ESPN 2k5 First Look Thread

[281]

The graphics are AMAZING... though the players could use longer arms. But the ratings are totally bogus, Wells is faster than Davis, and Moses is stronger than Andre Johnson. wtf? And they have Jammal Lord as the second KR...

[texasguy346]

It may not be likely that Lord would be KR, but he's been pretty effective for me back there. For some reason or another he usually gives me better returns than JJ Moses or Duff. They also have him listed as a RB instead of a FS, but I guess they didn't see how the Texans picked him on draft day.

[SBTexans08]

Sega must not be very fond of the Texans....

[tony18015]

listen i played it and i dont like it all they did was update the rosters and put alot of gliches in it like if your playing with the texans and u use there alternate jersey and u look on the side lines during play they with be wearing pink pants and white jerseys just stooped. and if ur returner gets hurt the put the next fastes guy in there like for the cheifs they put in trent green and for the rams they had bulger 2nd string just crud if u ask me im going back to madden!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kbourda]

Hey Tony, it sounds like you aren't giving ESPN a chance. I'll be the first to tell you that it isn't Madden, period. That isn't a bad thing. ESPN plays more like the NFL is meant to be played. To my liking, it's ESPN for me.

[dmt217]

For franchise junkies...Here's a little tip I found on another MB about the "Weekly Prep" settings.

From: yodawgyo

Here's the newest plan I made. It's easy to customize (everyone gains points again). Everyone does 2 hours of pos drills per week, so you can easily edit it to fit your own teams. Most of your players gain 2 points (some more, some less).


Monday:
Meeting-- Happy
Coaching- Coverages
Film/ 1/ All QBs/ Coverages
Film/ 1/ All Cs/ Fronts
Film/ 1/ All Gs/ Fronts
Film/ 1/ All Ts/ Fronts
Film/ 1/ All FBs/ Fronts
Film/ 1/ All DTs/ RUn Blocking Schemes
Film/ 1/ All DEs/ Run Blocking Schemes
Film/ 1/ All OLBs/ Run/Pass Distribution
Film/ 1/ All ILBs/ Run/Pass Distribution
Film/ 1/ All CBs/ Route Combinations
Film/ 1/ All SSs/ Route Combinations
Film/ 1/ All FSs/ Route Combinations
Film/ 2/ All TEs/ Man/Zone Tendecies
Weights/ 1/ All QBs/ Shoulders
Weights/ 1/ All HBs/ Hamstings and Quads
Weights/ 1/ All WRs/ Calves and Ankles
Weights/ 1/ All FSs/ Calves and Ankles
Weights/ 1/ All SSs/ Calves and Ankles
Weights/ 1/ All CBs/ Calves and Ankles
Weights/ 1/ All DEs/ Hamstings and Quads
Weights/ 1/ All DTs/ Hamstings and Quads
Weights/ 1/ All OLBs/ Arms
Weights/ 1/ All ILBs/ Arms

Tuesday:
7 on 7/ 3/ All/ Partial Pads
Full Drill/ 2/ 1st team/ Partial Pads
Full Drill/ 1/ 2nd team/ Partial Pads
Full Drill/ 1/ 3rdteam/ Partial Pads

Wednesday:
7 on 7/ 3/ All/ Partial Pads
Full Drill/ 1/ 1st team/ Partial Pads
Pos Drill/ 1/ All QBs/ Routes and Combinations
Pos Drill/ 1/ All HBs/ The Gauntlet
Pos Drill/ 1/ All FBs/ Run Blocking
Pos Drill/ 1/ All WRs/ Wide Receiver Release
Pos Drill/ 1/ All TEs/ Run Blocking
Pos Drill/ 1/ All Cs/ Run Blocking
Pos Drill/ 1/ All Gs/ Run Blocking
Pos Drill/ 1/ All Ts/ Run Blocking
Pos Drill/ 1/ All DTs/ Get Off The Ball
Pos Drill/ 1/ All DEs/ Get Off The Ball

Thursday:
7 on 7/ 3/ All/ Partial Pads
Full Drill/ 2/ 1st Team/ Partial Pads
Pos Drill/ 2/ All OLBs/ Beat the Block
Pos Drill/ 2/ All ILBs/ Beat the Block
Pos Drill/ 1/ All CBs/ Backpedaling
Pos Drill/ 1/ All SSs/ Backpedaling
Pos Drill/ 1/ All FSs/ Backpedaling

