ESPN NFL Football Preview

The history of Visual Concepts' NFL franchise is an intriguing one, filled with many twists and turns, both good and bad. Since the series' inception with NFL 2K on the Dreamcast in 2000, the line has faced a multitude of challenges and changes, including several jumps back and forth between different consoles, a long-standing and seemingly perpetually uphill battle against EA's Madden NFL series, and an eventual licensing deal forged with ESPN. For this year's iteration, gone is the well-known NFL 2K brand name, replaced with a more obvious nod to the aforementioned ESPN license, ESPN NFL Football. What hasn't changed, however, is the time-tested and critically acclaimed style of gameplay that has made the Sega Sports brand of football one of the best in the business, and with a number of new features, ESPN NFL Football has the potential to be a fantastic addition to an already impressive line of games. We recently had an opportunity to spend a great deal of time playing near-complete builds of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the game, and while there are still a couple of kinks here and there, the overall product seems to be coming together wonderfully.

The Visual Concepts brand of football gameplay is widely regarded as one of the most realistic and enjoyable ever created, and ESPN NFL Football will likely live up to that esteem. The gameplay feels like it was left largely untouched for this year's game, but with some definitive improvements to the overall flow and style. The biggest difference we noticed was in the running game. One of the least realistic--though sometimes the most fun--aspects of the series' running game was the fact that you could often turn on a dime and have your jukes and other dodge moves take effect immediately. This aspect has been altered slightly for a more realistic feel, though not so much as to take away from any of the fun. Also, to counterbalance this, these moves feel a little more effective now, and breaking tackles seems a little bit easier, so you won't just get dive-tackled the second you try to perform a juke. Much of the passing game this year has been left untouched, though you may notice fewer randomly dropped balls. Each time we saw a receiver drop a ball, it was for a pretty obvious reason, unlike in last year's game.

The defensive game hasn't been changed drastically either, but some important upgrades have been implemented. The pass rush is definitely much more realistic, and no longer will you go lengthy stretches of time without a single sack while the CPU sacks you eight times a game. In addition to that, coverage in the backfield has definitely changed for the better, as defensive backs will no longer jump to try for a ball that is nowhere near them. Additionally, defensive backs and linebackers have gotten much better about properly covering their zones and assigned players, and incidental contact no longer appears to result in pass interference calls, which was a bit of a problem in last year's game. That's not to say that the series' coverage aspect is completely perfect, but at this point, it's far and away the best it's ever been. The one defensive aspect that has actually gotten harder is tackling, as defensive players can no longer simply dive at an opposing player and bring him down immediately. Dive-tackling is actually now much less effective, and bigger players like defensive linemen don't seem to jump nearly as far as the defensive backs do.

As far as new additions to the gameplay go, a couple of new elements have been added. The biggest and most noteworthy of these changes has to be the new coach challenge system, which allows you to throw the red flag and challenge a call made on the field. Creating something like this is a tricky prospect, as in order to make it work, you are effectively asking the game to make purposeful mistakes. Thankfully, it appears that Visual Concepts has struck a balance that keeps the game from making any boneheaded mistakes, and instead allows for only some very minor incorrect calls here and there. In the instances we had to challenge a play, we found that the CPU would appropriately overturn calls or let them stand based on replays, rarely ever leaving us frustrated. Another upgrade to the gameplay this year is the new charge system, which is effectively a new version of the game's turbo meter. Charging your player up works just like the turbo, as you'll hit the charge button and a meter underneath your player will begin to fill up. Once your charge meter is full, your speed and momentum will increase, allowing you to break away from defensive players or tackle offensive players more effectively.

ESPN NFL Football contains a number of feature-level improvements on last year's game, including two brand-new game features: first-person football and the crib. First-person football, upon initial inspection, seems like just an additional camera perspective, placing you inside the helmet of a player and letting you experience firsthand what it's like to be on the field. However, there's significantly more to it than just a camera angle. To begin with, first-person football isn't just a selectable camera view--rather, it is its own separate mode, selectable from the main game menu, and it's fairly easy to see why. The game itself is very, very different when you're in first-person mode, as your field of view is far more limited. To counteract this, during the game, each player has a threat meter that detects the direction and urgency of an opposing player's threat. While it's not perfect, the threat meter definitely gives you a good idea of which direction not to head in.

In first-person football, you can still take control of any player you can in the normal game, but with a couple of key differences. When playing on offense, you'll automatically be placed in the role of the quarterback or the running back before the snap, depending on whether you've selected a passing or running play. As the running back, you're basically stuck as the running back until the play is over, but as the quarterback, you'll be able to remain the quarterback once the pass has left your hand or have the game transfer you into the helmet of the targeted receiver so you can try to run the ball down the field yourself. On defense, you'll be able to switch between all the defensive players on the field at will, though too much changing can be very disorienting when trying to locate the player with the ball. The right analog stick also plays a big role in first-person football, as moving it from side to side will let your player look around the field, and pressing in the stick will activate a bullet-time function that slows down all the action on the field for a few seconds so you can get your bearings. We spent a great deal of time playing first-person football, and though we definitely see a lot of potential in the mode, there were a few notable issues, such as some rather prevalent clipping problems and a pretty steep learning curve. First-person football is easily the most eagerly anticipated and most hyped aspect of this year's installment, and though it certainly isn't perfect, it's still a very unique and entertaining experience.

