Amazon.com: ESPN NFL 2K5: Playstation 2: Video Games

147 Reviews

5 star:		(89)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

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4.3 out of 5 stars (147 customer reviews)

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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars NFL 2k5 vs Madden 2005 Collectors Edition, July 20, 2004

By	GoDolphins "GoDolphins" (Newark, DE USA) - See all my reviews

Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars

To be fair, I've been a Madden fan since 1993. I played it on my C64, Genesis, Playstation, PS2 and the xbox and gamecube versions as well(final 2 were not at my house). I hear people talk on here about 2001 and 2002 being the same so the went to Sega. I've also played Sega football games for a long time (since Joe Montana Football in the early 90s on my PC) I've also played the NFL 2k series on the dreamcast. Always seemed more of an arcade type game more then a true sim like Madden. I take issue with people that say NFL 2k series(espn) players look more realistic. Have you seen the way the player walk? There is no looseness. Also there was a comparision between NCAA and NFL 2k? What the heck is that about, it's 2 different types of games, EA's team for NCAA and Madden is separate. There has been slight upgrades in graphics for NCAA 2005 but that's not what I am talking about.

I'm picking up both games because they both offer something different.

Pluses for ESPN football.

1. Breakdown of gameplay is really good.
2. Playbook is deep.
3. Day by day breakdown is cool, TBD how useful this is to the game.
4. Pregame, Halftime and postgame is cool, but takes a lot of time.
5. Cool $20 price tag

Minuses for ESPN football

1. Player movement is questionable.
2. Menus hurt speed of game(I like to just get to the next week.)
3. Crib is just stupid

Pluses for Madden football
1. Deep realistic playbook
2. Coaches and assitant coaches in the game
3. Deepest franchise mode
4. Importing classes from NCAA football is the best.
5. Tony K. radio broadcast(unsure if this is really a plus)
6. Ability to play past versions of Madden
7. Smooth best looking and most human like players for any game.

Minuses for Madden football
1. Steep $60 price tag.
2. Bad Announcing

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than Madden?, July 23, 2004

By	Paul Hemenway (Colorado Springs, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars

I picked up NFL 2K5 the other day and I'll have to say that I was thouroughly impressed. Skeptical at first due to my dissapointment with NFL 2K2, i had purchased the last two Maddens because of that. For $20, and all the hype this game was getting I couldn't pass it up.

The game presentation is outstanding. Boomer does a terrific job in pregame, halftime, and postgame shows. The announcing during the game was impressive. I'll have to say that I don't think I'll be muting the announcing in this game, as I have with previous Madden games due to them being so predictable and boring.

Franchise mode gets incrediably deep. You can hold team meetings, schedule workouts, plan diets, study film, etc. You name it you can do it to prepare for the next game. This, however, when this option is turned on can get tedious, long and drawn out at times. However, it really shows you the aspect of what goes on during off field time. Trading, signing gets incrediably detailed with your contracts being very detailed. The only thing I found lacking in the franchise area other than the drawn out weekly preparations, was that I could not be named head coach. I liked in Madden where you could be the coach of your football team, but apparently it is not possible in 2K5 when not in coach mode (I haven't played the game in coach mode yet, so maybe you can there, but I don't know).

Play control is rock solid, as you have much control over your player and players. A neet feature I have enjoyed is being able to not only change the DB coverages, but I can individually change one DB in tight, and another to be off a little bit. Player movement is a little questionable as I find the players in Madden to move a little more realistically in that aspect. It was also very easy to simply pick up and play, and the learning curve is very low. If you do want a challenge, I highly suggest setting the difficultly levels to All Pro and tweeking with the AI a bit. It can be a bit too easy at times to run the ball. I know it has been said that issue has been fixed, but I've been able to get 100 yards plus per game with Curtis Martin from the NY Jets on All Pro ... easy. You do the math. This can be tweeked, however, along with many other AI aspects of the game. Defense never fails to please compared to Madden. Close, low scoring games are very common in 2K5 as apposed to 40+ point games I'd have in Madden 2004 consistantly.

I've never been too concerned about a game's graphics as I suppose it's because I grew up in the age of Intellivision, Atari, and early Nintendo, but I can say I was very impressed with the amount of detail that went into this game. Instead of random players on the sidelines, you have actual players off of your roster cheering or getting frustrated on the sidelines, as apposed to something that always aggrivated me about Madden football, which was the random no name players that were placed on the sidelines. Players make great realistic facial expressions, jerseys get dirty later into the game, the field gets mighty torn up into the forth quarter, and weather effects are outstanding.

The Crib is just stupid. Sorry, but that's all I have to say about that.

Anyway, there is so much to this game it really is insane as to what the price is. However, if ESPN Videogames really wanted to off Madden as the superior football franchise this definately could be the way to do it if nothing else impresses you about this game. All in all, for $20 and the amount of stuff that's jam packed into this game makes it a great buy. Is 2K5 better than Madden? As apposed to Madden 2004 I think so. We'll just have to wait and see about Madden 2005.

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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great value, but . . ., August 4, 2004

By	artemicion (MI) - See all my reviews

Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars

At $19.99, ESPN 2k5 is probably the best football per dollar you'll find this year for Playstation 2. The gameplay is great, I personally think the addition of the charge-up meter for moves is great. Unlike what some reviewers might lead you to believe, you don't HAVE to charge-up to do a spin-move, juke, stiff arm, etc., it just raises the chance of the move being more successful.

The game also comes with a nice football dictionary and guide in-game. The in-game handbook teaches football newbies the strength and weaknesses of all the formations, and explains all the complex football terms that you might PRETEND to know in front of your friends. This lets players who might not be experts of the game choose plays more successfully, especially on defense. In addition, for the first time I've ever seen in a football game, the game allows the defense to see what kind of formation the offense puts up before they choose their play. This is invaluable, because after all, that's how defense is played. And if you're too lazy to read the handbook or choose your plays, there's a (usually) very intelligent "Coach's Pick" that lets the computer suggest a play for you. Great stuff.

However, the game itself does have some significant drawbacks. For one, the computer's clock management at the end of the first half is suspect. They simply do not run the two minute offense at the last two minutes of the half, and they don't run out the clock either. I've seen them run running plays with more than 60 yards to the end zone with :02 left in the half. And the "Coach's Pick" recommended that I go with a more standard defensive formation, as opposed to the more conventional prevent defense in that situation.
I've also noticed that for some reason, short east-west passes are freakishly difficult to connect on. Not only is the quaterback's accuracy way off, but the reciever can't catch the ball!

All in all, a great package. The presentation is great, the game is still fun, and most importantly, it's a great value.