ESPN NFL 2k5 was released on July 20th 2004 for a bargain price of only $19.99. The early release and low price were just two parts of a three pronged attack designed to end Madden’s long reign at the top. The third prong was, of course, to produce a spectacular football game that played better than anything else on the market. Visual Concepts and Sega succeeded at every level and the result is one of the best football games ever.
Gameplay
The secret to NFL 2k5’s success is that it provides a realistic game of football that moves a little bit quicker than the competition. You’ll find realistic physics here and everything moves and feels just like it should – no more turning on a dime since momentum now plays a big role in the running game – and the end result is simply a really enjoyable game of football. The pace of NFL 2k5 is considerably faster than anything Madden has offered and, while not appealing to everyone, it creates a quicker and more accessible game that is more fun for casual fans while still offering a solid simulation of football that hardcore fans will appreciate as well. Every aspect of the game – rushing, passing, kicking, defense – is nearly perfect and features little extra controls such as swim and spin moves for defensive players, jukes and spins for running backs, and dodge moves for quarterbacks. You also have unparalleled control at the line of scrimmage and can adjust defensive schemes and positions on the fly as well as change receiver routes to take advantage of a questionable defensive call. In short, this game plays amazingly well.
Features and Modes
As far as features go, NFL 2k5 is surprisingly rich. You’ll find the standard quick game, practice, franchise, and creation modes that you expect from a new sports games but Visual Concepts has added so much more. First off is the new VIP profile system. The game monitors how you and your friends play the game and allows you to save your style of play to a profile. This allows you to potentially play against yourself or play against your friends when they aren’t around. A handful of celebrity profiles have been included with the game and it is pretty interesting to see how Jamie Kennedy or Steve-O play football. Another standout feature is the Crib mode. As you play the game you earn points that you can spend on items for your crib. Your crib is your house, so you’ll want to decorate it with cool stuff, get nice furniture and electronics (which you can then use to watch unlocked movies and listen to music) and much more. There is also a trophy room where you can look over all of your accomplishments. The final mode is, of course, the online play via Xbox Live and it is just as fast and smooth and feature-filled as you could want.
Graphics and Sound
Graphically, ESPN NFL 2k5 is one of the finest looking sports games ever. The player models are incredibly detailed right down to the mesh of their jerseys and the real faces for pretty much every player. The most impressive aspect of the graphics is the animation. You can play through entire seasons and not see the same tackle twice. Every animation is very smooth and fluid and lifelike and it goes a long way towards immersing you into the game. ESPN NFL 2k5 is the best looking football game ever. Period.
The sound is also exceptionally well put together in NFL 2k5. Longtime Sega Sports commentators Dan Stevens and Peter O’Keefe are back and provide the best play by play you’ll find in any football game. Sound effects for everything that happens on the field itself are also really good and sound very realistic. Capping off an already solid audio presentation is the fact that you can edit your own music to play in various situations. You can have custom music play when you score a touchdown or right before kickoff or any other of a ton of different situations and it adds a fun personal touch to the game that you can use to humiliate your opponents.
Bottom Line
All in all, ESPN NFL 2k5 is among the best football games ever made. It has all of the features you could ever want along with some of the best gameplay around. It is, sadly, the last NFL game we’re going to be seeing from Visual Concepts since EA holds the NFL license exclusively for a while. It isn’t all bad, however, because it was the best football game in 2004 and stands as the best football game of 2005 since Madden didn’t see any reason to improve this year without any competition. It launched at a bargain price of just $20 and was worth every penny in 2004 and now you can find it for even cheaper and it is absolutely worth picking up for football fans. I’m not anti-EA or anything like that, but buying out your competition the moment they pose a threat is pretty darn low. Stick it to the man by picking up 2004’s NFL 2k5 and showing EA that quality is more important to us that seeing the Madden name on the box. You can update the rosters to reflect the changes for the 2005 NFL season, so what more could you want? I highly recommend ESPN NFL 2k5 for a purchase.
