The Video Game Reviews Community (HonestGamers)
Forums | Blogs | Register | Login | Users | Staff | Links

3DS
Arcade
DS
GameCube
iPad
iPhone/iPod
Mac
PC
PlayStation 2
PlayStation 3
PSP
Vita
Wii
Wii U
Xbox
Xbox 360
All

Systems > Dreamcast > N > NFL 2K1 > User Review

Sign up for a free user account and you can leave feedback for this review or even submit a game review of your own!

Review by pestes
Date unavailable

I've played many a football game in my day, but none of them have ever matched Super Tecmo Bowl for the NES, not even last year's stellar NFL 2K. Now, the folks at Visual Concepts have just made that old Tecmo dev team weep bitterly- NFL 2K1 is the best football game ever made. EVER. The game is fine tuned to perfection, with only a few (understandable) faults.

While I shift away from the subject of dev houses weeping bitterly, I should mention that the EA and 989 boys shouldn't have bothered this year. NFL 2K1 does what those boys won't be able to do for another year and a half: bring a bunch of would-be grid iron jocks and fat female mid-40s Cincinatti Bengals fans together in an online battle of epic porportions. Not one of the 1987 AFC title match between that jerk John Elway and my beloved Browns, but epic nonetheless. Online support features 8 players per game (I never got to do that; everytime I get online with 2K1 its unbelievably nuts just to find a few other players) a nice number indeed. More than PSO actually.

This review's focus, though, will be on the offline portion of the game. Which is, well, a hell of a lot of the game. Most of the problems that pursisted in NFL 2K are, for the most part, corrected in 2K1. The running game is here, finally. In 2K it was nearly impossible to move the ball up field, and the only effective way was to stiff arm like mad. That is corrected in 2K1, which now sports a much more balanced pass and run system. There also seem to be more running plays this year than last, so that is a marked improvement.

The game is still as easy to pick up and play as last years. Call it a nag, but the entire idea of hitting a button after the snap just to bring up passing roots in Madden has been a nuisance that brings a lot of stress and little time into the mix. 2K1 is still supreme. I snap the ball, I get more recievers designation up in less than a second. Huzzah! Now I can burn those SOBs on the other side with Couch to Johnson.

2K1 also features retro uniforms, like the Charger's or the Bill's or the Bronco's (boo) AFL threads, and a nicely assembled franchise mode, which allows you to play as a team over a period of seasons while signing and trading and cutting players. Recent retirees from the league, Dan Marino, Steve Young, Barry Sanders, and Kevin Greene (I don't really know if he's retired, though) can be signed as free agents. Playing many seasons will see your players retiring or demanding trades or signing with other teams in the league. Franchise mode adds more than enough to hold you over until next year's iteration.

Now, NFL 2K1 is not without it's faults. Last year's edition had a problem with out-of-bounds calls. While 2K1 fixes many this problem, it does get a bit annoying when you connect with a reciever in the back of the end zone who runs out of bounds, leading to such a call. (It cost me a 13-10 loss to the Broncos... ugh) The game also seems to feature more penalties this time around. While it is out of the ordinary to run for daylight, pick up 38 yards and get called back on clipping, that does seems to happen on occasion in 2K1. Most penatlies come in the form of encroachment or fall starts.

2K1's graphics are, in a word, goregous. Player models to tout that freakish puppet feel from last year, but seeing green and brown dirt smudges on them, or seeing Terrell Davis pound on the ground with his fists after getting wrangled in the backfield (hehehe) are impressive. Commentary from the games to commentators have also improved- not to the point you'll really like the commentary, but it'll still sound better than Madden and Sommerall's few voice clipping in the old PSX Maddens.

Recommending NFL 2K1 is fairly easy. Its the best football game out right now, and it will remain the best until 2K2 dazzles me all over again. If you grow tired of watching Jim Drukkenmiller throwing interceptions with a red and black football this spring or Gov. Ventura harrass 2-bit coaches of 2-bit New York franchises other than the Jets, NFL 2K1 will fill that football void. Its well worth buying a Dreamcast just to experience it.


