NFL Head Coach: Hands-on Q&A

[sdrotar]

Quote: Originally Posted by JohnnytheSkin

I know it's probably not a concern at this point, but will it be a backwards compatible title on 360? Since MS is trying to get the 360 in as many hands as possible, I assume that by June any new Xbox game should be BC. Also, how "scripted" does the game play. You mentioned the Vanderjagt shank, but did you ever get the feeling that something happened outside your hands? Did your WR's practice great and then on Sunday drop everything? *Nice dig at Plummer by the way. All season the fans and press were asking when Jake would be Jake...and lo and behold, the biggest game of his career, BAM! The old Plummer returns.*

Backwards compatibility is... who knows? EA has said it's up to Microsoft, I've heard Microsoft say that a lot of it is up to developers... I don't really think anyone seems to completely grasp how it works at this point.

EA wants it to be. Microsoft wants it to be. That's what we were told, so beyond that, your guess is as good as mine.

***

"Scripting"...
I wouldn't even hazard a guess at this point. The game is still early, and all it's AI - and it was mentioned that the D-line in specific was being worked on - is not installed at this point.
Moreover, to definitively say a game is "scripted" would require a much, much larger sample of game play than I was afforded.

Now, things happen out of your hands all the time - but that's football. Players screw up. I didn't see anything that made me question the validity of what happened on the field, if that's what you're asking.

***

It's funny, too - "virtual" Jake was killing everybody who played against him on Wednesday. Go figure.

[sdrotar]

Quote: Originally Posted by ExtremeGamer

My only question is, how is it, I mean, like how did it play?

After the second game, I started to get into it. It takes some adjustment to lose control of the play directly, but after a bit, I started to really enjoy balancing the motivation of players and strategy along with the real-time action of the game.

For example, as the Broncos, I was behind late and so I told Champ Bailey to gamble and go for the pick, and told John Lynch to start laying people out to try and cause a fumble. It didn't work out for the team - but Bailey and Lynch did play differently trying to do what I asked.

It's a completely different way to play - unique from Madden in nearly every way.

[sdrotar]

Quote: Originally Posted by Nza

Is there any ESPN overlays etc? Did you play in-game? How did the game feel from an AI standpoint? In Madden 06 coach mode, it's easy to tell the game suffers from poor AI by looking at the QB play. Maybe if you had the chance, you could give Madden 06 coach mode a spin (if you haven't already) and draw some comparisons? Did you get a chance to try out any front office stuff, like player signings, the draft etc?

Player signings weren't really working correctly. The draft worked - but the players didn't actually join your roster. These were known issues with the build, but it did keep me from doing certain things.
You make offers to players and the agent calls you back a day or two later with a response.

***

The ESPN feel is rather minimal at this point. There are some cut-scenes with Trey Wingo of SportsCenter and a definite ESPN feel to the NFL Draft, but otherwise, I didn't see very much. But I didn't exactly miss it, either.

***

I mentioned earlier that the AI is not final, or even completely "installed", so it's not at all fair to really "review" it at this point. What I did see looked similar to Madden's coach mode, so take that as you will at this very early stage.

[SPTO]

sdrotar, how varied was the actual coaching in game? I know you said you told Champ Bailey and John Lynch to gamble a bit but I mean how varied is it? Can you chew out the QB if he's performing badly and such? How bout situations when you need to sub in someone due to injury and such?

[Nza]

I guess this means they have added new player attributes?

[georgiafan]

How does practice work? Do you have certain time to get everything done?

[sdrotar]

Quote: Originally Posted by Nza

I guess this means they have added new player attributes?

They have. Not at every position, but at QB, for example, I noticed:
- QB Accuracy Short
- QB Accuracy Medium
- QB Accuracy Long
- Throw on Run

Things like that.

[cdj]

The game sounds very interesting.

Could a gamer skip/sim certain parts of the season? IE: If I didn't want to negotiate contracts, could I have the CPU do it instead? Thanks in advance.

** Considering you visited Tiburon, can we expect info on NCAA 07 in the next few weeks?