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For nearly a decade, football fans were given
their yearly dose of Madden, and it would be their football allotment for
the season. Occasionally, another company (usually Sega) would take a shot at
the reigning champ, but could never dethrone the EA giant at the top of the
ladder. It wasn't until 1999, with the release of the Dreamcast, that Madden
faced serious competition. The legendary NFL 2K was released, and has
since been released side-by-side to Madden on a yearly basis. Competition
has gotten pretty fierce between the two, as with the demise of the Dreamcast,
Sega has now spread out to the nextgen consoles previously unoccupied by them
before. What seemed like a huge risk at the time, actually branching out and
developing for Sony, Microsoft, and ::gasp:: Nintendo may have very well been
the smartest thing Sega has ever done, now sending out their title to a far
larger audience.
When August rolled around, EA and Sega began to heavily promote their rival
software. EA didn't make many friends in the process, as they would proclaim
that they were the best and nothing could top Madden. Sega basically took
the approach of the smaller masses looking to overrun the giants, or something
like that. Both games were released around the same time, and very quickly went
at it.
"This is Sportscenter"
It's hard to think of a time in any game that pleased me more than when I popped
this title in for the first time. I knew that Sega had obtained the ESPN license
for this game, gathering the support of the sports giant. One of the first
things you will see is ESPN's very own Dan Patrick, on the Sportscenter set,
complete with Sportscenter animations, graphics, and music. Call me simple, but
little things like this I really enjoy. Throughout the game, ESPN menus,
graphics, and techniques are used to create a pleasant experience. All of the
game menus look like they were taken out of Sportscenter, only with that blue
backing. The scoreboard is identical to the one used on Sunday Night Football,
and player names are shown in highlights just like on the popular cable network.
Gameplay
One of Madden's disadvantages was that the controls on offense and
defense were different. Sega made sure to keep the respective sides of the ball
as similar as possible, in order to prevent any confusion among gamers. No
matter where you're playing, the A button will be speed burst - and nothing else
unless you change it. Diving and jumping will always be done with the same
button, as will changing players. That's one of the definite advantages in
NFL 2K3 - no confusion with the controls.
The problem with control on the other hand is due to the GameCube controller.
With that big A sitting right in the middle, and smaller buttons around it,
there can be a tendency to not hit the correct receiver or just to hit the wrong
button. On a PS2 or X-Box this may be better, as the buttons are of all the same
size, but with GameCube it creates a problem due to the difference in button
sizes. Those who've grown used to the controller shouldn't have any problem, but
it doesn't really seem made for football as much as it's other titles.
NFL 2K3 sports probably the most massive playbook ever released.
Most teams have about 7 pages of offensive formations alone, mostly variations
of the major ones. Once you've managed to just find a formation, then you have
several pages of actual plays to choose from. If you don't like what you pick,
or see something unfavorable, audibles in this game are actually called up with
a menu, so you KNOW what you're picking! When you're facing 3rd and about 15,
the last thing you want to do is audible into a run, which would happen if you
didn't bother to check the set audibles (come on, who does? blah). Hot routes
have become a mainstay in football games, and NFL 2K3 has
eight-way ones. Backs pick up blitzes, you can play around with your defense on
the field with a hot defense, and tinker with coverage. On defense, you don't
have as many formations as offense, but you do have the ability to control the
movement of your defensive line. This adds a little hint of depth to the game,
and can create literally limitless combinations of plays, with all the on the
fly changes you can make.
Sounds kind of daunting, doesn't it? If you're a coach or something, you should
be able to quickly make sense of all the formations given. But to those who just
want to have some fun with the game have nothing to worry about. Though the
gameplay is ridiculously deep, it's very easy to get by knowing merely how to
snap, pass, and tackle. Just like Super Smash Brothers, where the game is
simple on its most basic level, but leaves incredible potential for strategy. So
if you don't know the difference between a Gun Trips and a Gun Double (they have
pictures, but it's still pretty cryptic), fear not, because merely pressing the
A button activates almost an "Ask Madden" (sorry to bring in the competition),
where the play selector thing will go to a play that the game thinks would be
appropriate in that situation. Very helpful and time saving indeed, as you can
get VERY sick of going "4-3, base, cover 3 strong" or whatnot.
