12th February 2003, 11:12 PM
<small>Review: Tecmo Bowl
Platform: NES
Release Date: 12/13/1991
Rating: 7.0/10</small>
<blockquote>Tecmo Bowl was a rather nice football game that appeared on the NES years ago. Featuring all 28 teams (at that time) and rosters for the main defensive and offensive players on a team, and displayed from a 2D side angle, Tecmo Bowl was a pretty good game that remains playable, and is a source for nostalgia (ah, the times when Bubby Brister quarterbacked the Pittsburgh Steelers). </blockquote>
Graphics: 7.5
<blockquote>Each team has it's own helmet and logo, which was unusual in the day. The players themselves are all nondescript little guys on the field, but each team has their own colors to eliminate confusion. There seems to be just one stadium where all the games are played, and the end zones have different colored Tecmo logos instead of team logos. Special plays, like sacks, interceptions, touchdowns, and such are accentuated by short cut-scenes to add a bit of drama and realism to the event. It's still the only football game in my memory that actually has a halftime show, with cutscenes of various halftime events. Overall, it's not flashy, it just does the job well.</blockquote>
Sound: 8.5
<blockquote>Tecmo Bowl features, among other things, digitized voices, mostly referee signals, and they are done pretty well. Crowd noise is alright, but hardly important. Another thing that Tecmo Bowl has that other games no longer do is a musical score, and it changes in various situations. It's a nice touch, one I miss in the days of sports games trying ever harder to perfectly emulate the experience of watching a game on TV. </blockquote>
Gameplay: 6.0
<blockquote>Excecuting plays is usually a cinch. However, you will often find yourself picking the wrong play because you press the button wrong, and that can lead to you giving up a big play, especially when you mistakenly pick a running play on 3rd and 18. An audible system would have helped. It also seems that sometimes the computer opponent is either totally outmatched or ends up nailing you for 30 yards every play. Another problem is that once you pick the defensive player you want to control for the play, you're stuck with him until it's over, and that's irritating as can be when you select a cornerback, the offense calls a run and you can never even get within 20 yards of the running back.
Negatives aside, the game is fun, it's fast, and most importantly it's easy to get into. There doesn't seem to be any money plays either, which is a bonus. My favorite play, the HB sweep, sometimes gets me 50 yards, sometimes gets me a 3 yard loss. The stats system is impressively comprehensive, considering it's an NES game, and allows for entire seasons of play (a downside though is that unless you want to control all 28 teams, you'll have to simulate every game you do not play, and that can take awhile). </blockquote>
Overall: 7.0
<blockquote>All in all, this is the best NFL football game to be found on the NES. Despite it's shortcomings, the game is fun, and is still playable after all these years, and that's primarily due to there being nothing like this game anymore. It's definitely a different experience from your Maddens or your NFL2K3s. It's worth a shot, definitely.
Platform: NES
Release Date: 12/13/1991
Rating: 7.0/10</small>
<blockquote>Tecmo Bowl was a rather nice football game that appeared on the NES years ago. Featuring all 28 teams (at that time) and rosters for the main defensive and offensive players on a team, and displayed from a 2D side angle, Tecmo Bowl was a pretty good game that remains playable, and is a source for nostalgia (ah, the times when Bubby Brister quarterbacked the Pittsburgh Steelers). </blockquote>
Graphics: 7.5
<blockquote>Each team has it's own helmet and logo, which was unusual in the day. The players themselves are all nondescript little guys on the field, but each team has their own colors to eliminate confusion. There seems to be just one stadium where all the games are played, and the end zones have different colored Tecmo logos instead of team logos. Special plays, like sacks, interceptions, touchdowns, and such are accentuated by short cut-scenes to add a bit of drama and realism to the event. It's still the only football game in my memory that actually has a halftime show, with cutscenes of various halftime events. Overall, it's not flashy, it just does the job well.</blockquote>
Sound: 8.5
<blockquote>Tecmo Bowl features, among other things, digitized voices, mostly referee signals, and they are done pretty well. Crowd noise is alright, but hardly important. Another thing that Tecmo Bowl has that other games no longer do is a musical score, and it changes in various situations. It's a nice touch, one I miss in the days of sports games trying ever harder to perfectly emulate the experience of watching a game on TV. </blockquote>
Gameplay: 6.0
<blockquote>Excecuting plays is usually a cinch. However, you will often find yourself picking the wrong play because you press the button wrong, and that can lead to you giving up a big play, especially when you mistakenly pick a running play on 3rd and 18. An audible system would have helped. It also seems that sometimes the computer opponent is either totally outmatched or ends up nailing you for 30 yards every play. Another problem is that once you pick the defensive player you want to control for the play, you're stuck with him until it's over, and that's irritating as can be when you select a cornerback, the offense calls a run and you can never even get within 20 yards of the running back.
Negatives aside, the game is fun, it's fast, and most importantly it's easy to get into. There doesn't seem to be any money plays either, which is a bonus. My favorite play, the HB sweep, sometimes gets me 50 yards, sometimes gets me a 3 yard loss. The stats system is impressively comprehensive, considering it's an NES game, and allows for entire seasons of play (a downside though is that unless you want to control all 28 teams, you'll have to simulate every game you do not play, and that can take awhile). </blockquote>
Overall: 7.0
<blockquote>All in all, this is the best NFL football game to be found on the NES. Despite it's shortcomings, the game is fun, and is still playable after all these years, and that's primarily due to there being nothing like this game anymore. It's definitely a different experience from your Maddens or your NFL2K3s. It's worth a shot, definitely.