Possible reason why you don't like NFL Fever...Madden...Sega football titles (1 Viewer)

[Kevin Alexander]

I wonder how much of the quibbles that people have w/ the various football titles have to do w/ a lack of a working knowledge of the game, play calling, controls, settings, ect.. I've played w/ people who will pass every down, never run, never punt, try for a 2-point play after every touchdown, try to kick 65 yard field goals, and get mad when they don't make it. And after a terrible gaming experience, they say in frustration: "That's why I like Madden/Fever/Sega football better". I am a big fan of Fever and the Sega series - both are great. But once people have the opportunity to play all 3 on their own system, you will find the same thing true year after year - all of them have their strenghts and weaknesses. The experience we derive from playing each game, good or bad, has alot to do w/ the settings, how the AI responds to our knowledge (or lack thereof) of the game, and whether our play is conventional or not, meaning that if you choose to pass on every play and not mix things up a bit between the pass and run, I'm sure the AI has been programmed to counteract that - that's why they call it AI. When we hear people state that the game cheats them in a certain area whether on offense or defense, the first thing I think of is: What level are you on? Are you attempting to play unconventional football (pass on every down, never punt, seldom run, ect...)? Do you have a good knowledge of the game?...and so on. These are questions that the rest of us will never know, which is why I take personal reviews that severely criticize another football series w/ a grain of salt. I have played them all, and they are all good in what they attempt to accomplish, but all of them have their own shortcomings. I prefer Fever and Sega, but I'll reserve judgement of which I like best until after I've played both. Professional reviews may be insightful, but nothing beats hands-on.

 

[Brandon_H]

I wouldn't consider myself a football expert, but I know a lot about the game, and when I play, I play "realistically" -- no 65-yard field goal attempts or unnecessary two-point conversions, and I mix up my play calling. I can read offenses and defenses with a pretty good degree of accuracy.

If I was listing my personal preferences, Madden would be first, NFL 2K series a close second, and Fever would be a very distant third. Of course, I'm a bigger fan of the college game, so EA's NCAA Football series is where it's at for me.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

I hate football, but I enjoy playing the video games with people

This person with "no knowlege" (Not that the game takes much of a brain, but that's another story) of the game never runs, never tries field goals from silly distances and still crushes the computer in the Super Bowl by 30 points

Strategy my ass

 

[Kevin Alexander]

Jeff, I have never seen this w/ any of the current big 3 (Sega, Madden, Fever). Honestly, I think your scenario would be, not impossible, but highly improbable. Don't you think the fact that you hate football squews your opinion a bit?

 

[Kevin Alexander]

Also, for the record, you DON'T have to be a mastermind of the game to play it effectively.

 

[Peter Manojlovich]

Well, I don't like fever. It appears to be designed for the casual gamer. There's something fundamentally wrong with a game, when one of the more effective money plays is the "Hail Mary" pass. This is a play that should rarely work, instead of completing more often than not. Blown blocking assignments, blows pass coverage are all too common.

On pass plays, stick with plays where a back is held back to block. This improves your chances of completely a pass significantly. The simple inclusion of a RB for pass blocking usually means I can roam around in the pocket for a while and just wait patiently for a receiver to get open. Take away the RB and you're usually scrambling for your life. It's these type of simple things that disproprionately affect the game that take Fever out of the running for someone who's a football purist and looking for some realistic play. The run blocking is far too slow in setting up. While I wait for the blockers to set up, I'm getting sacked. I like to follow my lead blockers and move off what they give me. But, in fever, I have to outrun the blocking if I want to make any yardage.

For me, Madden is always a solid, if uninspired choice, and I feel as if I'm in control of the game. With Fever, I feeling like I'm often playing a game of rock, paper, scissors with the cpu. Most of my attention this year will be going with Sega's offering, and I'm not a former fan of the 2k series, but Sega's at least supporting online for the xbox and EA's not, so, I guess, it's Sega for me. I had held out hope for Fever, hoping they would make significant strides over last year. Well, there's always next year.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

I still win the Super Bowl by 30 points

 

[Kevin Alexander]

Well, I don't like fever. It appears to be designed for the casual gamer. There's something fundamentally wrong with a game, when one of the more effective money plays is the "Hail Mary" pass. This is a play that should rarely work, instead of completing more often than not. Blown blocking assignments, blows pass coverage are all too common.

