“I’m just ‘bout that action, boss.” -Marshawn Lynch
PlayStation 2
Released in 2004 by Sega
Grade: A+
ESPN NFL 2K5 might be the best football game ever, known for realistic, fluid action, intuitive control, deep strategy, and flashy presentation. I’m not saying it definitely is the best, but a lot of people say it definitely is the best.
Where it falls in the series
It’s unfortunately the last of six NFL 2K games, and the fourth on PS2 and Xbox. It was sold for only $20, while Madden NFL 2005 was being sold for $50, putting a large dent in EA’s sales that year. Ballsy move, right? Well, EA wasn’t going for that. They went to court and in December 2004, they acquired the exclusive NFL license, and Madden NFL 06 was the only NFL game on the market the next season. It’s too bad. Gamers waited three years for a followup to 2K5, with All-Pro Football 2K8 on PS3 and Xbox 360, which uses fictional teams and retired players. As good as that game is, the sales were low, and there are no more 2K football games to date.
Praises and gripes
More than anything else, ESPN NFL 2K5 stands out because of its smooth, lifelike action. The herky-jerk running from earlier versions is gone. The first time you run around your blockers and turn upfield, you’ll see your player dip and rotate his shoulders, slowing down slightly before going back to a straight sprint. Defenders look natural as they chase him down, and tackles look realistic, whether it’s one guy nailing him in the chest or a gang of tacklers pulling him to the ground.
As the linemen clash, it looks natural and it’s unpredictable. The passing pocket doesn’t form quite the same way twice, and you’ve got to keep your quarterback in a nice throwing stance to deliver consistent passes. The ball can finally be thrown with the extra zip you need at times, but a light tap of the button will still send it floating high in the air.
Each player’s skills make a noticeable difference. Big running backs will fall forward for an extra yard, while skinny receivers are usually brought down more easily. Teams with good defenses clearly make it tougher to find open space than the lower-tier defenses.
The running control is pretty dynamic. You tap a button rapidly to sprint, or hold the button for a moment to “charge” your power for a sudden sprint or juke. There’s more of a craft to running that other games don’t have.
The action has a distinct feeling of genuine football-like chaos, and I think that’s what separates it most from Madden. When receivers are jammed at the line of scrimmage, they naturally fight around the defender and continue their route. When passing to a closely guarded receiver, the chances of him catching it seem right. Running backs can string together moves and break tackles, but you can’t bet on it happening every time. Some games see a handful of fumbles, and some won’t have any. There are nailbiters and there are shootouts.
Even the kicking system leaves more to chance, because the little arrow moves as you time your button presses.
The graphics are great for the time, and some people say this is still the best looking football game there is, although I think I’d call those people “Madden haters.” (To be more specific, I think people would say the Xbox version is the best looking football game.) The players and environment look good together, and the animations are well done.
The ESPN branding comes with TV-style presentation, music, stats displays, and game recaps with replays and Chris Berman’s voice. There’s a lot going on between plays, with funny clips of fans holding signs and cheerleaders making their boobs bounce. I guess this stuff was state-of-the-art at the time. The sound is also good, but as usual, I ditch the announcers after a while.
Tactically, this is the first in the series that sniffs Madden’s depth. There are plenty of ways to change your play before the snap. The playbooks are robust (although Madden 2005 has the edge here, especially on defense). There are nicely designed play-action passes, screens, and even pitch plays, which were lacking in earlier 2K games. You can specify your defensive match-ups, set your audibles, and prepare a no-huddle offense.
This is the first version in the series with a set of difficulty sliders for individual skills, such as running, catching, blocking, tackling, etc. You can inch each slider up or down as you progress. This is pretty handy, but my hangup is this: there’s no slider for CPU “awareness” or “skill” or “coaching sense” or anything like that. If you’re playing against the CPU, you’re adjusting actual physical skills of the players. Once I got good enough to beat the CPU fairly, I dialed up the running ability to the point that the CPU’s players were actually faster than mine. I always think the ideal CPU opponent would be like a human who’s good at playing the game. In other words, “running ability” should be about taking the best path and making good spins and jukes, not giving the opponent unhuman speed.
And as much as the action unfurls like real football, you’ll still notice some major AI slip-ups, like defenders running right by the ball as it flies past them. In my more win-at-all-costs moods, I found myself exploiting hot routes that seemed too easy, and I kept choosing the same few defensive plays.
The game is fleshed out with a nice franchise mode (good but topped by Madden), a first-person football option (novel but you won’t play for long), a situation mode with 25 classic NFL scenarios (with cool classic uniforms but nameless players), and the height of mid-2000’s unusualness, “The Crib,” where you can customize a fancy home with credits earned on the field and have odd phone calls with celebrities (I couldn’t make this up). There’s a detailed instruction manual in the options, which I think was pretty unique for the time, and it’s actually helpful for learning nuances of the game.
Do I think this game is the best football game? I don’t know. I love it, I’ve played multiple seasons of it, and I also love the follow-up, All-Pro Football 2K8. Both games have a distinct “feels like football” quality that Madden may not have. But I also love some of the Madden games. They’re different, but I don’t know that they’re objectively worse. If you’re nerdy enough about sports games that you’re reading this far into this review, you should probably just own both the 2005 editions, as well as All-Pro 2K8. They’re cheap. Play them for yourself.