ESPN NFL 2K5

Great commentary, sharp graphics and the perfect price (under $20 bucks) makes this game a certain buy.

NFL 2K5 is loaded with football prowess that hasn't been seen in any other football game. Although First Person Football is still around (gag), the most interesting addition this year is the VIP system. I still particularly like rubbing up against the celebrity-led teams that talk smack to you as you try to demolish them – cool feature.

The VIP system is a profile manager that actually records your play mannerisms and stores them so that other people can play against your VIP ghost. While this system gets most of the play-calling strategies down, I never saw the VIP system bring a safety to the weak-side line of scrimmage and blitz on a play when the safety was supposed to be playing some deep zone, which happens to be something I do a lot.

The system is also limited in its usefulness to the number of gamers who are routinely at your house. If you live in a frat, you'll be in heaven as you'll have a ton of VIPs to learn, whereas if it's just you and your dog, you probably won't ever get much use out of the VIP thing. Unfortunately, both the PS2 and Xbox versions of 2K5 fumble a bit in their online play. The game comes with a league component, which works well with the VIP system by letting you theoretically practice against an upcoming player by downloading his VIP. But the whole thing is hampered by some problems regarding updating rosters and trying to connect to other gamers -- it made it just about impossible to play online. I e-mailed the ESPN folks, and they replied that they know about the issue but couldn't resolve it at this time.

The Crib has more goodies than ever -- a ton of merchandise to buy with points earned by playing the game and achieving impressive stats. New this time around is the appearance of MTV-ish celebrities like Steve-O and Carmen Electra, who will challenge you with their VIPs.

Of much greater value, obviously, is 2K5's solid gameplay. Running the ball has never been done better than in the 2K series thanks to awesome animations and a great control scheme. Not only can you charge up your spins, jukes and leaps by holding the correct button, you can also use the right stick to stutter-step, stop short, and juke. You can give your players a turbo boost! Running backs are quite fast, allowing you to concentrate more on your moves and less on jamming the turbo button. It's simply a tremendous running game.

Things are a bit sloppier in the passing game. Letting loose and throwing a rocket always seems to wind up in dropped balls. When your receiver is twenty yards down field and about to enter an open spot in a zone, you do what anyone with the last name Marino would do - fire the damn ball as hard as you can. But this means your accuracy goes to hell and your receiver's hands practically turn to stone.

The actual play-books themselves feel a little thin and there's usually only one interesting receiver route per formation. Furthermore, there's an abundance of plays that always or never work: for example, quick outs seem near impossible to pull off, whereas slants work almost every time.

NFL 2K5's presentation can be summed up in one word: hype. The game is bursting with ESPN attitude. For that matter, the game is littered with graphical features that emphasize the ESPN branding, such as the Half-Time show. Starring Chris Berman and Boomer.

The in-game graphics are beautiful. 2K5 is a great environment. The animations are simply awesome, from the actual in-game movements to the sweet incidental touches as players argue with calls or just stand around at the end of a play. The rock solid frame rate and overall attention to detail makes 2K5 one of the best looking sports games you'll play.

Best football video game of all time. I'm not even that big into football yet I had a blast with this game. Superior to the competition and sold at a lower price too. Win-win.

I love this game. This game is way better than Madden! I always play as the Philadelphia Eagles, who are my favourite NFL team. The game load screen is entertaining with Chris Berman (a.k.a. Boomer). Suzy Kolber is also included at the sidelines. The stadium renderings are crisp. The graphics are so lifelike. There are also celebrity challenges. You can also access "THE CRIB". Each game you play, you earn Crib credits. You can buy things to deck out your crib. For every milestone achieved in the game, you earn a trophy. The in-game commentary is awesome, by Dan Stevens and Peter O'Keefe, who also did the commentary since the NFL 2K series premiere on the Sega Dreamcast. I also own NFL 2K2 on my PlayStation 2 & First-Original NFL 2K on my Sega Dreamcast.

I can't believe how well this game was put together, and I'm a huge Madden fan. It took some friends of mine to even get me to try it; but once I started into the second season or so, it was awesome. Everything from the graphics to the banter between the announcers made me think they put a lot of money into the production. I particularly loved all the movie stars they had saying and doing certain things. The crowd noise could use a little work. I liked the halftime activities and some of the extra stuff like the crib, and especially the draft capabilities. The only issues I had were the fact that the players moved a little slower than in Madden. However, the WAY they moved was killer. Also, it was nice to hear different voices for a change, as hearing Madden over and over again gets to be a little redundant. At least they came up with interesting commentary in the 2K game. Sometimes they would even discuss stuff that wasn't on screen, which added some flavor and made it more realistic. The sound of people getting hit was a major highlight for me, as you could hear the grunts and groans, along with the crack of helmets and pads. I highly recommend this game.

This is the first football based game I've ever bought for my PS2 and I must say that I'm very impressed. The graphics are incredible and it's easy to think you're watching the real thing. The player movements are very realistic right down to endzone celebrations which you can customize for your team from a vast list of celebrations. The game play is easy to get used to and once you get used to them you can juke, spin, and stiff-arm your way down the field. What I really like is that while you are running, when you want to change direction your player just doesn't make a seamless move the other way. He stops and re-adjusts his footing to go the other way. Again, another realistic feature. Put all of this together with week to week game preparation and get ready for the closest thing to the real thing!

Also in this game you can own your own franchise right down to drafting and training camp. You can sign free agents, cut players, and renegotiate contracts all complete with a salary cap so you can't just throw money around for the best players. You can even make trades with other teams, attend the scouting combine, and even have a round-by-round draft. To get ready for the draft, you can listen to ESPN's Mel Kuiper as he gives us his rundown of the college prospects.

Other features include first person game play which puts you right into a players helmet. This feature is just OK and can get somewhat confusing because it always switches you to the ball carrier. The 25th Anniversary section allows you to play in certain historical games such as the infamous "Heidi Bowl", the "Immaculate Reception", "The Drive", as well as the most recent "4th & 26" game from last seasons playoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers. It's very easy to spend hours upon hours and not realizing you've spent all of this time playing a game.

All the while you play you build up your "Crib Points" so you can buy cool stuff for your, well, Crib. From bar stools and rugs to home theaters to dart boards you can use your points to purchase all kind of cool stuff. The Crib section is also where you get challenged by such stars as Jamie Kennedy, Carmen Electra, and Steve-O to go up against their team of all-stars. Don't worry because you can create a team of pro-bowl players yourself so you can play on an even field.

The only negatives I've found were the endless banter from the commentators which seem to be somewhere else than the game you are playing. It's a minor distraction that is tolerable. Also, as much as I like the idea that you can challenge a call, the system tends to be one sided to the point that if your opponent challenges a call on the field it's almost a sure bet it's going to go against you. Again, a minor thing to deal with and challenges don't happen that often but it does get somewhat annoying at times. Other than those things I really can't find anything wrong with this game. Couple that with it's $19.99 price tag and you've got a real bargain for a great game! Trust me, after you've played this version of an NFL game, you too will be saying "Madden, who?"