Peter, have you even played Fever 2003? I will admit that w/ Fever 2002, that the "Hail Mary" was my bread and butter. With 2003, this feature is completely gone! I can't do it anymore! They've tweaked the game to where that's no longer possible. It was the FIRST thing I noticed in 2003. All of the other problems you mention have been tweaked as well. This is a great game. If you played it, you would've noticed these changes.

 

[Kevin Alexander]

Why is there such a concerted effort to crown Sega (which I love) the king based off of IGN's review when no one has played it yet? Even IGN stated that it isn't perfect, and that there are still problems and shortcomings w/ it.

By the same token, every online gaming forum seems bent on burying Fever 2003 when very few have even PLAYED it. Many will defensively say that they have played it, but they bring up problems w/ 2002 that have been fixed in 2003 which leads one to believe that they really haven't played it at all, and I don't mean a 10 minute Funcoland/EB in-store demo, I mean in-home play. They're trying to bluff us into thinking they've played so as to add more weight to their criticism.

Fever is a fun game, so is Sega, so is Madden. None of them are perfect. Wait until you've played Sega before crowning it king.

 

[Chris Rock]

(Not that the game takes much of a brain, but that's another story)

What football games are you playing? Tecmo Bowl? You must have SOME working knowledge of football to know that you shouldn't go for a 20 yd pass when you're 3rd and inches.

Maybe you're just that good. That could be.

 

[Peter Manojlovich]

Kevin, I found your attitude very insulting. I've been playing fever 2003 for the last three days, and since I found all these problems, then I guess they must be in the game. Either that, or you and I must have radically different versions of NFL Fever 2003.

You want to invalidate other people's critiques of the game, by implying they haven't played the game or played it for a few minutes at the local EB kiosk. You're a bit of a horse's read end, for using this bush-league tactic. You want to argue the game, then argue it. I've been very specific in my criticisms and so far you've offered nothing in return. So far, the only person in this thread that I see trying to bluff his way through an appraisal of this game is you.

I've succeeded with the hail mary pass, much to my surprise, and what's worse, the receivers were wide open when they caught the ball. What's worse, I did it in obvious situations, late in the game, behind in the score against pass coverage.

I don't think Fever's getting buried unjustifiably. Fever 2002 was a creditable first year effort that I think a lot of reviewers cut some slack on. This year, the stakes have increased and the competition has done much more to increase the ante and fever has not kept up. So, it's getting reviewed more severely as a result. I've actually tried to be charitable to this game, acknowledging that fans will probably appreciate it, but, I've played the game and I find it severly lacking and I would not recommend it to die-hard football fans. For casual pick-up and play amongst friends, the big play-mentality works okay. But. For purists who want to put together a sustained drive mixing run and pass, forget it. You're better off going for the bomb than the quick out, and your odds of getting picked off are lesser as well.

I don't like Fever 2003, Kevin. I have played it, and my impression of this game stands as is.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

I think that "realistic" stragety applies more to professional football than anything else. You have to mix up run and pass plays in an equal balance.
There was a video game special on ESPN's Sportscenter, and it had John Madden on it. Basically, he was really upset how unrealistic players were being on Madden, his main quip being that people are going for it on fourth down, and people passing on every down.
Now the college game, that's another story.

 

[Mike Pattee]

The game doesn't out and out suck. Its a very average quality title. It just doesn't stack up to madden and 2k3 when it comes to stats and franchise modes, which are 2 things that I like in a football game. I've played 5 games so far on it, and I think i'm getting the hang of it. I play very realistic and it pisses me off when people don't. I'm to the point where I need to turn up the difficulty again after beating the patriots with the dolphins 44-21. and all 3 of thos td's were 70+ yrds. That would be my only complaint was that as someone else on here said it caters to the big play. I think that one of the major things that hurts this game is the limitation of time options. 5,10,or 15 isn't enough options. Their aren't enough pass rushing animations. There seems to be multiple animations for how you get past the O-linemen which is good but there is only one for failures to get past the O-linemen. Graphically madden and 2k3 just look far superior and they seem to be much more sim oriented. I'll post other things as I think of them. But it seems that everything is just not as polished as it could have been. I think it would have been a great football game compared to games 3-4 years ago but it just doesn't stack up this year.

