NFL2K5 is a really flawed game.
QB Spy doesn't work. There are times DBs will inexplicably slow down on fly patterns. Sometimes OL make idiotic blocking "decisions". Player movement, particularly when they run, or change directions, isn't as good as it could be. There are stat tracking issues. A personal peeve is the weather system, which I always felt should be much better for rain & snow. I could go on and on, but I'm not as well versed as many others in the problems this game has.
But I love it. Perhaps in light of the news this week, I've come to love it - and appreciate it - even more.
Maybe it's because part of me roots for the underdog. Perhaps it's because I realize how much the series has progressed since it's release on 9/9/99. Or maybe - and probably most important - it's because it gave me a taste of next gen football is THIS gen of football.
Like most everyone, at the beginning of the week I was pretty excited about possibly getting to see the next-gen Madden this weekend. But my excitement has waned considerably with the news that we really won't be seeing actual gameplay - leaving us free to speculate for another month on how the game will actually look and play (IF it's in a playable form at E3). Bummer.
Could it be that much of the excitement of Madden's potential is built on what NFL2K5 has already established can be done? For me, that is the case.
The OL/DL interaction can be a thing of absolute beauty. I've watched 3yd cloud of dust replays over and over just because of what happened in the trenches. Even when there was no big need for it, VC revised the way WRs/DBs interact. There have been times where I've seen a DB fight off a WR block, only to see that WR run and try to attempt a chip block on a LB. DB stances show DBs for what many are - cocky, overconfident, showy. On defense, I love being able to "stalk" before a play; slight movement of the analog stick makes your player move so realistically. Post play action is near perfect. Players flipping the ball to refs, talking to their teammates, helping a member from the other team up, sometimes pushing and shoving after the play... I love watching the reactions of the players on the sidelines - everything from the players & coaches, to the camera men. How about the guys w/the 35mm near the endzone repositioning themselves during plays? Stadiums are extremely well done, giving you the feel of being in a huge stadium with 60,000+ fans. The QB throwing anim improvements are in a word, great.
Remember when VIP was announced and people said there was no way it could mimic a human player's movement... then it did. Gamecast - able to replay the entire game from your HD. Holdover improvements from 2K4 - how underrated is FPF? The realistic playcalling setup that no other game has, from real QB drops to the way audibles are implemented. Even a detail like the refs, which I detailed in a thread a while back (even went back and found it -
An ode to the referees of 2K4 - directional perfection?).
A few weeks ago I purchased a Action Replay and downloaded _complex's sliders and rosters. Although I'm sure there were massive tweaks, and it doesn't fix all of the game's inherent issues, the game plays even more fantastic. Not sure why I wanted to say this, but just wanted to show an appreciation for the game that I believe is part of the reason we look to the next-gen with anticipation. As much as I've typed, there were so many features and enhancements I didn't even touch on. I'm disappointed to not know what VC's plans are next gen, but in a way I also can't help but give them a pass on whatever they decide to do. NFL2K5 showed TREMENDOUS potential, that has to go unrealized. To me the game will forever be underappreciated for what it did in the now, and for where it showed us videogame football could go in the future.
04-22-2005, 08:13 AM
