Sega Sports Features NFL2K1
Reviewed by Dale Kulas
Introduction
Last year on Dreamcast launch day, September 9, 1999, Sega
Sports released one of the most ground breaking football
games ever, which featured jaw-dropping visuals, and some of
the best commentary ever for a football game, hands down, it
was the best console football game hands down, shattering
Gameday, Madden, Blitz, QB Club, and any of the other
football games released last year. It was quite flawed
though, so will this year's version bring any improvements
upon last year's game, or will it be the same game with
little added? Let's get onto the review and find out, but
before we do.......
A Brief Rundown of Last Year's Game
NFL 2K featured some of the greatest football action ever to
happen, it was developed by a team I never heard of before
this game was out called Visual Basics, it had a 2 person
broadcast booth made up of hired voice actors to do
commentating and a lady at the sidelines for interviews and
injury reports. The presentation of the game was simply mind
blowing as it closely resembled a live television broadcast,
but it was severely flawed, for example, the running game
was severely flawed where you could barely pick up any
yardage on the average run. Also their were many programming
glitches like in multi player where user records being all
messed up, and making time outs and subs being tricky. Their
was also a host of other minor glitches, but I'm not going
to list them all here, remember, I'm reviewing NFL2K1, not
last year's version. Any ways lets get on to the review and
start off reviewing what we always see in the beginning of
all games which is the.....
Opening Game Entrance Video
Now in last year's opening video, Visual Basics decided to
be unique and opted to go with the games in game graphics
being used for it's entrance video with voice over from the
game's announcers, Dan Stevens and Peter O' Keefe, which
looked really amazing and got you pumped up for the game.
But Sega decided to go the exact opposite way with this
year's version which is mostly FMV video footage off actual
football games with lots of sacks, tackles, and wild fans
shown with a background tune, either way, it still gets you
pumped up and ready to play the game. Now let's move onto the.....
Graphics
The basic info about the graphics/visuals in the game:
The in-game graphics during game play, look simply
fantastic. Just like the real thing! The players all have
different size proportions so you can tell who's the fat,
slow, offensive linemen, or the fast, well built receivers.
The game's opening FMV looks great, which reminds me much of
the one's used in the Gameday and Madden games. You can set
the weather to however you want, where you can have a cold,
snowy day, or a hot rainy downpour, heck even the players
have mud stains on their uniforms from playing in these
weather conditions. All the teams have their own exact
uniforms which resemble what they wear in real life, both
home and away uniforms. The stadiums, and fields look great,
but the turf does look a little duller than last year's
game, just a green color, but during rainy storms, you get
muddy sneaker prints on the field. But oh, well its not even
that big of a complaint, I don't even care about it unlike
some people (cough, IGNDC, cough). The action replays are
back, and look better than ever. The radial menus are back,
and are the same as last year where they're easy to navigate
and user friendly. The stats and create a player/team/plays
menus also all use the same, easy to use, layout as last
year too. The play selection screen is still the same as
last year, where the play formations are displayed on screen
so you'll easily know where the routes are, and of course,
if you're going against a friend, that's why you have Bluff
and/or VMU play calling so he won't see what you pick. So
Visual Basics stuck with the classic formula where if you
have something going for you, stick with it.
New to the graphics in this year's version of the game:
Now of course, no matter what there's always room for
improvement, now you don't have to do a complete make over
in the graphics, but their's always added little things that
go unnoticed at first, but after playing a while, you'll be
like, 'hey, I don't remember that from last year's game!'
But one of the new changes in the graphics department is
that you should recognize right away is the reflective
helmets, at first you'll think you only see them on the team
select screen, but they're actually in the game too, and
look great at the close up angles after plays. For other
things you won't notice until after a couple of games, is
that most players have different faces and a lot of 'em do
look a lot like their real life counterparts, another thing
is that the sprites on the sidelines are now animated, like
your teammates wave their arms when you make a good play,
and you see cameraman adjusting cameras and so on. And
finally their's a host of new motion captured animations
like new type of tackles, some great new tackles are ones
where your receiver catches a ball in midair and gets
tackled in midair, it just looks awesome, so good you have
to see it to believe it.
Sound
The basic info about the audio/sound effect in the game:
Once again Sega outdone themselves and did another bang up
job in the sound category. All the sound effects on the
field are the same as last year, like tackling, diving, and
so forth. You also hear the player's chatter on the field,
delivering their own threats to the QB, such as, ÒI'm coming
for you, Aikman!Ó and discussing strategy before the snap
like, ÒI see motion!Ó and it really delivers to the
presentation of the game. You also here the PA announcer
during the game, he does the play by play where you faintly
hear him calling the down, and post play analysis, but the
major part of the sound here is commentary by hired voice
actors who go by the personas, Dan Stevens, and Peter 'O
Keefe, they sound just like a broadcasting team off FOX,
they have so many comments where they make the call on the
In completions, sacks, first downs, touchdowns, safeties,
etc. You'll just have to hear it to believe it (or download
some movies off the game), of course, over time (but a long
period of time) their comments do repeat themselves, and I
did notice them making a couple of play calling errors, for
example, where I threw an in completion on first down and
they said it was my second straight in completion. But these
mistakes are rare and far between.
