ESPN NFL 2005 to be released on July 20th

[Astral]

Well it did win best sports game of E3 from a few sites and publications.

[EvilMog]

THe graphics are no 10. maybe a 9. The weather effect are ass. The worst in any NFL game. NFL Fever had the best snow IMO. Footprints that stayed on the ground the whole half were damn kickass. The animations are a 10 though, I give it that.

[Sl1p]

I picked it up today out of boredom, here are the things that stick out in my mind.

-Thank god, the speed is faster than last years slow motion fest. Setting it up next to something like NCAA Football made it look like Max Payne's NFL 2004 last year, so this is good.
-Throwing the ball is still way too easy. You can still throw into even triple coverage and come out a winner. That was my biggest gripe about last years game so it sucks to see that it's the same.
-On the flip side, interceptions are harder to get this year. Last year, while it was ridiculously easy to throw it into someones hands, if you were up against someone who actually knew what they were doing they could snag it every time. Hooray for this.
-Why are defenders so stupid? Unlike say, NCAA 2005, it dosen't feel as if defenders do anything to help you out while running the ball. There SHOULD be someone there with you in the begining and yes, he is there, but he dosen't do much in the way of helping you, but more the defensive line. Aggrivating..
-The graphics that were touted are uhhh...nothing too great. In fact, last years game ran smoother as when they go into special animations the game starts takes a huge FPS hit. Lame..
-The motion physics are going to take some getting used to. No longer can you recieve the ball, then instantly spin to the side since it propels you in the way you recieved it. Thats a good addition.
-The juke is still entirely worthless. It's still too slow and dosen't have enough range on it to make it worth considering in a pinch.
-Presentation is practically identical to last years game with the exception of the hilariously 3-D Chris Berman. Same cuts, same pictures, just generally the same. Even some of the commentary is the same.

It's a good game and all, but I'll just say that I'm glad it's only $20 bucks because thats about as much as I'd be willing to pay for it. I'll definetly go on record by saying that this is one of the most over rated football games to come down the line in some time. Is it better than last years game? Sure. But now that I've gotten in some play on this, I'm really looking forward to Madden. Christ..I'm buying 3 Football games this year. Thank god they're all $20 bucks for me.

If I had to rate it, I would say 7/10. Thats about on par with last years game. Comeptition is so stiff this year thanks to NCAA being so great and Madden looming. Plus they didn't address my main concerns. Eh, I'll see you guys online I guess.

EDIT: Okay, maybe I jumped the gun on the "Interceptions are harder" point. Since this post I made 2 interceptions, one of them leading to an 87 yard return. Baaaaah~!!

Double EDIT: Listening to voice attachments sent through Live crashes the game, AND I SHOULD KNOW! ><

[GameCynic]

The juke is far from worthless; its great if you have a finesse back who can't run over a defender with the shoulder charge.

Anyway, I love this game more with every game I play. I didn't play much football last year, so this is just what I needed I guess. I've been fooling around in the scrimmage mode for the last hour, just trying out different moves versus different formations.

[Changeling]

EDIT: Okay, maybe I jumped the gun on the "Interceptions are harder" point. Since this post I made 2 interceptions, one of them leading to an 87 yard return. Baaaaah~!!

Double EDIT: Listening to voice attachments sent through Live crashes the game, AND I SHOULD KNOW! ><

Intereceptions definitely aren't harder. I already got a broken controller to prove it! I never had any problems with voice attachments but I did have an issue today when I tried to play a friend online. Live says that its looking for updated rosters and such and then it says that it can't find them at this time. Then you don't get to play online. The thing is that this morning, I got to play with no issues. Ah well. can't have it all.

What level are you playing at slip? All pro? Curious, because I wasn't haveing such an easy time completing passes as you are. Then again, I really need to practice on my football skills

[Sl1p]

Whatever the default is. I haven't fiddled with any of the settings.

[Schlep]

Try bumping it up to All-Pro; it's much more realistic.

[Sl1p]

I just played 2 quarters of All-Pro. Surprise, no difference..bleh =\ Then again, I never notice difficulty changes in sports games.

Edit: Yeah, I'd like to lower my score. This is $20 bucks because it's the exact same game as last year with some new animations and little features that don't directly effect the playing of Football. Same exact problems as last year, same commentary, same exact presentation..it's just all the same. The graphics are worse than last year and it's fairly obvious that this is an optimized PS2 port. The whole thing smacks of no effort and I don't see how it can be given such great scores from the press other than "ITS 20 BUCKS LOL!!!"

Lets go Madden.

[youandwhosearmy]

Meh I need to get this soon.

I'll still wager it will be better than Madden.

[Bacon McShig]

$15.88 this week at Target.