Digital Aggression at Its Best

The game of football can be an assault on the senses. For those that watch it with a frosty beverage on their sofas, it's a game of visual overload. The teams clash together in a flurry of activity, while trying to execute exhaustively orchestrated plays.

The screen explodes with action, and for those of us with a love for the game, we can dissect the battle plans of each play with exacting precision. To those that have played the game, football is the purest form of athletic aggression. We see it in the snarling sneer behind barred masks. We see it in the bloody mud, the pain of weeks of two-a-days, and the gleeful violence of a 300-pound lineman's eyes.

It's a five month war (including playoffs), punctuated by weekly two-and-a-half-hour battles of carefully planned ferocity.

Caution: Low-flying linebackers.

NFL Fever 2004 takes on the weighty task of replicating this overwhelmingly complex sport in both a simulative and fun experience. I'm only a few hours into it, but I've already begun shouting at the TV in frustration at questionable penalty calls, and I've already felt the overwhelming need to put a sledge hammer through the screen after a fourth-quarter interception.

Normally, I'm only that temperamental when I'm really into a game … or when I haven't had my morning coffee. You can be assured that I've been well caffeinated during my NFL Fever experience, so it's got to be the former.

I am what is commonly referred to as an "options-whore." I love messing with settings and customizing every last nuance I can possibly get my hands on. Despite this, upon loading up Fever, I just had to get into a single game right off the bat (ah, mixing sports metaphors), so I created a quick default profile and hopped right into a game (Seattle versus Tampa Bay).

While creating my quick profile, I chose the Read and Lead passing style, which in retrospect, might not have been the most brilliant of decisions for my first game. Read and Lead requires you to select your receiver andthen move a passing cursor with the Right Analog stick to where you want to pass, consequently "leading" your receiver to the ball. It's a system that gives you a ridiculous amount of control over your passing plays, but it does require some practice, as evidenced by the 28-0 shellacking I experienced.

However, when you do finally start threading the coverage needle with Read and Lead, the feeling of exulting accomplishment cannot be matched by the other, partly-A.I.-controlled passing schemes. It's simply awesome!

Zip that baby in there!

During my 28-0 spanking at the hands of the Buccaneers, two things impressed me: ambiance and options. There is a veritable boatload of both. I heard banter at the line of scrimmage, both insulting and ego boosting. I witnessed the scars of a torn field after playing in the rain, and I saw an angry running back trip the linebacker who tackled him as he was climbing off. I witnessed crushing animations, and the mocking celebrations now so ingrained in the sport.

It simply felt like football, and when you can't pin down any one thing, you know they've done it right. It's comprehensive and subtle, which is how it should be. As for options, here's a quick taste of just a few:

• Setting hot routes, not only for receivers, but running backs, too.
• Putting men in motion and deciding exactly how far they go.
• Calling your defense to watch out for a specific play (e.g. to defend specifically against the run to the weak side).
• Disguising your coverage.

The above list represents a mere smattering of what's available, but it gives an idea of the comprehensiveness of the options that are available. As for myself, I loved having all these options. If you like football, you'll love it, too!

Read and Lead will help prevent plays like this.

One last thing that struck me is the way NFL Fever 2004 caters both to the absolute novice and the gridiron veteran. You can use Read and Lead passing if you want, and you can preset the reactions of your players to any number of scenarios if you want, but you can also have a blast with One Button passing and the default settings.

Whether you're a hardcore pigskin-simulations-lovin' freak or a casual gamer who wants to give a football game a shot, you'll have an experience appropriate to your needs and skills. What's more, with one player using all the complex options and another using a more simplified configuration, you can have two players with vastly different skills play a competitive game. It's got a little taste of everything for everybody, and it does it with the intensity that football so rightly deserves.

By Alex McLain