New to the audio/sound in this year's version of the game:
The first thing you'll notice that's new in this department
is the brand new re mix of last year's theme in the game
used for the background music. There's also different
background tracks that follow it while you're browsing
through the menus so they don't sound repetitive. Stevens
and Keefe have lots of new comments they throw in the game,
and Keefe is always giving big rundowns of at least two
major players in the games opening introduction. Of course,
theirs lots of minor player chatter comments thrown in to
spice up the game a bit, but I notice that the sidelines
reporter, Michelle, is AWOL in this game, even Dan always
mentions her name in the games conclusion, like instead of
her reporting the injuries that happen on the field, we just
got a little text box that pops up and says what type of
injury it is and how long they'll be out for, oh, well, I
hated her any ways, she was always repeating herself in last
year's game for the coach's briefings in the halftime report.
Customization!
Yes, most of the creator modes from last year's game are
back! Like you can make your own plays, and play books,
using a really easy to use play editor where you customize
how a player runs their routes, jukes here, spin their, etc.
Then you can create your own player, which is exactly like
last years, where you pick if they want or what type of
helmet, nose guard, sleeves, shoes, your player wants, and
customize him with all a certain amount of creation points
so he can match up just right for you. And finally, you can
create your own teams, by buying off any players from any
NFL team, make your own uniforms, select your own logo, and
have your team go for it all in season play. Also the usual
create a user records, and trade, free agents modes are all
back as long as you abide by the salary cap.
The glitches are back!
Yes, just like last year, some (not all) of the glitches are
back, so far the only major one I noticed is the the user
record files goofing, but it's only if you have 2 or more
user files created, where let's say, player 1 has a win loss
record of 4-2, and user 2 has record of 3-1, and lets say
you go play a game against the computer as user 1, you win,
and the computer loses, well, the records say you lose, but
a loss also goes down for player 2, even though he wasn't
playing the game at all! Also the announcers occasionally
miscall a play here and their, but that's all I see for
glitches so far. I believe that pesky 2 player can't call
time out/substitution bug from last year is fix, and the
pesky running game from last year is also fixed, so now you
can finally play both ways.
Controls
Maximum passing is back for the Quarterback, where if you
wanna deliver a bullet pass or lob it in the air, also when
the person has the ball, they have a wide variety of moves
to do such as a spin, stiff arm to the left or right, dive,
speed burst a brand new shoulder tackle move, and finally,
the brand new juke move! This is the move that finally fixes
the running game so you can now run with ease and get by
defenders. For old gaming veterans, you can move with the
control pad, or you have the option of moving with the user
friendly control stick, for free, 3-D movement. One big
addition in the game is that when punting, or kicking, you
now have to go against the wind, that is when you line up
for the punt/kick your arrow will slightly be moving the way
the wind is blowing. This does provide quit a challenge, and
nailing field goals is a tad bit harder than before, but a
nice addition overall.
The briefing on the usual modes of play:
Just about all the modes of play in last year's game are
here, where there's the usual exhibition mode of play where
you can pick a time, customize the options, rule, penalties,
and go for a practice round against a friend. Quick start is
back as well, where the game randomly picks a team for you
with default rules, so you can just jump into a game and
play. Fantasy Draft is back where all the NFL players are
entered in a Free Agent pool and a big draft is done and you
can lead your new team through a tournament or a season.
Also tutorial mode is back where you get a tip on how to
play the game after each play, much like the opening help
bars in the Blitz games. And finally playoffs and season
modes return, where you can go through a season, keep tabs
on injuries, stats, pro bowl votes, and lead your team all
the way to the super bowl.
The new modes of play:
I believe the practice mode is a new mode of play, I'm not
sure though, but any ways, you can practice any formation on
the field and just practice running around with the ball,
which is a great way to get the moves down and practice your
running game. Also a new tournament mode is here, where
either 4 or 8 go in an elimination tournament where their's
just one team left in the end. Also the mode which debuted
and was made famous from the Madden series of games, ever
since it's debut in Madden '99, comes the Franchise mode,
where you go through the draft, signing free agents,
preseason, season, and if you're good enough the playoffs,
and you also have the options of resigning players, retiring
old veterans, or trading them away. You can play as many
seasons as you want, because you are the coach! Some things
are a little absent during Franchise play, like the sports
ticker, but no big deal. And finally, the most anticipated
new mode ever......
