to 1 because this is the better title by far! Maddden may have s... Read Full Review
Ive been playing Video Games for over 20 Years. This is the single greatest football game ever made! I hate the fact that Madden is going to out sell it 10 to 1 because this is the better title by far! Maddden may have s... Read Full Review
