What is the best football game of all time?

**OG_McNabb** · 10-05-2009, 11:23 AM

Re: What is the best football game of all time?

Tecmo Super Bowl NES- played that up until around 02. We (family) would still have tournaments.
Tecmo Bowl
NCAA 04 - I liked the flo of the game. I could juke without pushing buttons.
Gameday 99 - I believe it was 99 PS1. That Stiff arm was crazy!!
Madden 04 - I never liked Madden until the PS2 versions. To me this was the best one. I didnt play online so I didnt have to deal with the jetpack etc....

I didnt like any of the football that came out in 05. I dont understand all of the hype about ESPN 2k5 or Madden 05. I will admit I had the PS2 version to ESPN so maybe the Xbox version was that much better.

**Only1LT** · 10-05-2009, 11:53 AM

Re: What is the best football game of all time?

Voted for 2K5 although I would say that 2K8 is much better in terms of gameplay and animation. The lack of the NFL license though, for me, makes them about equal.

**kingkilla56** · 10-05-2009, 02:46 PM

Re: What is the best football game of all time?

19 on weds, 2k5 easy. But I loved Madden 05. Fantastic football year for gamers

**Netherscourge** · 10-05-2009, 02:59 PM

Re: What is the best football game of all time?

I grew up on Joe Montana Football and Tecmo Bowl. But the BEST Football I ever played was ESPN 2K5. And it's not even close - just looking at the poll results only confirms it.

**ButchCassidy** · 10-05-2009, 03:49 PM

Re: What is the best football game of all time?

I loved Madden 03, I played on my pc and had the best time. I also grew up playing strat-o-matic baseball and football which I'm sure most of you don't even know. It was a stat oriented dice game and was a blast, very realistic. We had leagues where we'd all meet at someone's house and it was great. No cheese and no false ratings. No animation either...

**speedkills** · 10-05-2009, 04:31 PM

Re: What is the best football game of all time?

I'm going to surprise myself but I'm voting for Madden 10. They've made so many improvements this year especially in my favorite area - QB play.

My *favorite* (not necessarily the best) football game of all time is Tecmo Superbowl. Houston Oilers FTW.

**laurenskye** · 10-05-2009, 04:42 PM

Re: What is the best football game of all time?

2K5 was the best before Finn's editor. After, it is, and will be for some time, the best. I downloaded an all 80's roster (great community out there) and am still loving this game. 2K8 could have easily have topped it if it did not have so many limitations (If it had an online upload/download of user rosters like NBA 2K...and why in the world could you not play user created teams against user created teams in a season).

Gotta give props to Tecmo Bowl...I remember taking days off to work to play that ("OMG...they have real players! LOL)

**Sanchez_Mareno** · 10-05-2009, 04:54 PM

Re: What is the best football game of all time?

NFL Head Coach 09

**Jet Sufferer** · 10-05-2009, 05:02 PM

Re: What is the best football game of all time?

No next-gen Madden has any business being on any list when talking about the best football games. APF 2K8 needs to be on any list of best football games ever.

My two best football games are 2k5 and 2k8, with the caveat that you're using edited rosters for 2k5.

After those two games there's a pretty big dropoff. Those 2 games simply destroy anything else ever made, they stand head and shoulders over anything else, to compare them to other games is simply laughable. Not to say the others can't be great fun, because they can, but their combination of sim and fun are off the charts for the hardcore FOOTBALL fan.

I will go even further with 2k5 to say not only is it the best football game ever, it's the best VIDEOGAME ever. Of course my love for football makes me biased, but you know what they say about opinions. I've played the game to death and still love playing it, it's the closest thing to an organic game ever made.

For those who only play Madden or dismiss it as just having "great presentation". Go into practice mode and call the most basic play, example being I form, HB-Iso. A simple running play up the middle, you can run that play for a half an hour and there's always a new wrinkle. This organic type gameplay is something Madden has never been able to do, nor has anyone else.

I feel in total control of the game when playing 2k5, my decisions and PLAYCALLING have a huge impact on what happens, as it should be. I primarily play against the CPU, who doesn't glitch or cheese me and gives me incredibly fair, hard fought, realistic games. The sliders work well enough to give me an incredible football experience, next-gen Madden makes me feel like I'm playing a video game, not a football sim.

There is too much random bizarreness in Madden, I don't have the immersion factor that 2K football gives me, I WISH Madden could do that, but it's still nowhere close. For all of the faults on ps2/xbox1 Maddens I can still ignore it's flaws and immerse myself into the game. Next Gen Maddens faults stick out like a sore thumb and ruin the experience. Far too many plays outcomes are predictable and repetitive. Far too many times I don't feel I have CONTROL over the game. Only by playing multiple hours and hundreds of games can you appreciate what 2K football brings to the table.

If the only discs you've been spinning for your football fix for the past 5 years are next gen Madden/NCAA 06-10, you've been playing a THIRD TIER football game.

2k5, 2k8 = First tier
Madden past gen/2k4/others = Second tier
Madden/NCAA 360/PS3 = Third tier