NETWORK PLAY!!!!!!
Yes, Sega. net launches and delivers to you the very first
online sports game for the Dreamcast (this is actually the
3rd online Dreamcast game, Chu Chu Rocket, and Street
Fighter Alpha 3, managed to feature online play before this
game). Any ways, you go through the hassle of typing in all
your user info from your ISP, or if you don't have one you
can sign up with Sega. net for 50 free hours of play. Once
you get connected (it actually takes about 2-5 tries before
you finally connect, but the wait is worth it) you pick a
region where you wanna play, then a certain city in that
region where you want to play, and you go into a chat room
lobby, where if you highlight a certain player (with a
latency bar next to them, nice touch) you'll challenge him,
and you must wait to see if he accepts, then you go to the
team select screen, where both of you have control over the
cursor, so it can be a bit pesky trying to pick teams at
once, but once you get things picked, out your own your way
to playing online! Surprisingly, the game doesn't have much
slowdown at all using the Dreamcast's built in 56k modem,
you may come across a little every now and then during the
game, but for the most part, the game runs pretty smooth
overall. Up to 8 players can go at it online through 2
Dreamcasts, and during game play, if you have a Dreamcast
keyboard, you can talk to who you're going against, and it
would pop up at the bottom of the screen like the sports
ticker would. The only drawback to network play is that
there is no online user records, I really wish their
could've been some, it would've been a great touch, but oh
well, overall the network game experience for NFL2K1 is
outstanding!
Compatible with just about every imaginable Dreamcast
accessory!
This game manages to make use of just about every single
Dreamcast goodie there is out their, with the exception of
the light gun and arcade stick, of course. The VMU doesn't
eat up as much memory as it did last year, here it only
takes up 169 blocks of memory, instead of 192 like last
year. The game makes use of the Jump Pack so you can ÒfeelÓ
the game, which is really a nice touch to the gaming
experience. It makes use of the VGA cord so you can run the
game using the superior resolution on your PC monitor. Plus
it makes use of the modem to play the game online, and
finally you can use the keyboard to chat during online
games, or for naming players, teams, plays, in the creation modes.
Just Enough Replay Value to last until next years game!
Yes indeed, this game has it all, the Franchise and Season
modes are the main modes for just 1 player, and they can
keep you hooked for hours on end. Go against your friends in
exhibition mode, or team up with them to take on opponents
online, in the addictive network play. Perfect your game in
the practice mode, or learn all about it in the tutorial
mode. The game makes use of a lot of the Dreamcast
accessories like the Jump Pack, Keyboard, and VGA adaptor.
Heck you can even download new rosters off Sega. net which
reflects the actual NFL season going on so you can keep tabs
on trades, releases, injuries which can change a team's
overall rating drastically. Plus the new make over for the
running game will make everybody happy!
The Final Ratings Rundown
Graphics
They look simply amazing and just as good as last year's.
Visual Basics gave us a whole bunch of new stuff for us to
marvel over like the reflective helmets, new animations for
tackles, running, and finally animated sprites of the fans
in the bleachers and players on the sidelines! The multiple
camera angles and action replays actually makes you think
that you're watching a broadcasted game!
Graphics Score: 9. 8
Sound
The sound is another thing for us to gaze at. Stevens and
Keefe do the best dang job on commentary then any of the
other games out their, they make Madden and Summerall seem
more annoying than ever. And they kill the play-by-play
found in QB Club and Gameday! Plus all the player chatter
and tunes for the game add more the presentation!
Sound Score: 9. 9
Game play
Visual Basics sure did listen to the fans on this one. They
improved the running game drastically with the new juke
moves and smarter linemen. The game is so easy to learn and
use that you'll be play for hours on end. And hands down,
the best play selection screen ever! Of course, their still
are some glitches that return to the game, but nothing
major.
Game play Score: 9. 2
Replay Value
The new Franchise and Network modes alone, are new reasons
why to upgrade to this year's version. They're a blast to
play, plus throw in just about all the Dreamcast accessories
to add even more depth to this game, and you'll be playing
forever! Also you and your buddies will love slugging it
out, weather it may be at your own home, or online! This
game gave it all it had and delivered!
Replay Value Score: 9. 5
Overall: 9.6 out of 10
Final Analysis
You must buy this game! If you own a Dreamcast you HAVE to
buy this game. This is the best sports game on the system!
And while their may be a couple of glitches in it, it's
nothing major, and you'll still be hooked, I'm gonna go so
far and say that this game may be as good as Madden 2001 for
the PS2! So get off your computer right now and go buy this game!
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