“Eliminated!”
PlayStation 2
Released in 2001 by Acclaim
Grade: C-
This game is a decent start. Unfortunately, it’s actually the end.
Where it falls in the series
You know the WWE Royal Rumble, the battle royal where a new wrestler enters the match every two minutes? How long a wrestler stays in the match is usually an indication of his standing in wrestling’s fake world, and thus, how valuable he is to WWE’s product. If you can imagine the market for football video games as a Royal Rumble, then Acclaim is like a mediocre wrestler who stayed in the match longer than he needed to. He ran to the ring, got beat up by better wrestlers, and was quickly forgotten.
Anyway, starting in 1994, the NFL Quarterback Club series was on the 16-bit consoles for two releases, then NFL Quarterback Club 97 on PS1, then 98 through 01 on N64, with 00 and 01 also on Dreamcast, and then this, released on PS2 and GameCube.
Praises and gripes
Besides some sketchy graphics, this game actually made a decent first impression, with the basic running, blocking, and tackling looking and feeling okay. But the shortcomings revealed themselves pretty quickly after that.
Passing is a crapshoot. I never felt in control of whether my pass was fast or slow, high or low. Either way, the ball doesn’t move with much natural grace. Quarterbacks move easily but look awkward, and receivers make catches or drop balls at random.
On defense, there’s nothing you can do if you’re blocked. You may as well put the controller down. DBs against the passing game have more realistic abilities, swatting and intercepting passes, but it’s uncomfortable tracking down that odd-moving ball.
The game is short on strategic adjustments, only allowing audibles and man-in-motion. You can’t view the diagram or zoom the camera out before a play. The defensive playbook isn’t clear. The CPU is beyond stupid, lacking any urgency when they’re behind or any conservatism when they’re ahead.
The presentation is both lackluster and too ambitious, stunting the flow of play with ugly cutscenes. I’ll tolerate bad graphics if the game is fun, but here, they’re a clear sign of the game’s second-tier offering. But hey, at the least the sound is pretty good!