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NFL's Greatest: San Francisco Vs. Dallas 1978-1993 (Sega CD)

NFL's Greatest: San Francisco Vs. Dallas 1978-1993 review

Game: NFL's Greatest: San Francisco Vs. Dallas 1978-1993
Platform: Sega CD
Genre: Sports
Developer: Park Place Productions

Reader review by cdbavg400

November 15, 2004

NFL Greatest Teams, whose real name is NFL's Greatest: San Francisco vs. Dallas, is really the low point of all sports games. The overall concept of the game is to first choose either the San Francisco 49ers or the Dallas Cowboys, which are composed of the franchises' greatest players, followed by choosing a play, and finally watching a real-life video of that play. That's it. You really might as well be watching ESPN Classic.

Graphics
There aren't many graphics in this game to talk about. The primary graphics are the hours of football footage. This may sound pleasing to football fanatics, but the frame rate and sharpness of the video clips are very poor. I mean, what else can I say? The images are so poor, there is rarely an occasion when you are able to recognize a player on the screen. It's a football game, and you're not even able to tell who's who on the field. These low-res videos really spoil the game.

Well, there isn't much else to say concerning the game's graphics. The only other feature that can considered as "graphics" are the game's menus. (Wow. I never thought I would have to explain the graphics of a game's menus.) Anyway, the menus are pretty standard, with either blue or black backgrounds and white text. That's it.

Overall, these graphics are just plain ugly. Back when this game was released, the game's full-motion videos may have been impressive. But that's a big "may".
Rating: 2/10

Sound
NFL Greatest Teams's audio department is a step above the graphics, but that isn't saying much. What makes the audio good is the game's announcer. On every play, he can be heard reporting the play-by-play. The guy is almost always accurate with his information. If it's a pass, he'll say it's a pass. If it's third down with ten yards to go, he'll say that the quarterback will most likely pass. He's actually pretty good.

The other portions of the audio are the soundtracks of the numerous football highlights and the game's menu music. First, the soundtracks of the football footage are very inconsistent. Some plays will have perfect audio and visuals, but others will have the audio two seconds behind the visual, the volume turned way too high or low, etc. Secondly, the menu music is just some forgettable rock song played over and over again in one continuous loop.

In conclusion……(Why am I sounding like my English teacher???)
The game's audio section is pretty solid, featuring a good in-game announcer, inconsistent sound effects, and an annoying rock song that never ends. Okay, maybe it isn't as solid as I first thought, but like I previously said, it's a step above the graphics.
Rating: 6/10

Gameplay
The gameplay in this football game is certainly original, but that still doesn't make it good. The entire game goes like this: First, you either pick the San Francisco 49ers or the Dallas Cowboys. Each team consists of the franchise's best players, such as Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, and Jerry Rice for the Niners, and Emmitt Smith, Tony Dorsett, and Roger Staubach for the Cowboys.

After picking your team, you're faced with the usual coin-toss. After this is footage of the kick-off. (By the way, there are never any touchdowns on kick and punt returns, so don't get your hopes up.) Following the kick off, you are allowed to pick your play. While you're picking one of the 36 plays available, which is way too little for a sports game, your opponent also chooses a play. When you're both finished, you're shown real-life footage of that play. Then you just keep on doing this until the end of the game.

What makes this game bad is the large amount of repetitiveness and inconsistency. Some videos will be repeated four or five times throughout a single game. And when two plays are repeated, the results are very different. A short pass will result in only five yards one time, but the next time around, it will result in 16 yards! All of these things are very frustrating.

There are a few things that are good with the gameplay. One of these good things is the number of different scenarios available in the game. An example of one of these scenarios would be this: It's the fourth quarter with six minutes to play. The 49ers are down by ten and have the ball at their own twenty yard line. It's your job to pick the right plays and guide to a victory. These scenarios do add a bit of replay value to the game as well as provide a nice challenge.

Well, this was the only thing that was good with the gameplay. Most of the game is very frustrating and boring, but there are a few occasions of a little fun. Just not that many.
Rating: 3/10

Replay Value
Ummmmm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Well, I'm going to be pretty blunt about this. There is absolutely no replay value in this game. I probably played this game a total of eight times in the eight years that I have owned it. Six of the eight times I played it was within the first month I bought it just because it was new. And the two other times I played it just because I forgot what it was like. But then after playing it again, I remember why I hadn't played it in so long.
Rating: 1/10

Overall
NFL's Greatest: San Francisco vs. Dallas sounds good on paper. Allow players to coach two of the greatest and most historical franchises in the NFL. Then let the players choose their own strategies and plays. Round this all out with real NFL footage in the place of the conventional gameplay found in other football games. Yeah, it may sound good, but it just didn't work. With poor videos, inconsistent audio, boring and frustrating gameplay, and no replay value whatsoever, this game just isn't any good.

Rating: 2.6/10

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