Rating: 9/10


Most recent video game reviews written by pestes

Kabuki Warriors (Xbox) [June 20, 2002]
WinBack: Covert Operations (Nintendo 64) [December 31, 1969]
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber (Nintendo 64) [December 31, 1969]
Hybrid Heaven (Nintendo 64) [December 31, 1969]
Zone of the Enders (PlayStation 2) [December 31, 1969]

[more reviews]

You can click the tabs on the above bar to choose whether you wish to read comments from visitors who have posted on Facebook, or from registered site users who have left feedback on the forums. Please leave a comment of your own if you have anything to say!





Follow Us

Advertise exclusively for 1 month... only $1000!

Recent Forum Discussions


+ holdthephone's Final Fantasy XIII-2 review
+ Where's SkyWard Sword's review ? And please bring back the rating feature.
+ JoeTheDestroyer's Area 51 review
+ Alpha Olympics 2012
+ zippdementia's Mega Jump review
+ [News] Schafer has pitched Psychonauts 2, Minecraft dev says 'let's make it happen'
+ playstation vita, yo.
+ RotW January 29 - February 04 2012
+ Games to be added to the database...
+ The Final Fantasy XIII-2 thread
+ [News] Final Fantasy X HD will be a remaster, not a remake
+ [News] Naughty Dog explored making a new Jak and Daxter, made Last of Us instead

Staff Game Reviews

SoulCalibur V (PlayStation 2) artwork sample The Simpsons Arcade Game (PlayStation 2) artwork sample Quarrel (PlayStation 2) artwork sample
Star Ocean: The Last Hope (PlayStation 2) artwork sample Pushmo (PlayStation 2) artwork sample Medal of Honor: Airborne (PlayStation 2) artwork sample

SoulCalibur V
The Simpsons Arcade Game
Quarrel
Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Pushmo
Medal of Honor: Airborne

Site Staff

Jason Venter's avatar
Jason Venter
Editor-in-Chief
Email | Twitter
Masters' avatar
Marc Golding
Associate Editor
Email | Twitter
Gary Hartley's avatar
Gary Hartley
Associate Editor
Email | Twitter
Rob Hamilton's avatar
Rob Hamilton
Associate Editor
Email | Twitter
Zigfried's avatar Sho's avatar
Sho
Editor
Email | Twitter
Rhody Tobin's avatar
Rhody Tobin
News Editor
Email | Twitter
Skyler Bunderson's avatar
Jonathan Davila's avatar

Featured Reviews [+]

Rayman Origins (PlayStation 2) artwork sample Othello (PlayStation 2) artwork sample Scarface: The World is Yours (PlayStation 2) artwork sample
The Last Express (PlayStation 2) artwork sample Golden Axe II (PlayStation 2) artwork sample Assassin's Creed: Revelations (PlayStation 2) artwork sample

Rayman Origins
Othello
Scarface: The World is Yours
The Last Express
Golden Axe II
Assassin's Creed: Revelations

Exclusive User Reviews [+]

Mega Jump (PlayStation 2) artwork sample White Knight Chronicles (PlayStation 2) artwork sample Dragon Wars (PlayStation 2) artwork sample
F-Zero GX (PlayStation 2) artwork sample Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (PlayStation 2) artwork sample Pokemon Snap (PlayStation 2) artwork sample

Mega Jump
White Knight Chronicles
Dragon Wars
F-Zero GX
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Pokemon Snap

Info | Help | Privacy Policy | Contact | Advertise

© 1998-2012 HonestGamers
None of the material contained within this site--from reviews, guides, cheats and editorials to message board posts--may be reproduced in any conceivable fashion without permission from the author(s) of said material. This site is not sponsored or endorsed by Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Microsoft, or any other such party. NFL 2K1 is a registered trademark of its copyright holder. This site makes no claim to NFL 2K1, its characters, screenshots, artwork, music, or any intellectual property contained within. Opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily represent the opinion of site staff or sponsors.

eXTReMe Tracker