Sega Saturn
Released in 1995 by Digital Pictures
Grade: C
A lot of people complain that every sports game is the same, just a roster update from the year before. If you’ve ever wanted to prove those people wrong, Quarterback Attack With Mike Ditka is a prime example of something different, one of the most unusual sports games ever.
Perhaps you can’t even call it a game. Advertisements called it a “pro football simulator,” and the opening credits call it an “interactive film.” Fancy, right?
It’s from the early days of disc-based video games, when grainy full-motion video was a short-lived trend. Besides Quarterback Attack, there aren’t any other FMV sports games that I know of.
All the action is based around video footage, with Mike Ditka and a bunch of low-level actors staging a football game and yelling into the camera. You only play as the quarterback, in one game, on one team, against the same opponent. Given that limitation, why your team wears ugly maroon with yellow trim against a team in yellow with black trim is beyond me. The whole thing has a cheap feel to it, so maybe those were the only jerseys they could find that day. Who knows.
Once Ditka and the other jokers in the locker room are done hyping you up, calling you “Rookie,” you’re onto the field, watching video of the kickoff.
The playcall screen seems elaborate. You choose routes for your running backs independent of your receivers. You can even choose the snap count, but as we’ll find out, there’s no possible way that this shallow game built in any substantial effect for it. You won’t draw an offsides penalty or slyly get a split-second head start, trust me.
You snap the ball and use face buttons to choose a receiver, then move a bright green target to place your throw. It’s surprisingly intuitive. After that, it’s more video footage that you have no control over. If your throw was good, you’ll see your guy catch it and run. If not, you’ll watch the defense break up the play.
After a touchdown, you might get a clip of cheerleaders and the team’s owner leaping in celebration. If you’re struggling, you might come face to face with a big D-lineman who says, “You’re a loser! … That’s all you are.” This stuff is unintentionally funny the first few times, and boring the next 300 times. You’re bound to see a lot of repeats.
You can call run plays too, where you simply snap the ball and let the video take over once again. When the other team has the ball, you just watch more clips. They’re very quick, so you’re back on the playcall screen in no time, which I like.
You’ll probably struggle early on with incomplete passes and interceptions. On the higher difficulties, you’ll take some sacks too. But once you learn to shuffle through receivers to find the bit of video where your receiver is a step ahead of his defender, and once you learn to adjust the target, you’re good. And it’s kind of fun, at least for a little while.
The disappointing thing about this game is that it’s horribly shallow, and with a limited number of video clips, it’s also very inconsistent. You might see defenders cheat up toward the line and think it’s a clue to go deep, but it’s not. You might notice a safety hanging around in one clip, but when you shuffle to a nearby receiver, the safety is gone. Maybe you’ll complete a pass and your guy has nothing but grass in front of him, but then a defender comes out of nowhere for the tackle anyway. Talk about continuity errors! There isn’t nearly enough video or logic in the game to make it satisfying for any length of time.
There are no football-related tactics in the game. You’re just finding a receiver in a decent position and moving the target. There might be a lot of plays, but they all have the same routes, with the same little bits of video. It’s simple and repetitive.
It’s an interesting idea, for sure. When I saw this game advertised 25 years ago, I was awestruck. But reviews were negative, and I didn’t have a Sega Saturn, so I forgot about it.
I can only recommend it if you’re an avid football gamer who’s already played all the better football games out there, someone who’s willing to buy it knowing you’ll only get maybe 30 minutes of interesting playtime out of it.