ESPN NFL Football's other big addition is the crib, a collection mode that lets you view the items you've unlocked by completing various in-game challenges and reaching certain landmarks. The crib itself is modeled after a luxury home, and it is designed to be a representation of an NFL player's house. In it, you can mold the decor after the fashion of whatever your favorite NFL team is, as well as store trophies, jerseys, posters, and other paraphernalia. You'll also have lots of other neat little things to play around with, such as a jukebox that contains a number of ESPN tracks and plenty of classic Sega music from games like Jet Grind Radio and an entertainment center that contains various video clips for you to watch. There's even an air hockey table that you can play on against the CPU or a friend. Besides the basic collection items, you can also access unlockable items that can be used outside of the crib, such as classic players and teams, created team logos and player gear, and the like.

In order to unlock items in the crib, you'll have to achieve certain goals in the game. The goals are all over the map, ranging from the highly simplistic, such as merely entering the franchise mode or racking up a certain number of tackles in a game, to the seemingly impossible, like having to keep an opposing team from generating any offense during a game. Once you have unlocked something, a small overlay will appear on the screen, letting you know which mark you've hit and that you've unlocked something new. In order to save your unlocked items, you will need to visit the crib and save your user profile before quitting the game. Over the years, one of the biggest complaints about the NFL 2K series has been that it simply doesn't reward the player for getting good at the game, and it appears that Visual Concepts has definitely heard these complaints, as the crib is a surprisingly rewarding mode, and the staggering number of unlockable items--somewhere around 1,500--is hard to argue with.

Aside from this year's two newcomers to the series, some of the older, more familiar modes in ESPN NFL Football have been overhauled as well, including the franchise mode. While the mode itself is largely the same, a couple of noteworthy additions have been made. The first and most obvious addition is the e-mail function, which is basically an in-game messaging system that notifies you of everything going on with your franchise. The e-mails you receive vary from simple notes from ESPN.com about power rankings, trades, and notable injuries from around the league to notes from the team owner and trainers. Trainers basically e-mail only when a player has been injured, letting you know what happened and how long the player is going to be out. The team owner, on the other hand, evaluates your performance, letting you know if you're achieving the goals necessary to be considered successful. This is important, as in this year's game, you can be fired as head coach. To avoid doing so, you'll obviously need to keep winning, but you'll also have a number of basic goals laid out for you each season, such as ranking in the top half of the league in defense or winning a playoff game. Consistently reaching these benchmarks keeps your job safe; failing to do so simply means game over. This year's franchise mode also includes a multiplayer component. At the beginning of a new franchise, you can now choose to control as many teams as you like among the 32 available, and you and however many friends you like can operate the different teams.

ESPN NFL Football is online on both the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox, and both versions are looking very good. Clearly, the biggest issue with last year's online functionality was cheating, more specifically the issue of "pausers," players who would simply pause the game when they were losing, forcing the winning player to quit and take a drop. This has been rectified via a timer that counts down from five minutes when you pause the game. If the pausing player hasn't returned to the game after five minutes, he or she will take the drop. The rankings system does not appear to have changed too significantly, as it tracks wins, losses, quits, and drops. However, the leader boards are designed a bit differently, as they will actually reward you for playing tougher opponents, so you won't be able to advance as easily by merely playing bad players over and over again. This year's game will also feature an online league system, where one player signs up on the game's Web site and assumes the role of an administrator. Administrators determine how many players can enter an individual league and what style of league it will be. Both versions of the game also support voice chat this year.

Visually, ESPN NFL Football has the potential to be the standout game this year. NFL 2K3 boasted some of the best player models and animations in the genre when it was released last year, and this year's game has managed to make a marked improvement on its predecessor. The basic character models haven't changed significantly, but the facial maps have. Each player face is extremely detailed and amazingly accurate. This is made even more obvious by the addition of numerous new cutscenes, many of which show the players without their helmets. Of course, the cutscenes are not relegated to simply showing off players, and lots of new cutscenes appear for crowd, cheerleader, and coach sequences. The crowd and cheerleader models are no longer drab, low-polygon models--they're now fully featured, with greatly improved animations. In fact, animation is much better this year across the board, especially in the area of tackles. You'll see things like receivers dragging cornerbacks down the field, trying to get those extra few yards before being brought down, and multiple defensive linemen coming together to drop a running back before he crosses the line of scrimmage. Hands down, ESPN NFL Football features some of the best animation we've ever seen in a football game.

The in-game graphics aren't the only aspect of the visual presentation to get a boost this year, as all the game's menus and overlays have been redesigned to accommodate the full ESPN experience. The main game menu itself is modeled after the ESPN news desk, and every stat menu, in-game overlay, and profile screen captures the ESPN atmosphere very well.

Audio is another category that this franchise is known for excelling in, and ESPN NFL Football is sounding great. Dan Stevens and Peter O'Keefe are once again on hand, and their commentary is as spot-on and amusing as ever. Chris Berman, the host of shows like Sunday NFL Countdown and NFL Primetime, provides pregame and halftime show commentary. At the beginning of the game, he simply runs down the stats of each team and singles out a player to watch during the game. At the half, he recounts key drives and plays and names the hot-at-the-half player. Though not all of Berman's entertaining personality has translated over to the game, he's still Chris Berman, and he still provides numerous entertaining bits of commentary. All the ESPN NFL music is featured throughout the game, as are the tracks you can unlock in the crib. The in-game sound effects and player dialogue don't appear to have changed too much, but they're still very solid.

ESPN NFL Football seems to have a whole lot going for it, both in its presentation and in its gameplay. Much of what there was to complain about in last year's game has been dealt with, and the result is simply one of the most enjoyable and accurate football games we've ever come across. Fans of the series should have plenty to be excited about when the game finally hits shelves this September. We'll have a full review of the game in the coming weeks.