NFL Head Coach Demo (PC)

[Brandwin]

Quote: Originally Posted by e0820

Oh dont know how many times I have heard this.

LOL

Im going to wait and see on this one...doesnt seem like its what I thought it was going to be. I might just play FOF and Bowl Bound to fix my sim needs.

[SPTO]

I dunno, 1 minute quarters seemed TOO fast so I couldn't get a real grip on the in game stuff. The actual off the field stuff is a bit clunky but i'm sure it's workable once you get used to it.

Also I don't get the complaints on practice mode. In real life coaches don't "schedule" events. They have to take charge and get things done on the fly for the most part. Steelerfan2k1 your backups do get reps. You can put your 1st, 2nd or 3rd string units on the field. Also I think practicing special teams would be a tad tedious.

Overall, i'm still liking this game. It may make me prematurely bald but I still like it

[capa]

Is it compatible with Win98 or just XP?

C

[soonerfan1966]

Since these were one minute quarters, do you think that means quarter length will be an option?

I really can't see this game being stuck at 5 minute quarters. With the long NFL playclock, there is almost no way a team could establish a running game.

[Steelerfan2k1]

Quote: Originally Posted by SPTO

I dunno, 1 minute quarters seemed TOO fast so I couldn't get a real grip on the in game stuff. The actual off the field stuff is a bit clunky but i'm sure it's workable once you get used to it. Also I don't get the complaints on practice mode. In real life coaches don't "schedule" events. They have to take charge and get things done on the fly for the most part. Steelerfan2k1 your backups do get reps. You can put your 1st, 2nd or 3rd string units on the field. Also I think practicing special teams would be a tad tedious. Overall, i'm still liking this game. It may make me prematurely bald but I still like it

Sorry - I was tired last night when I was typing - and not explaining myself well.

I liked the fact that you could practice plays based on certain situations, on both offense and defense, and that 1st, 2nd and 3rd string are available. But, my question is, why is the practice format itself so simplistic? Unless I as missing something, practice is basically choosing 10 plays on offense and defense.

So, for example, if you are the Steelers and you have the Colts coming up the following week - as far as offense goes, you would want a mix of plays that would allow you to establish a balanced passing game of both passes downfield and short play action passes. You would want a mix of inside runs and running plays outside. There would easily be 20-25 plays that you would want to practice on offense alone. Then, on the defensive side of the ball, you would want to practice against the no huddle, you would want to practice what you were going to do to defend against Marvin Harrison, against passes out of the backfield, and against their quick hitting running game.

I'm just not seeing how "You have ten plays to pick - offense vs. defense" is going to simulate this type of planning. Then, beyond your basic offensive and defensive gameplan, you are supposed to budget time for your second and third string and your special teams. And, I disagree about special teams being boring. If you have KC on Sunday, you would want to spend some time in practice on max punt coverage to contain Hall.

I guess having multiple days of practice might allow you to simulate these different types of preparations. But, again, this simplistic interface (10 plays per practice) would make preparing for specific things rather cumbersome to do. This will especially be the case for preparation on defense. You will have to choose plays from your own offensive playbook that seem to replicate what you will see from your opponent's offense.

I guess I am hoping for too much, but I was expecting a practice mode where your coordinator/scouts would have priorities/goals for you to work on, and then it would be up to you as the coach to work on these areas in different types of practices.

Maybe I am making too much of this, but the whole interface seemed rather simplistic for the types of complex tasks that they were representing.

[ODogg]

One thing i find annoying is to pick options you have to scroll left and right, then click accept or whatever instead of just letting you click straight on the picture. I mean that's very console like, if you have a mouse to use why not allow us to use it?

[mudtiger]

I know you will get the choice to run a full contact practice because it's in the explanation of terms in the office somewhere (forgot where), so we aren't seeing everything there is to practice sessions (I sincerely hope).

edit: when you click on the nfl network tv in the office, you can get an overview of various aspects of the game. Practice mentions one on on drills so we are at least missing out on one aspect of practice most likely.

[dieselboy]

Man, all your reviews are souring me on this game...