Friday:
Full Drill/ 1/ 1st team/ No Pads
Full Drill/ 1/ 2nd team/ Partial Pads
Pos Drill/ 1/ All QBs/ Routes and Progressions
Pos Drill/ 1/ All HBs/ Run Blocking
Pos Drill/ 1/ All FBs/ Tire Relay
Pos Drill/ 1/ All WRs/ Pattern Depths
Pos Drill/ 1/ All TEs/ Tire Relay
Pos Drill/ 1/ All Cs/ Run Blocking
Pos Drill/ 1/ All Gs/ Run Blocking
Pos Drill/ 1/ All Ts/ Run Blocking
Pos Drill/ 1/ All DTs/ Get Off the Ball
Pos Drill/ 1/ All DEs/ Get Off the Ball
Pos Drill/ 1/ All SSs/ Backpedaling
Pos Drill/ 1/ All FSs/ Backpedaling

[RTP2110]

I've been playing ESPN since the day it came out. The gameplay is perfect, it is dead on NFL action. But the game itself was obviously rushed and was not tested enough. Here are some of the more serious bugs/glitches:

Clipping Glitch: Let's say Davis runs for 8 yards, but Pitts is called for clipping. The computer will take the yards rushed (8) and penalty yards (15) and subtract 23 from your RB's stats.

Draft Glitch: The CPU will only draft QB's, HB's, OT's, and DE's in the first round. No matter how highly ranked a player at another postion is, the CPU won't draft him in round 1.

Substitution Glitch: If you pull starters to play back-ups during pre-season games, the CPU will keep your backups as starters. Also, it will not let you sub your starters back in. (Not ever in some bad cases.)

Position Glitch: You can't change a player's position. You can sub some guys to thier right spots. (Coleman to FS) Others you can't. (Pitts to LG) In addition to that, many players are in the wrong position, and alot are completely missing from the game. (R. Walker, D. Armstrong)

Freezing Glitch: This hasn't happened to me thankfully. People are having serious freezing issues. Some people can not even play 5 minutes in bad cases. Other times it will freeze during the draft and you entire franchise is lost because you can not progress beyond that point.

Trading Glitch: The CPU makes outrageous trades. I've seen Moss traded for Stahan, Lions traded Roy Williams in week 4. Huh? Very unrealistic. I like Madden's approach on this one, it doesn't happen in the NFL so it's not on the game.

I wasn't planning on buying Madden this year, but now I think I may have to.

[texasguy346]

Ramon Walker is in the game. He was a free agent when I started my franchise, so I think the ESPN game people thought he'd be cut before the season started. Armstrong is missing, and so is Faggins. The trades can become a little crazy, but it seems when you initiate a trade that terms become a little bit more realistic. Most teams want a draft pick and a player in return, etc. The draft feature is kind of strange. If you run your own draft, then the setup is a bitt off and you're more rushed to make a pick. You can't seem to make a list of prospects in order of what round they're projected to go so you're guessing at best. On the other hand, if you have the computer run the draft for you, then you get better players. However, they often don't match the system you're using. For example, my first round pick was DE who was smaller than Babin. It would've been ideal size for a 4-3 scheme, but we run the 3-4 and demand bigger DE. I managed to get a good CB, DT, and C in the late rounds when the computer ran the draft for me. So either way you get a trade off. It's still fun, but there are definite glitches. I'll still be getting Madden, but I had planned on getting it anyway. With the 20 dollar price ESPN was a no brainer.

[disaacks3]

Originally Posted by texasguy346

With the 20 dollar price ESPN was a no brainer.

Especially if you get it at Best Buy and use the $5 off coupon in the back of the free GamePro magazines they have in the store! (The coupon is good for XBOX Live Starter Kits or Live games) $16 out-the-door is hard to beat! :hehe:

[keyfro]

i was going to buy it today...went to best buy they had a little tv set up with it...played it...and hated it...this game is almost identical to the sega dreamcast games nfl 2k2...the graphics are horrible...i mean arms look out of place the facemasks look to be odd...can't really describe how bad the facemasks looked...umh...the play calling is horrible...it's not entirely clear what routes players are running...and to make it worse their formation names are just plan unreal...no one runs a jacks formation...it's a trips formation...just thought espn would get that right...it played ok once the ball was snapped but player movements are akward...tackling is better than madden though...for 20 bucks it's a good game...especially if you don't want to dish out 50 for madden...i will just simply stick with madden 04 for now

[TexanNut]

Game is great! $16, no coupon needed, at Fryes.

I was playing online today and Davis was unstoppable. I was laughing my *** off...run left, run right, dish left, etc. The other guy was screaming that the Texans don't have anybody that good.

Johnson had some great catches.....Carr had some horrible interceptions.

