XBox - Which football game? (1 Viewer)

[Mike_G]

Madden or NFL Fever?
Rather than state what I want out of the game, I'd like to know which you prefer and why, and if you've played one or the other.
Mike
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[Joel Mack]

Well, I have Madden on the PS2, and have played a bit of NFL Fever on an XBox kiosk. I prefer the XBox Fever to PS2 Madden. How XBox Fever stacks up to XBox Madden, I dunno.
Helpful, I know...
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[Dave Falasco]

Well, that seems to be the question of the hour for Xbox football fans! I'm on the horns of that particular dilemma myself. I haven't played either one yet, but I am leaning towards Fever right now for a few reasons:
Graphics!! Yeah, I know looks ain't everything, and it's what's inside that counts, but damn this game looks pretty. I'm sure you've seen all the screenshots, but it is really just remarkable what a game that was specifically developed for the Xbox can look like. I think Madden looks good, too, and I love the widescreen support, but looking at Madden and then Fever is a pretty dramatic contrast in the level of detail.
Gameplay Really? Well, yes. I've played Madden in several different incarnations, and while I agree that it is probably the most realistic football "simulation", I'm willing to give the new kid on the block a chance. For me, 10 yards in a cloud of dust gets old after a while. I have read about how in Fever your linemen actually open up holes for your running backs, and that is indeed a welcome change from Madden, where running between the tackles was good for 2 yards, tops. (I never said I was any good at Madden...)
Hey, I know that's not the most informed opinion in the world (as I have admitted to not playing either), but I figured I would share my thought process with you anyway. I liken Fever vs. Madden to Gotham vs. Gran Turismo 3. The latter gives you a more accurate experience, I'm sure, but the former just seems a whole lot more fun.
Aw, who am I kidding? I'll end up with both by Xmas. Are you ready for some football?!?!

 

[Dave F]

Anyone know if there is a widescreen mode on NFL Fever?
-Dave
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[Chad Ferguson]

I went with NFL Ferver. It looks better, and more importantly suits my wants for a Football game better. Also, games like it should be supported over lame ports any day. maybe EA gets there act together it will be more worth it. The question is, will they? Would it hurt other system sales if the Xbox one looked way better than the rest?

 

[Carlo_M]

For me, 10 yards in a cloud of dust gets old after a while. I have read about how in Fever your linemen actually open up holes for your running backs, and that is indeed a welcome change from Madden, where running between the tackles was good for 2 yards, tops. (I never said I was any good at Madden...)

You weren't very good at Madden

Seriously, I've never had any trouble running the ball on any Madden incarnation (PS1, PS2, PC) from 1993-2001. Sure it's changed, but I think the running scheme on 2001 PC (which is what I'm currently playing) after the 2.2.1 patch has been a godsend. And from what I've played on the PS2, it's pretty similar. I have no reason to doubt that Madden for XBox or GCN will be much different.
Madden is as deep as you want to get into it. You can set the sliders to be more arcade like, but you can also set it to be super sim. That's what sells it to me. I have the opposite experience as you: flashy graphics get old to me after a while, it's a solid and realistic football experience that keeps me coming back.

 

[Chad Ferguson]

This will probably happen with Fever although it's supposed to learn after a while, but every football game will have a play that works everytime. I easily found one in 2K series, madden I haven't played in a while but give me 5 hours with the game. Graphics should be focused on less now and they should get the game down itself.

 

[Randall Z]

now that xbox is out, does anyone have any more insight? I have played NFL fever at the kiosks, but still have no idea how it stacks up to XBox Madden. I'm sure Madden probably has more features, what I'm most concerned about is gameplay.
Thanks

 

[Kelley_B]

Personally I am waiting on NFL2k2

 

[Dave F]

OK, there is no widescreen in NFL Fever. That said, which looks better: a stretched NFL Fever, or a widescreen Madden?
-Dave
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[Doug Schiller]

Boy, I'm just not seeing what you guys are.
I thought Fever looked bad from the videos but I was shocked how bad it looked at an actual kiosk.
Players with 2 feet legs and 450 pound torsos.
Everyone moving at the same time with the same arm swing.
The stadiums looks wierd to me. Ray James (which I'm most familar with) looked nothing to me like the real thing.
The turf was nice but I saw someone playing in the 4th Quarter and there was no field degradation (which Madden doesn't have either).
I've been impressed by some of the XBox games but not Fever.
Doug

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Don't Rule out NFL2K2 from Sega. It was an excellent game of Football on the Dreamcast.

