August 07, 2006 @ 2:14 pm

NFL Head Coach

Quibian Salazar-Moreno

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left Storyline: The new title seems to target that niche market that live and die by Madden’s franchise mode, where players make personal decisions in terms of players, staff and even the price of hot dogs at the stadium. Picture NFL Head Coach as a glorified version of Franchise mode in Madden, a role playing game, if you will, the only difference is you don’t get to control any of the players on the field. The game is basically a bunch of decisions: what coaches to hire, what players to sign and draft, and of course what plays to call during games. The game starts off with you winning the Super Bowl as the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s the perfect time to look for that dream head coaching job in the NFL. You go through an interview process and a handful of teams offer you jobs with various salaries and goals for the team next season. Creative idea, yes, but does it translate well into a game? Audio/Visual: Visually, the game is mostly a collection of menus to make you daily decisions. Everyday you have a list of tasks ranging from calling a team to consider a trade to writing new plays to meeting with you other coaches to discuss who will start in the next game. All these are scheduled throughout an interactive calendar that crosses off each task once completed. On game day, the field looks just like last year’s Madden, except you don’t get to control anything except what play goes onto the field. Your career throughout the game is narrated by Steve Sabol and Trey Wingo of ESPN and Mel Kiper Jr. shows up to help get through the draft. Controls: Well, there isn’t much to control game play-wise. Since the game is about making decisions, you’re using mostly the buttons to complete a task, respond conversation, to call plays, to motivate the team and say yes or no to trade offers. You also use the directional pad to go to different menus and options. Hotness: If you’re a Madden Franchise mode nut, this game is for you, get it right now, but… Wackness: …if you’re the casual Madden player and love to pass, run, spin, tackle, juke and all the great stuff, skip this one.

Test Drive Rating: 3.5/5

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