08-07-2003, 03:59 PM
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#1
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Rookie
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A Few Fever Oberservations -- Reviewable Copy
Hi all --
Two reps from MS dropped by my office today to demonstrate XSN, Fever and Topspin. Got a chance to play Topspin (posted in other forum) and see Fever in action.
XSN stuff is the same stuff you already know. It looks great if you have the time to invest in it.
Fever's presentation is quite clean and sleek. I was impressed with the overall look. Menus seemed easy to operate. For instance, the playcalling screen manages to pack a lot of information -- including your overall pass/run drive stats -- on one screen, without getting cluttered.
Was also very impressed with the level of custimization. It really seems like they were trying to make a football game that's acessable to anyone. There are tons of options to play around with in your user profile -- everything from the type of passing system you want to how you want your DB's to generally play. The rep said that this would come in handy for online play, as you could create different profiles to counter the different players in your league. For example, you know your next opponent likes to run, so you load up your profile that tells your LB's to play close to the line. Stuff like that.
Of course, I'm sure you can set this stuff in game, too.
As for the graphics, they are also quite sleek. I think that's the best word. Everything is very clean and solid. Very little aliasing. The colors are superb, quite rich and crisp even on our crappy office tv.
I also think the player models are improved. Proportions aren't perfect but are much better. They actually look human. Saw a few player faces during the pregame intro that looked decent, if not spot on.
As for the animations, there seem to be more of them. Lots more. The QB still does that stilted dropback, though. Oh, and the coach suggestions/comments are actually useful and even funny at times.
One other cool thing: The guy showed how to do hot blocking for run plays. Don't know if this was in previous editions of fever, but I liked the fact that you could not only change what hole the HB was going to hit, but also where the FB was going to lead block.
Since I didn't get a chance to play, I really can't comment on the gameplay. The speed LOOKED good and play LOOKED smooth. Also, Read and Lead looked hard, if fun. The Rep was having a tough time with his first few passes, though, in his defense, he was playing as Detroit.
Also, game was in the snow. Great weather effects. I'm pretty sure the players were leaving footprints. Stadium fog/lighting was good. Again, I just can't complain about the graphics. Clean is the operative word.
Overall, I was pretty impressed given that I really haven't played much Fever outside of the XBM demo last year. I'm actually considering picking this one up, especially since I'm pretty underwhelmed by the ESPN demo (and I was a 2k guy last year). I look forward to more impressions.
Wish I could tell you more, but spent my time playing Topspin. I'll post on that in the other forum.
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