 

[Matty B]

From xbox.ign.com:
"if you've got Kurt Warner, Isaac Bruce wide open near the sideline and your eyes and veins are bulging at the chance to stick it to the defense, you're thinking "let me rifle this ball in there like a Randy Johnson heater." So you mash Bruce's button as hard as you can and Warner proceeds to lob a perfect spiral up into the stratosphere. You're thinking "$%(@$, why the hell did he do that?! It's gonna be picked off now!" The entire defensive backfield is converging on Bruce's position like honeybees to a Lifesaver as the ball takes what seems like 10 minutes to get there. Yet, even without you taking control of him, Bruce makes the catch with a crowd of defenders around him, and he's dropped to the turf immediately. A 33 yard gain with no yards after catch is good, but not what you had in mind"
"NFL Fever 2002 was one of those games that impressed me immediately with it's outstanding looks and the way it moved. Like a bubbly supermodel however, when I wanted to get to know it better and see what more it had to offer, I was a bit let down. Fever 2002 had no intentions of being a pure football sim even though it had the full-on stat tracking, Dynamic Player Performance and comprehensive trophy case --elements that would excite football sim fanatics. So I adjusted my perspective to evaluate it as an arcadey type of game. In which case it lands somewhere between NFL 2K2 and Blitz in terms of playability and quality. But I could not and still cannot shake the idea that Fever wants to be a sim, but it's AI and overall integration weren't fleshed out enough in time for launch, and so it gets the arcade label to differentiate it from Madden. How else do you explain things like a full fledged NFL Draft and Free Agency system but no realignment or Houston Texans for 2002 in Dynasty Mode?"
Yuck and Yuck. Ill just wait til next year to get an Xbox since none of the sports titles that I want (Basically all that I play is sports games) will be out until next year. Hopefully next year Madden, College Football, Fifa, NHL, etc will be in 1080i with DTS sound.

 

[Tom_J]

I've been impressed with NFL2k1,2k2 on the DC. So, I'll be looking forward to the XBox release.
Won't be picking one up until it supports broadband, though.

 

[Scott FP]

Just wandered over from the NFL Fever Xbox forum and I have some bad news.
You CAN play dynasty mode on Fever. That isn't the problem. From what I read in the other forum is that Dynasty mode only allows 5 minute quarters. No one has found out a way to increase this and it seems there isn't a way.
I have always played the Front Page Sports Football sims on the PC and their dynsasty mode was fantastic. So great graphics on Fever plus dynasty mode is what attracted me to this game. My Xbox Bundle arrives in a couple of days and I chose this bundle because of Fever, but 5 minute quarters?!
You can change the quarter length in exhibition and single game only. Probably won't take long to buy Madden.

 

[Dave Falasco]

Well, I got the chance to play a little Fever over the weekend, so I figured I'd share my impressions.

I posted earlier on this thread that my initial thought was to pick up Fever over Madden because of the improved graphics and the different style of gameplay. Well, I haven't played Madden yet, but I rented Fever and played all weekend, and I have to say, I am leaning towards Madden, now. FIrst off, yes, Fever does look incredible. The tackling animations are awesome, and the fact that the players look very natural means that when you hit the ball carrier and knock him flat, you really get a charge out of it. (At least, I did.) Even the silly touchdown celebrations and the trash-talking after big plays looked great. Based on looks alone, this would be a no-brainer.

However, Fever does have a tendency towards big-money plays (which is supremely aggravating when playing against a ten-year-old nephew who loves the deep pass!!). I loved the running game, but the passing game is pumped up a bit too much. Players make plays that they would never be able to pull off in real life, and even on tipped balls, the ball stays in the air so long that both the receiver and the defender have a good chance of making a play on the ball. How many times do you see a forty-yard reception by a double-covered wide-out in a real game? Once? Twice, if you're a Rams fan? In Fever, it can happen 20 times. How often does a corner-back tip the ball away from a receiver, but the ball bounces high enough that the receiver makes the catch anyway in real life? Get used to it, in Fever. It seems like there is practically no such thing as an incomplete pass--it's either a spectacular reception or a pick.

I really liked parts of the game, such as the way your O-line opened up holes for your RBs to sprint through. And as I said, the game just looks beautiful. Even the grass looks like real grass, it's not just a flat green slab. It's good enough to demo your new Xbox to your friends, in my opinion. But the Sportscenter-highlight focus of the passing game makes it pretty frustrating to play for long periods of time. I will definitely rent Madden and probably even wait to check out Sega's offering before making my purchase. Still, if MS tones down the passing game and keeps the excellent running game, I will definitely consider the next iteration of Fever.

 

[Matty B]

I dont see why people dont like Madden? I mean the Madden Dynasty mode is BRILLIANT. It adds the Houston Texans WITH coach Dom Capers (NFL Fever has neither), the Salary Cap increases with Time along with Salary Demands, you can import classes from NCAA Football (For some reason EA lists this as a feature for ALL Maddens even though it's only possible on PS2). I just think Madden is like a science, and you have to study it.