NFL 2K2 is a simulation-type of football game available for the Dreamcast and PS2, though not on the Cube. I have the Dreamcast version, which I am reviewing here. It's critically acclaimed to challenge Madden for the top sim football game spot. In other words, it's supposed to be great.

I'm reviewing this game on a 0-4 star scale, and I've also run out of any catch phrases to use right here.

Graphics: *

The Dreamcast, in case you didn't know, is a 128-bit system, same as Cube, PS2, and some other system. But
from playing this game, you'd think it's a 64-bit system, considering the horrendous graphics.

Sound: ***

The announcers in this game are smart. They actually know what's going on, and they talk about stuff that
happened earlier in the game. One of them is obsessed with food, and uses a simile between food and football on all sorts of plays. The music's pretty dumb, though.

Difficulty: ***1/2

There's a fine line between Rookie and Pro levels. Rookie is for those who want a contest. Pro is for those who want to lose. But according to this game, Rookie is also for those who want to lose, just by less points. Since the receivers don't catch and the runners don't run and the blockers don't run, you'll have a heck of a time trying to win.

Controls: *

I always hated the Dreamcast controller. This game restates that fact to me. I get so confused with the buttons, I end up getting sacked before I can throw the ball half the time. Pathetic.

Passing: no stars

Let's see, the controls are hard enough in the first place. Also, you've got little time to throw before your offensive line collapses. Oh yeah, there's that other minor fact that your receivers just plain drop the ball, or let it bounce off them. If that's trying to keep the score low, that's a bad way to do it, as it makes the game look unreal. You'd think they do that maybe one in every four or five plays. No, they do it 3/4 of the time. Pitiful.

Running: 1/2

Well, the running in this game would be great if your offensive line blocked. But it doesn't, and that means
it stinks. In fact, I can't say anything good about it except that you lose less yards on a failed run than on a sack.

Defense: ***

Since the offense stinks, it makes the defense look good. And that's it. It's not like the defense is fun to run, it's just that the offense is too bad to score very often. Maybe the game-makers wanted to keep the score down, but who likes the Baltimore Ravens and the way they play? They're the only football team that could gain 100 or less yards on offense and yet win a football game because of their great defense. So sure, the defense is good, but it's no fun for a video game.

Kicking: 1/2

If you thought it was hard to kick in Blitz 2002, try it in this game. Your kicking direction is always moving towards the right, or left, or whichever way you don't want it to move. Why? To make it impossible to kick. Probably that's not the real reason, but that's the only reason I can think of.

Replayability: ***

There are a lot of modes in this game, so many that I haven't tried a few of them. So if you enjoy defensive-minded football, you'll like to play this game over and over again. Of course, I don't know that
many people who like to play 6-0 games.

Fun Factor!: *

Maybe I should change this category's name for this game. It's not fun, but it's funny at times, when the
announcer says something stupid or you turn off penalties and sack the quarterback as he takes the snap every play. And sometimes it's funny when you miss an extra point because it's hard to kick, and it's hilarious when you get flagged for just trying to get to the quarterback. Fun, fun! You know I'm being sarcastic, right?

OVERALL: 1/2

A lackluster football game that somehow failed to recreate the second-easiest sport to put into a video game (behind hockey), and it ruined the sport's fun itself. Don't buy it for the PS2. If you own a Dreamcast only, and you want a football game, buy another system and either Madden or Blitz. So here's the final verdict of 2002 NFL games: Madden 2002 is real. Blitz 2002 is fun. NFL 2K2 is not real and not fun. Any questions?

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