Plays themselves are chosen the same way as past Sega NFL 2K offerings. Each
player has a half of the screen, and a little ball-type thing that they navigate
onto the plays of their choosing. This is by far the game's WORST point -
players can see each other's play. Of course you have no idea what the computer
will do, but two player games make the plays so blatant. I could watch my
opponent pick run, and then head over to goaline and stuff him for a loss every
time. That just takes the fun out of it, because if you play them to run, you
can still expect a pass, as the option is there. NFL 2K3 has no
surprise to it, unless you close your eyes while the other guy picks. But when
the game gets close, seriously who isn't going to peek? Even by accident? Yeah,
thought so.
Like that other football game out there, NFL 2K3 has a very deep
franchise mode, which uses the "NFL Combine" to scout players. Rather than just
saying "You have 15 players to scout, good luck", Sega gives you a period of
time and various actions to pick from, each one taking a different length. The
franchise itself has all the stats and customization that you'd expect, only
with slick ESPN graphics.
How's this baby look?
If you haven't already noticed, I absolutely LOVE the addition of ESPN
graphics and logos to the gameplay. It really adds a familiar style to the game,
and is truly a nice touch. The introductory movie features NFL highlights, and
is of incredible quality. This little Cube sure can pound out some high quality
video, and you will notice instantly with the high-res Dan Patrick previewing
the upcoming NFL season. Picking a game mode is great, as you've got the ESPN
Bottomline telling you various things about the game, and an ESPN menu of
choices.
Team selection is a little weak though, as there tends to be a drop-off in load
time of team logos. When scrolling through choices, many times you'll get a pure
black helmet. I was surprised to see this, because the GameCube is known for its
outstanding load times, but aren't displayed on such a minor thing. But the game
is saved when you actually start up, as it takes far less time than other
consoles, using a preview of the upcoming game to help ease the wait.
Now for someone who's been on a steady diet of Madden 2003 for the past
few months will instantly pick up on the graphics. NFL 2K3, as
expected, uses very different player models than Madden. These guys are taller,
but much lankier, which creates a much different appearance. The game actually
has a darker appearance, and more shadowy players. And one thing is certain:
they sure move smoothly.
But as smooth as they move, players just don't look as nice as their Madden
rivals. They also move VERY loosely, which is much different than the tight,
responsive gameplay of Madden. A little tap can jar them quite a bit, and
this is multiplied by GameCube's sensitive analog stick.
How annoying is the commentary?
Not much different than any other game. But based on the sake of "starpower",
Madden has NFL 2K3 beaten by a longshot, as they were able to
get the nucleus of Monday Night Football by using the voices of Madden,
Michaels, and Stark. Sega has stuck with the same people they've always used,
which isn't a bad thing, but takes away from the ESPN experience, as the Sunday
Night team has been overlooked. Like any other game, they get a bit annoying
after a while, but at least you don't have Madden saying the same thing he's
been saying for the past three years.
A nice touch takes place early in the game, when they show the offensive and
defensive lineups of each team. You know how that row of players pops up on the
screen? Well, they included it here, and the commentators say something about
one of the guys. Pretty generic stuff, like "Tim Brown averaged 60 yards on 4
catches a game" and "Mike Williams protects the quarterback". Gets old fast,
especially because it sounds forced and slapped together.
Other than the Sportscenter theme (dun dun dun, dun dun dun), music plays a
small part in this game. While EA went as far as to create a soundtrack for
their game, Sega stuck with the same generic stuff that's been used time and
time again. You know, the thing that KINDA sounds like "Rock and Roll Pt. 2" but
isn't? And that song that could pass off for the Ramones? Yeah, those.
What say you, Mike?
NFL 2K3 isn't a bad game. It looks pretty nice, and the players
move smoothly. The depth of playcalling is incredible, and the ability to bypass
the complexity is an excellent touch. And if you haven't already noticed (I hope
you have...), I LOVE the ESPN touch (I'm starting to get annoying with
that, aren't I?) In-game stats are given more detail than the game's rival, and
the overall presentation is a bit nicer and slicker than that other football
game. But it only goes so far - Madden 2003 is still the king this
season, and NFL 2K3 will have to be second best for one more year.
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