Mike

 

[Romier S]

What football games are you playing? Tecmo Bowl? You must have SOME working knowledge of football to know that you shouldn't go for a 20 yd pass when you're 3rd and inches.

Agreed.
I'll put it plainly and simply I know *ABSOLUTELY* nothing about football. I don't watch the sport but for some reason lately have found some enjoyment in playing football games.
Last year I went out and bought NFL Fever 2002 because a buddy had it and I enjoyed playing it. I dont know anything about not needing a brain to play the these games but I will say I got my ass stomped a majority of the time cause I had no idea what plays to run and even what the hell they do. Fever thankfully is much more forgiving in the learning stages. It was ridiculously easy to pass though since I could keep my QB standing there for almost 20-30 seconds with no threat of being sacked anytime soon...
After some practice though and some help from some football savvy friends I got a passing knowledge and what allot of plays do and slowly I learned (and am still learning).
This year I've pretty much decided to buy NFL 2k3. I've been following previews for all three games and I'd like to give a more "realistic" football game a chance. Given the favorable reviews its received and my past experience (limited) with the NFL 2k series on the DC its my choice for football this year.
I've read the learning curve is steep but I'm willing to give anything a try and to learn. Hopefully this continued football newbie can further his skills.

 

[Brandon_H]

For those looking to increase their football knowledge:

Joe Theismann co-wrote "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Football." I picked it up a while back to increase my football IQ. At that time, I could recognize formations -- and often spot the blitz -- but I had trouble reading man or zone coverage, knowing which plays to run in certain situations, etc.

Believe it or not, the book helped. Not all lessons apply to football -- I've yet to see a video-game where corners line up inside or outside of receivers depending on the coverage, for instance -- I did learn when to run draws and screens, how to set up and use counters, reverses and play-action, clues as to how to defend the option, and so forth.

So if you're a gamer looking to gain an additional edge -- or just learn what a zone blitz is -- i recommend the book.

 

[James St]

You must have SOME working knowledge of football to know that you shouldn't go for a 20 yd pass when you're 3rd and inches.

Actually that would probably work. The cpu will recognize 3rd and inches and stack the line. I'll somtimes go shotgun with 5 wide creating a favorable matchup with my receivers on linebackers or perhaps not even covered if the LB's blitz.

 

[Ryan Peter]

Graphically madden and 2k3 just look far superior and they seem to be much more sim oriented.

Are you serious? From what I've seen Fever beats both of those titles hands down graphically. Even someone who doesn't care for it should be able to see that.

 

[Kevin Alexander]

Peter, go waste your energy somewhere else. Since you've resorted to unjustifiable and unprovoked name calling (calling me a horse's rear end) over something as simple as a videogame, I will not even acknowledge your existence in this discussion from this point forward. Go to Link Removed There you will find more of "your people".

 

[Kevin Alexander]

Are you serious? From what I've seen Fever beats both of those titles hands down graphically. Even someone who doesn't care for it should be able to see that.

You are correct! Fever has always had the better graphics. Sega 2K3 isn't even out yet. How can anyone say that it's better?

 

[Peter Manojlovich]

Unjustified and unprovoked?! Please, let's not be a hypocrite. Who's the person in this thread accusing others of rendering an opinon on a game they haven't played. That was you none other than you, my friend. Why would I do such a thing?

You accused me of not playing fever 2003, because your impression of fever differs from mine, and you attempted to discredit my opinon of the game by claiming that I hadn't played it. Bush league.

Your opinion is not a fact. It's your opinion that's all. If you can't deal with people having a different opinion then yours, then maybe should consider not frequenting forums, period.