Just played Fever for the 1st time all night

[Tender_Warrior]

I must be the only one who plays one-touch passing and still sucks. :P

I play on veteran and I swear, every time I get the lead....I call some bone-headed play and the CPU busts one and scores on me for the win.
What's funny is so far, the only games I win are the ones I simulate! :0

All in all though, I also think out of the big 3...Fever is the most "fun" to play.

[Nza]

Fever 2004 was only $AU 40, so I thought what the heck, as I just got my Xbox a week ago, so like you, I only just played it for the first time.

Let me first start by saying I *was* a Madden gamer, since 95. I only recently played ESPN on the PS2 and almost melted in my seat, I couldn't believe what I was missing out on, despite being a Madden gamer on the PC. ESPN is good enough to convert me to the Xbox

Anyway, to the point, Fever 2004 has me impressed. Ok, the playbook isn't the best, the dynasty sim mode in anything other than 5 mins is crap, the commentary is nothing special and the rosters are all over the place, but to me, this is realistic football.

I feel people are scared off by the momentum aspect - people compare Fever to Madden like Madden is realistic. It isn't. The last time I checked, players couldn't do a 360 degree spin on a coin at full speed. Last time I checked, receivers and defenders don't have superman balance when catching balls. The last time I checked, QB's and kickers were a little faster than turtles. I'll admit Fever has some unrealistic aspects too - the long range ball projectile, the player speed is out of whack and the amount of plays per game is either too little or too much thanks to the lousy quarter settings, but I feel it deserves much more attention than what it is getting. The only reason it isn't is because the legions of Madden players out there obnoxiously disregard it because it has a totally different style, unlike ESPN, which, despite being a great game, is obviously trying to replicate Madden gameplay.

I know many people don't like Fever, and many others like it as an "arcade" style Xbox Live game, but am I the only one that actually likes Fever as a Football simulation? Once you get the hang of it and actually give it a chance, it is very enjoyable. Every single game result I have against the PC ends up with a realistic score and stats (besides Tackles). The running game is very intense and realistic. The special teams are the BEST in any football game to date. The defense is a challenge, but one you can actually grow to defeat in time, and the pre-snap options are mind blowing. I get the feeling that even if Madden had half as many features as Fever, it would still sell like hot cakes, I really think people (i.e, Reviewers) need to acknowledge Fever as an alternative style NFL game rather than a Madden wannabe, because if Microsoft wanted Fever to be like Madden, trust me, it would have been like Madden long ago.

Maybe all my years of Madden gaming has warped me, but honestly, I think Fever 2004 is far better than what I was lead to believe before buying it. It has probably less strength's than ESPN, which would make ESPN a better game overall, but even second best is damn good to me.

[burnwood]

Quote:

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Nza said:
The special teams are the BEST in any football game to date.

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Nza,

I guess great minds do think alike After playing Fever for the first time these are the same observations that I've come to see regarding Fever vs the others. I used to breathe, eat, and sleep Madden since the Genesis days but ESPN converted me 100% and really opened my eyes (thanks to Kanobi too). Then I got an XBox and tried Fever.

As you mentioned, the first thing that sold me was the SOLID special teams play. Where all other games suffer in this category, you can actually see kickoffs and punt returns realistically unfold in Fever. For example, you cannot run to one side of the field and then jet to the other side for an easy score (MAN I hate that!!!). Also the kick meter speed bug me to NO END with Madden and ESPN when you switch difficulties. So, yeah I'm big on special teams in video games because they do make the difference in close games.

[Nza]

I guess you just have to be the right type of gamer to like Fever. I firmly believe that Fever, should it remain intact without MS cancelling it, will eventually develop into virtual football heaven. It has the fundamental aspects down, all they need to do is add on with bells and whisltes, hell, maybe even introduce it to the PC - 99.9% of PC gaming machines use a MS OS anyway, and expand the market.

Add some more animations, true dynamic gang tackles, tinker with the realism a bit more, etc etc, and I don't see me going anywhere else. Madden and ESPN, despite being successful right now, seem to have created an identity for themselves, and if you honestly analyze their respective gameplay aspects, they are not necessarily realistic fundamentally. I think Fever has the best potential to achieve true football gaming sooner than any other franchise, and should Madden or ESPN attempt to replicate this, I think it will backfire, simply because it will be too much of a change for the regular fans. Some, like us, will probably welcome such a change, but I think Fever will be the only franchise offering it.

Basically, I believe Fever has a better framework model than Madden. I feel Madden has reached its peak, bar the usual useless features every year, and for its peak to be redefined, it will take time, anything drastic would be a bad business move by EA. Fever is the under dog with nothing to lose, and even if I'm getting far more satisfaction from Fever right now myself, it is only time before more people starting getting it also, presuming the fraanchise can stay on track.

I'll probably buy all three again next year, then the year after that - i'm not a fanboy to any series, but I honestly believe Fever will be the franchise that ends up on top eventually, I just hope MS don't screw it up by folding in and follwing the "Madden Wannabe" trend.

[UNC1]

I'll say this..the more I play ESPN the more I like Fever...Don't get me wrong..ESPN is a solid game and I'v given up on madden, but Fever has a lot of little extras I like. I'm hoping mainly that the commentary and the way they cut off the plays is fixed along with some new animation and this is the game I'm gettin along with ID next year. I hope MS gives it one more go round.