NFL Head Coach Review
10 July 2006 | By Evangeline Grace Agujo
NFL Head Coach is a game specifically catered to football enthusiasts who are not really on the nitty-gritty of football technicalities
Who wants to be football coach for a day? Have a feel of what’s it’s like to be football’s most important person. Be lined among coaching greats like John Madden, Vince Lombardi and the highly revered Don Shula. As the title implies, the player’s role would not be on the field, but on the sidelines as mentor and director of the game plays.
Basically, this game will tell you all about the coach role and the tasks associated with it. If you think this will be more like controlling players manually on the field, then this will turn out to be quite disappointing. Coaching, in its sense is an organizing task. Practices, team meetings, drafting players – scheduling is key. Your coach’s calendar will be your guide to success – good time management, making good decisions will spell victory for you and your team. However, for those who would like a free hand in the coach career life, you have to remember that the system is pro-organizing; this means alterations are discouraged and you will have to do activity trade-offs to achieve some. In addition, it will also be mandatory to go through non-fun activities such as office hours, meetings – yeah, grown-up stuff. This can also be quite imbalanced in a way, because the coach can’t do non-coach stuff recreation like golf, or going on a date (c’mon, you’d think that only grown-ups would like to play this game?)
Playing this game would involve customization at first: You create your own coach identity, and then pick your team and the basics are set. But NFL Head Coach creates a more realistic way of customization via a quick assessment of your key coaching strengths (it may be motivation or tactics, whatever you’re good at) to help you in the game. After being “hired”, your team owner provides you a laundry list of to-do’s for the team. These items are also your guidelines for winning in the gameplay. Now, as coach, you get the – yeah, say it. POWER. Not only you get to be demi-god for the players, but you also have firing rights to people you think may not be beneficial for the team.
After all the draft picking and other administrative concerns of making a Superbowl-potential team, here’s where the coach role takes centerstage: Crafting your own money play and practicing with your team. Practices are done either one-on-one wherein key players get to master the plays and bank on their strengths; or team drills that improve the team’s play proficiency. It may be with body contact or otherwise. Like in real life, more practices will make well perfect – perfect execution of plays in your coach’s book. As for the players, they are generally obedient, especially when the play has been practiced upon many times. Although the A.I can be quite unaware of the time limit during games. Other factors that can contribute to your winning is keeping your players healthy and having a good reservoir of money plays.
One downside to the plays though, there can’t be any change play once the players are on the field and you can only do so if the formulator pop-up appears.
Of course, sports won’t be as exciting without media coverage. ESPN will be there to cover your major games. And if that wasn’t enough, commentaries will also be pitched in by famous sports commentators and anchors.
Graphics-wise, the game is a-ok. Just enough, but not to be too awed about. It would remind you of the usual sports games. But the NFL and other sports logos are enough enticers to feel that you are in a real football setting. Especially the loading screens that are brimming with inspiration: pictures of coach greats placed in a background of quotable quotes about winning, losing and team spirit.
If the graphics didn’t do the thing, the audio nears a touchdown. Tracks coming from the NFL soundtrack get that energy beating-heart pumping action during the game. With distinctly familiar NFL sounds, hardcore football fans might as well paint their faces and give a whoop while playing the game.
To sum it up, NFL Head Coach is a game specifically catered to football enthusiasts who are not really on the nitty-gritty of football technicalities. Creativity and the spirit of the football game are the very elements that EA and Tiburion had wonderfully weaved into this All-American game.
Top Gaming Moment:
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| This is where I walk in grandiosity | Are sure you can make that pass, kiddo? |
Basically, this game will tell you all about the coach role and the tasks associated with it. If you think this will be more like controlling players manually on the field, then this will turn out to be quite disappointing. Coaching, in its sense is an organizing task. Practices, team meetings, drafting players – scheduling is key. Your coach’s calendar will be your guide to success – good time management, making good decisions will spell victory for you and your team. However, for those who would like a free hand in the coach career life, you have to remember that the system is pro-organizing; this means alterations are discouraged and you will have to do activity trade-offs to achieve some. In addition, it will also be mandatory to go through non-fun activities such as office hours, meetings – yeah, grown-up stuff. This can also be quite imbalanced in a way, because the coach can’t do non-coach stuff recreation like golf, or going on a date (c’mon, you’d think that only grown-ups would like to play this game?)
Playing this game would involve customization at first: You create your own coach identity, and then pick your team and the basics are set. But NFL Head Coach creates a more realistic way of customization via a quick assessment of your key coaching strengths (it may be motivation or tactics, whatever you’re good at) to help you in the game. After being “hired”, your team owner provides you a laundry list of to-do’s for the team. These items are also your guidelines for winning in the gameplay. Now, as coach, you get the – yeah, say it. POWER. Not only you get to be demi-god for the players, but you also have firing rights to people you think may not be beneficial for the team.
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 |
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| Marveling at these beauties makes me wanna go more, more, more! | This is a more unique approach to subtitled comments, don’t you think? |
After all the draft picking and other administrative concerns of making a Superbowl-potential team, here’s where the coach role takes centerstage: Crafting your own money play and practicing with your team. Practices are done either one-on-one wherein key players get to master the plays and bank on their strengths; or team drills that improve the team’s play proficiency. It may be with body contact or otherwise. Like in real life, more practices will make well perfect – perfect execution of plays in your coach’s book. As for the players, they are generally obedient, especially when the play has been practiced upon many times. Although the A.I can be quite unaware of the time limit during games. Other factors that can contribute to your winning is keeping your players healthy and having a good reservoir of money plays.
One downside to the plays though, there can’t be any change play once the players are on the field and you can only do so if the formulator pop-up appears.
Of course, sports won’t be as exciting without media coverage. ESPN will be there to cover your major games. And if that wasn’t enough, commentaries will also be pitched in by famous sports commentators and anchors.
Graphics-wise, the game is a-ok. Just enough, but not to be too awed about. It would remind you of the usual sports games. But the NFL and other sports logos are enough enticers to feel that you are in a real football setting. Especially the loading screens that are brimming with inspiration: pictures of coach greats placed in a background of quotable quotes about winning, losing and team spirit.
If the graphics didn’t do the thing, the audio nears a touchdown. Tracks coming from the NFL soundtrack get that energy beating-heart pumping action during the game. With distinctly familiar NFL sounds, hardcore football fans might as well paint their faces and give a whoop while playing the game.
 |
 |
|
| This is how we coaches give perfectly sound advice | Hail to the chief! |
To sum it up, NFL Head Coach is a game specifically catered to football enthusiasts who are not really on the nitty-gritty of football technicalities. Creativity and the spirit of the football game are the very elements that EA and Tiburion had wonderfully weaved into this All-American game.
Top Gaming Moment:
TOP GAME MOMENT
Ah, the joys and toils of coaching. Definitely, it would be the ff: making enough money plays, and propelling your team to the granddaddy game of them all – the Super bowl and being drafted to the Hall Of Legends.
