Customer Reviews

Mattel Classic Football 2 Game

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I recently purchased the original 1978 game off of an auction site. So, I can do a true side-by-side comparison without having to rely on memory. So, I'm revising my rating.

The original game had LED display -- discrete red blips. The new game uses LCD with a red filter. No, it's not nearly as good. It's really a shame that Mattel chose not to use LEDs.

In a perfect world, Mattel would have used LED. The LCD does a pretty good job at immitating the old LED display. The red filter does give the entire field a red haze in dark rooms.

The new game has three very annoying programming flaws:

1) There is no longer a kick-off to start the second half. We all know that in football, when the 2nd quarter ends, play is halted for half-time. Then, the second half begins with the team that received the ball to begin the game kicking off. In fact, this is what the old game did. As soon as the 2nd quarter ended, the game immediately ends the current drive and has the Visitors kicking off.

The new version doesn't do this. When the 2nd quarter ends, nothing happens. It's just like when the 1st and 3rd quarter ends: your current drive stays alive, there's no 2nd half kickoff, etc. This flaw really affects gameplay. You don't have to worry about clock managment. If its 1st down on the 18 yard line with 0.1 to play in the 2nd quarter, you don't have to kick the field goal because the drive will stay alive into the 3rd quarter.

2) You can't throw the ball away in the new game. Even in the directions it states that if you pass the ball into a lane with no players (receiver or defensive players), you are supposed to just lose a down. That makes sense. However, in actual game play, if you thow the ball down a lane with no players, it's still an interception! Phantom defensive backs?!

The old game executed this properly -- the ball sails down the length of the field and it's just a simple incomplete pass, loss of down ... just as it should be.

3) The new game is too easy. The game has two settings: Pro 1 and Pro 2. These are about the same, though not identical. However, there was and is an Easter Egg in the game: if you hold down on the Kick button while turning the game on, you have the options of Pro 3 and Pro 4. In the new game, pro 3 and pro 4 are just slightly more challenging than Pro 2. In the old game, there is a much larger gap. Pro 4 is nearly impossible to play as the defense is as fast as you are! Anyway, the old game has a deeper range of difficulty.

Gameplay is nearly identical. I think Pro 1 on the old game is just a tad more "difficult" than Pro 1 on the new game, which helps speed the game up without really affecting difficulty. Finally, though the screen sizes are the same and the button layout is identical, the old unit is physically larger in length (same width and depth). I think the longer unit fits in my hands better.

One big advantage to the new game (perhaps the only one) is that you can turn the sound off. You cannot turn the sound off in the original game, and original game is louder than the new one.

The new game is worth the sales price. It's fun and preserves most of the gameplay of the original. No 2nd half kickoff (lose 0.5 star) and no way to throw an incomplete pass (lose 0.5 star) are the biggest problems with gameplay. LCD instead of LED is the biggest design flaw (lose 1 star).

If you can find one, get an original. Othwerwise, this new release is still lots of fun.

I got one of these babies for my Bar Mitzvah, 23 years ago -- and remember fondly playing it for hours when the next best thing was space invaders. When I saw this recently ...I had to have it -- and its definitely taken me back. I play at night after my girlfriend goes to sleep -- the sound off feature is excellent. Everything is the same -- the pass is worth the wait, the run is fun, and sometimes you can go on a long tear. One tip: to kick a field goal, hike the ball and then kick -- otherwise you're just punting. I'd forgotten that. For[this price], if you miss the good old days, its worth the price.

Boy, this Classic Football Game 2 takes me back. Back to the old days, that is. Days spent lounging around the living room on Thanksgiving, waiting for gravy and Mom's locally famous turkey balls. Let me tell you, you'd never eat turkey in its normal form again after you've had it in a spherical shape.

But I digress - when I saw this game on the shelf of a local store, a wave of nostalgia came over me, and I knew I had to have it, no matter what cost. As soon as I got home, I was rocking and rolling, and having a great time. It's almost as if I were one of those little red dots, leading the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title.

And while it's been a while since I've had a turkey ball, and I do most of the cooking now on Thanksgiving, this game still brings me a lot of joy. I take it to work now, and play it on my breaks (and - shhhh - occasionally during the day), and it really takes me away from the bland, generic walls of my cubicle and into a place where my soul, creativity, and drive are no longer being crushed by the iron wheels of a mid-sized corporation. I'm no longer feeling a drain on my very soul - when I play Classic Football Game 2, I'm alive again.

I bought this because I was so fond of the original in my youth, but was dismayed to realize it was different than the original. It should have been a no-brainer to make it like the original. To me, no kickoff at the start of the third quarter and a turnover on an incomplete pass are bizarre screw ups. How can you possibly mess this classic up?

Among the other differences are a terrible screen and different sound effects than the original on touchdowns, field goals and safeties, which I can live with.

The only thing I can think that caused Mattel to mess this up is cost. Classic Basketball is way better; the screen is great! If they can get it right on basketball, why not on football 2? Now if Mattel would only recall the football 2 units, fix these things and reissue it. I'll pay more for it if cost is the issue.

If this game is as durable as my 1978-dated model, it will last a lifetime as my old vintage game still works perfectly to this day with no signs of wearing down (only the cover around the battery hookup has torn from years of battery changes). I remember when my father bought this game for me (along with Mattel's Baseball and Basketball, the former of which is also released in "Classic" form) in the early 1980s. It cost three times what this classic model goes for which shows what a bargain this is. I am stunned at how close this classic model is to my vintage game. Everything is the same except that it has "Classic Football 2" where the "Mattel Electronics" symbol was and "Mattel" in the lower right corner where the old design had "Football 2." The new model also has a sound-off mechanism which is an excellent addition.

