NFL Fever 2004
Microsoft 3rd year into developing a football game and they still fall short…
Tags: NFL Fever 2004 Categories: Reviews, Xbox Reviews
Posted by Travis on Oct 11th, 2003
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL Fever 2004 (title page) | |||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
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Microsoft 3rd year into developing a football game still falling short of greatness. With two years of being the number one football game on Xbox they didn’t feel the need to change the game. With a revamped madden and ESPN this just doesn’t keep up. With the addition of the Xbox enabled XSN (Xbox Sports Network) allowing a very involved online play they didn’t do much else to fix flaws from previous years. The franchise mode is unchanged from previous years and is quite simply boring and not enjoyable. Other modes such as classic challenge have been left almost the same with few changes.
The same basic game options appear, with a Dynasty Mode, General manager, Practice and a Quick Game. The Practice Mode features a “Chalk Talk with Ron Pitts”, and gives the player insight into the actual mechanics of football. The training camp is a lot like Madden’s. Any less would have been criminal, really.
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Graphically the game looks good right in the middle of the pack between Madden and ESPN at the top. Decent animation makes it playable, but there are still glitches, such as players moving their feet without actually moving down the field. The character models are (still) not realistic, but still offer a decent but unimpressive experience.
Presentation has gotten worse making it maddening sometimes to navigate where you want to go. The 5.1 sound is great but not quite as good as ESPN, but still better than Madden’s sound. Without the 5.1 feature, the sound is just average and does not offer any differences from any other football game.
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They did improve some game play aspects from last year, but you can still throw the football through the defense like nobody is there, and rushing has been made easier with the Hot Route feature. Microsoft has added a “Coach’s Advice” per play which is a nice addiction, but found most times it being the wrong decision to do. Maybe in the next version this can be reworked into not allowing a run play on 3rd and 20 to go.
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The one new feature I really liked was the Read and Lead passing. This allows you to throw the ball exactly where you want to. You can read the defensive patterns exploit and throw to open receivers on cue.
Fever is the first football game to use the XSN sports online features. While the XSN setup does require computer use and a micrsoft.net user login, once set up, it is well worth it. The website automatically tracks record, stats and sets up and maintains leagues. You can setup challenges based on players skills around your own. Join tournaments or just play a little one on one game with your best friend or a total stranger. Smack talking is of course advised in any situation. League play is also fun for those of you who can devote some time after work into a daily or weekly time spot. Who needs fantasy football when you can play it.
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Microsoft is definitely on the right track with the XSN tie ins with all of its first party sports games, but other than that and the over simplified controls (which make the game too easy at times), the game is almost identical to last years version. The graphics received almost no upgrade, and the overall feel is identical. It makes you wonder if Microsoft is banking on the fact that fever is the number one seller on its platform, and not trying to keep up with both Madden and ESPN, which both received dramatic improvements, and in the end leave NFL Fever around the 40 yard line.
Still one of the most enjoyable ARCADE type sports games out there, the failure to improve itself or to add a more realistic feel to the game makes this version a big disappointment.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
XSN Read and Lead controlls |
5.1 |
| What Doesn't | |
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Lack of originality Lack of play selection DEFENSE!!!! |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| At least Microsoft brought this game out with XSN, which may be the only thing that can keep its sales at the top of the overcrowded dogpile | |
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Tags: NFL Fever 2004
Posted by Travis on Oct 11th, 2003 and is filed under Reviews, Xbox Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
