The Ten Most Influential Console Sports Games of All Time #2

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Written by Scott Hemphill | 06 April 2008

# 2 ESPN NFL 2K5
2004
Sega/Visual Concepts
XBOX/PS2

I have to admit that the #2 most influential sports video game is a controversial choice.  That’s not to say the game wasn’t great and had incredible features and presentation, as ESPN NFL 2K5 clearly did.  However, its “influence” is debatable because it set such a high bar in some key areas, yet other sports game manufacturers (and 2K Sports itself) often doesn’t approach the high standard set by NFL 2K5 even 4 years after the release of the game.

However, the features- and particularly the presentation- included in NFL 2K5 did influence us, the gamers, to expect much much more in our sports games than we usually get.  ESPN NFL 2K5 made us sit back and say…. “Wow, this is a football video game that plays like an ESPN NFL TV broadcast”.  No other sports video game to this date has done a better job of suspension of reality to make you feel like you are watching you own “televised” NFL franchise that you control.  Four years later, the game remains the measuring-stick by which all sports video game presentation and atmosphere is judged.

 So why is that? Well, it goes without too much explanation that the actual football gameplay would have to be solid.  And it was.  Sure, NFL 2K5 had some bugs (like a QB spy command that didn’t work, and some questionable defensive back AI that required some slider movement), but overall, it was a very polished football game.  Also, for its day (July of 2004), its visuals also surpassed the visuals of aging Madden PS2/XBOX engine. So quite simply, it had that “game” and it had the “looks”.

 However, it’s the presentation that was totally unexpected and awe-inspiring was BEYOND the actual football gameplay.  Now, let’s not forget that 2K football had fantastic voice-work announcing from the actors portraying “Dan and Peter” with their two man booth.  As usual, that was great stuff.  However it was the way Visual Concepts went well beyond what was expected.  ESPN NFL 2K5 used ESPN personalities in it’s “pseudo broadcasts”, and used them well.  There was a fairly accurate polygonal representation of Chris Berman, who is voiced by …Chris Berman.  The ESPN pre-game booth (circa 2004) is replicated and Berman actually comes on, talks about the game, the teams, and hands the broadcast over to Dan and Peter.  It works flawlessly in setting the mood, and its followed by the a-typical stadium pan to open up the game, just like most TV networks do for real games.

And it didn’t stop there.  Gamers would see their favorite players conversing on the sidelines during events such as sacks, interceptions, etc.   QB’s would be shown throwing their helmets after coming to the bench after a turnover.  Cornerbacks would be seen partying on the sidelines and re-enacting their big interception with the players near the benches.  Then there was the fantastic Chris Berman hosted halftime show, with actual in-game highlights and discussion- all with the ESPN music and style. 

Then when you’d fire up a franchise, each week of your season you were treated to a special ESPN NFL PrimeTime show at the end of each week, recapping scores and video highlights from other games around the league.  It was simply fantastic.  Trey Wingo even would host a draft special later in the season so you knew about the AI created prospects for the upcoming draft. 

The game was simply chock-full of game-broadcast authenticity that still has not been equaled or eclipsed almost 4 years later.  EA’s purchase of the ESPN license has not yet yielded anything comparable to how Sega/VC handled their use of the ESPN license- and believe me when I say that EA DOES hear about it from both the gamers and the Madden/NCAA Community Leaders Program.  However, gamers remember exactly how ESPN NFL 2K5 handled features, presentation and in-game authenticity.  The bar has been set, and has yet to be surpassed.

Not too bad for a game that sold new for $19.99

The Ten Most Influential Console Sports Games of All Time #3

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Written by Scott Hemphill | 02 March 2008

# 3 Madden NFL 2001
2000
EA
PS2

Several hyphenated words come to mind when we think back to Madden 2001 on PS2.  The first of which is “awe inspiring”.  The second is “system-seller”.

When Madden made the jump from the PS1 to the PS2, the result was what many consider to be the biggest graphics jump between football generations.  Though Madden 2001 was far from perfect, it was- for its time- a surprisingly complete package.  Madden 2001 set the bar extremely high for both graphics and franchise mode for the 2000 calendar year.   This was not a release of a rushed product just to make the PS2 launch list, this game was surprisingly refined for its time.

And the graphics were simply awe-inspiring. Gone were the days of the blurry, blocky 3D polygons from the PS1 era.  Now we could see vibrant dazzle-twill on NFL uniforms, perfectly recreated helmets and accessories, and well articulated player movements. Combining those graphics with the surprisingly full features set, and what you have is probably the single-biggest system launch title of all time.  The jump that Madden 2001 gave the PS2 was insurmountable.  The PS2 systems and the game flew off of shelves at an unprecedented rate.