This is an old school game that can be played almost without even reading the instructions (just remember to pass to your blinking teammate when there is at least a space in front of him, press "kick" to start the play for a punt and hike the ball and then kick for field goals). There is no strategy and play calling. It tests your dexterity and hand-eye coordination and not you analytical skills. You just take what the defense gives you and use some patience waiting for holes and passing opportunities. Sometimes you have a lot of time to watch a play develop. Sometimes the defense is very aggressive andSack! Most of the time, it is a very easy game to play. The score board at the top shows you where you're at on the field, what down it is, and how many yards to a first down. The game beeps when you make a first down. The digital symbols are in glow-in-the-dark red so you can play it in the dark (the direction buttons are easy to find). The only thing I do not like about this game play-wise is that you do not get to play defense. Once you score, you (or a partner) plays offense going the other way. Still, this game was fun in the 1980s and fun now! I'm so glad companies are re-releasing these retro gems and I hope Mattel's Basketball is in the works so I can give my old one a rest.

I received one of these for christmas from an employee. I stayed up half the night reliving my childhood. I could'nt put it down. It brings me back to my early teenage years when this was the most advanced game. I was surprised to see how much I still loved it. Thank you Mattel!!!!

I agree with previous reviews that suggest you save this gift for someone over 30 who played with it as a kid. I LOVED this game when I played it over 20 years ago. In fact, I still have my original game. That said, this game is quite simple and may not appeal to your average 12 year old Madden X-Box player. I still love it. This game is also stongly recommended over the classic football 1 (white game) also available from Amazon.com. Football 2 (green game) adds passing --a key addition that adds life to the game.

You nostalgia buffs should be aware of few differences from the original.
1)The sounds aren't as good. No longer is there a distinction between a Touchdown sound effect and a Fieldgoal sound effect. The first down sound effect no longer repeats the nice little beep you get when you make it, then retreat and then make it again. I do like that mattel added the "sound on/off" feature --not available in the original. But more troubling are some other changes.

2) The battery is no longer the longer-lasting square 9volt. Instead we get the typical 2 AA battery set up --which doesn't last as long or work as strongly for long.
3)In the original football 2, you could actually throw an incomplete pass by throwing the ball down a row that had no receivers OR defenders. In that case when it reached the end of the screen it was an incomplete. In the new version, such a pass is treated as an interception even though no defensive player touches it. A glitch? Intentional? Laziness by mattel? Who knows, but it stinks and should be changed.
4)Most importantly, Mattel removed the "secret" option (contained in the original instructions) for "Pro 3 and Pro 4" settings. By holding down the "kick" button when you turned on the game, you could raise the skill level even higher than the two options apparent on the face of the game. Pro 4 was challenging even to a 14 year old who had played the game for 100s of hours. Mattel removed this whole option from the game.

So, if you just want to play the game you loved as a kid, and aren't worried about the details, this is a blast (and a nice gift for that "grown up" you know who played these games as a kid). If you want an exact recreation of the game you loved, this isn't quite it.

This game is going to take everyone who was in grade school in the late seventies straight back to the school bus. A fascinating and fun little piece of history and nostalgia.

The gameplay is not complex but still extremely fun. The thrills are a lot more basic than the enjoyment that accompanies the more complex games released today, and come from exercising fast-paced hand-eye coordination and using your own imagination.

I have no complaints with the manufacturing. The game feels way more solid than the game I had when I was a kid. The buttons are crisper and more responsive. The battery cover screws on. The game feels heavier and more durable.

I've heard complaints about the new LCD screen. I disagree with almost all of them. Motivated by the fun I was having with this game, I bought an original Mattel Basketball 2... The basketball game felt a lot more flimsy and cheaply constructed, but most importantly, the LEDs were dim and hard to distinguish from each other. The new football release, in my opinion, was brighter and it was easier to distinguish among the different blips. I do agree, however, that the new screen seems more fragile. I would advise against pressing down on it.

There are differences in how the game played, the most significant of which for me was the removal of the incomplete pass. Now every missed pass is an interception. However, play was identical enough for me to get the requisite rush of nostalgia, and all the important elements that made the game fun originally (passing, safeties, moving backward) are still present.

There is no good reason why not to get this game, even as a novelty item for around the house to amuse gen-x friends. I'm having a blast with it, as will most from my generation.

As I first purchased the Mattel Classic Football (White version). I asked myself, "Hmmm... what if they make a Classic Football 2 (Green version)?"

Make no bones about it... these two games influenced me in getting hooked into Football in the first place. In fact, I was glued every Sundays to watch the NFL Games on TV... and, on a funny notion... I'd "remake the game" by playing my Original Football Games (whether I'd played the White or Green game).

Then, years later I was hooked with the NFL Football Games...
When in the 80s... "The Atari Era", I had a Mattel Intellivision and had my "NFL Football"... years later, during the late 90s and today, upon purchasing my PC... I, ever in the search of a Good Football game... I was hooked up with "Madden NFL" PC-Games.

But, I'll always relish the moments... where my football roots all started, by playing Mattel's Classic Football and Classic Football 2, a gem in the Electronic Gridiron!

Thanks amazon.com and Mattel for bringing me back the memories!!!

The football game is retro and very cool especially if you had one the first time around. I bought this for my uncle who is 36 and he thought it was an awesome gift. He had one when he was younger too.