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In this year's installment of the NFL 2K
series, we take a look at the last football game for the
Dreamcast. How does it fare against the steep competition this
year (including itself on other systems)? Read on to find out.
In this year's NFL 2K2, you'll notice a few changes that have been
made to the game. One of those changes are the graphics. I'm
sure you all remember that "warping" effect from NFL 2K? Well,
I'm happy to announce that they fixed that up as best they could
this year, and it's at a very low ratio of actually seeing and
noticing it. But aside from all of that, it' still NFL 2K at
heart as far as graphics go. The detailed and realistic moving
character models are still intact along with a few other
noticeable changes.
The character models got a few more animations than in previous
efforts. For instance, when you throw a long bomb to a wide
receiver and there's no one covering him when he catches it, and
he's obviously going to get a touchdown, he'll actually slow
down and start walking into the end zone. There's all sort of
new animations to look forward to. There are especially more
touchdown celebrations. (I swear that I've seen one often where
he's break dancing in the end zone, although it's kind of rare-
I've only seen it once)
The very cool replay options are back once again, with all of your
standard fare options. you can do all of the zooming, rotating,
and speeding up your heart desires, as usual. The instant
replays are very good as well, and take place with no slowdown.
New tackle animations ensure that you will grimace in the pain
that, say, your quarterback will surely suffer during the games.
If I had to pick a bone with anything in the graphics department,
I'd comment on the warping. I know I said earlier that it was
better in past efforts, (and it is) but you'll still probably
see and notice it a little bit. Also, there is a little bit of
slowdown, sometimes, right before you attempt an extra point or
field goal. There is also some lag over the internet. I could
also comment about the lack of movement in the audience and on
the sidelines, but it's really not fair considering almost all
of those games don't really include anything like that.
The sound in the game is your standard fare, really. There's
nothing too fancy about it, but it is done nicely and
professionally. The grunts, slams, and groans- they're all there
and they're on cue. The audience chants and cheers for the home
team, and boos the opposing team, kind of like real life. It's
also worth noting that the referee actually talks in this game
kind of like he does in real life, as he sounds like he's
talking through a tin can. You cannot criticize the game for
that because that's exactly what it does sound like.
The shining star of the sound department has to be the commentary.
I'm not sure who is actually doing the commentary, but it is
dead on, and really isn't repetitive at all. I especially like
how they give you some "hints" as to how you should plan your
strategy. Overall, the quality of the commentary is quite good,
and saved the review from an average sound score.
Now as for gameplay, the true reason for buying NFL 2K2... It has a
lot of gameplay options in it, but it's nothing that we haven't
seen before, but it is improved in a few ways. You've got your
standard practice mode, (it's standard for NFL 2K, I haven't
seen it on any other football game) your franchise mode, vs.
mode, and the ultimately cool online mode. I'll comment on that
a little later...
For the actual gameplay, it plays very smoothly. If you've ever
played any NFL 2K game before, you'll feel right at home here.
They haven't really changed much from it's predecessors, and
personally, I think that's a good thing. The control layout has
remained unchanged, and the tightness of the controls is still
there.
I'll comment on the on-line gameplay separately here. Overall, the
very noticeable (but very small amount of) lag in last year's
installment has still remained, but it isn't nearly as bad as
last year's. I only noticed a little just after a touchdown was
scored, before a kickoff, and very few times, right after a play
ended before the play select screen popped up. However, it was
really brief, and once you play online a lot, it won't bother
you too much. On a personal note, I find the lack of respect and
sportsmanship appalling when it comes to typing messages and
trash-talk in the game. I hate having to play and after I score
on someone, they just feel like they have to go "U SUX!!!!!!!
U're NOT FARE!!!!!!" or "HAHAHAHAHA!!! I skored a touchdown on
yu're sissi A**!!!!! HAHAHA!!!"-people, please.
Anyway, sorry, had to get that off my chest :)... As for replay,
I'm sorry to say that it's not entirely it's strong suit. Sure,
you can go back and play single-player mode as many times as you
want, but I think that the real killer app that this game has
must be it's online feature. Without that online feature, or the
multiplayer mode for those of you who don't have the internet on
your Dreamcast, this game really wouldn't be that much fun to
play again and again. With it, you're surely going to play it a
lot, if you like football.
Overall, this game is an excellent football simulation and well
worth your time. However, if you don't have the online features,
or a lot of friends to play with, (or both :)) you may want to
just rent it, as the game was meant for multiplayer.
.:. bizzarro |