The halftime update was amazing.

I saw some crazy looking fans, but none with horns on their heads.

I would have paid more for the game, but for $16, it's a deal. Obviously, they low-balled it to get market share....once people play it, they will realize how good the game play is.

[swisher]

I'm about to scream.

Experienced the clipping glitch....horrible. Davis went from 20+ yards rushing to -8. You can turn clipping off, but its stupid that I have to.

Playing franchise and David Carr gets hurt and is out 10 weeks. But when he comes back for some stupid reason it keeps switching Carr and Ragone out. One play its Carr then the next Ragone. I cant do anything with substitutions....this sucks. I'm starting to REALLY hate this game. I may not buy Madden this year but I doubt I'll be buying ESPN next year. I'm about to put this thing on ebay.

[Scooter]

this game is a LOT better than i thought it would be. the gameplay is solid altho a little repetative and the extras are great (sportscenter, "crib", etc). the graphics arent particularly great, but deffinately servicable. the tackling & blocking is awesome! player design leave plenty to be desired however. i dont like the mechanics of the passing game much ... why is every pass thrown defended by 3+ folks even if the play is made? the offseason is great, even though i'm beyond broke in year 2 after resigning only coleman & payne (could only sign 2 draft picks after simming through to check it out). the contract system is a little too complicated for me currently so i guess a little thought process is going to have to get involved (dangit lol).

the weekly schedule is fantastic! i love the customization there.

the killer for me, and reason i'll probably lean more to madden is the on-field adjustments. i'm hoping they'll allow movements of players such as coleman to free safety (aside from just depth chart like last year, but still a step up from espn) and setting up automatic substitutions. i've just been plowing through getting the feel for the game so i've probably missed some things but that's a serious annoyance. overall INCREDIBLE game for $20 and i'd highly recommend it. i'm sure madden will be the better game, but for the price, espn has done extremely well.

[texasguy346]

I had some problems with the cap too, but I got around a lot of the problems by letting Coleman go. I signed Dyson as a free agent, and Robinson remained the number 2 guy. Picked up Nathan Vasher and a good rookie CB in the draft to round out my DBs. Glenn retired but I was still able to keep Payne. I signed most of my picks, well the ones I wanted at least, and I had a little cap room left. Walker's contract seems to be the biggest obstacle, but I got around that by picking up a good rookie DE and trading Walker for McGahee and some draft picks. Willis tears it up in this game. Looks like I'll have to shop DD around. The contracts are still tedious because you must go through all of the options (front, back, middle loaded, ascending, descending, balanced) and the bonuses to get the most cap room you can and still be able to sign the player. The strangest thing that I've found is that Pittman, the Texans LS, doesn't do the LS duties. It's always handled by the backup center. Even on punts so he is essientially a bad TE taking up space on the roster who serves no purpose at all. I think Madden still has the edge in the fun to play factor, yet it still has a great deal of realism in it. I think ESPN went a little far with the reality as far as the contracts are concerned. Not many people understand the cap very well outside of league officials, and I think it complicates an otherwise good game.

[swisher]

Ok I've calmed down about the game. It stopped doing the Carr/Ragone switching thing and I'm in the AFC championship game at Pittsburgh (playing in all-pro).

MVP of the Wildcard @ Buffalo: Jason Babbin
MVP of the Divisional Game @ Indy: Dunta Robinson

I'm back and forth still. Sometimes I love it and other times I want to throw the controller at the tv.

One last glitch...in the playoffs, players are getting injured on teams that are not even playing in the playoffs!!

[TexanNut]

Originally Posted by ThirdEyeBC32

Had trouble with being online tonight. Is anyone in a league? I would like to join one.

I couldn't get on & tried about 5 mins later and it was working. I have finally won two games with the Texans; both times Davis was a workhorse and Aaron Glen got hurt. I found that it helped to watch the training videos to understand how everything worked.

The game does have some intelligence....I tried to play in the snow at reliant, but it wouldn't let me.

I'll put it on the shelf until next weekend and start again.

[texasguy346]

Originally Posted by swisher

One last glitch...in the playoffs, players are getting injured on teams that are not even playing in the playoffs!!

Are you sure about that one? I went through the playoffs as well, but it only listed previous injuries that occured to players on non-playoff teams during the regular season. It is odd how they don't show 'great play' clips during the post season SportsCenters. Just a quick show of the score and some stats. Then the injuries and thats it.

[Ihategeeks]

I know everything to know about this game.

If anyone has any questions. Shoot.
you need the rating system explained. I got that.
You getting dropped passes, right here. Trouble running? I'm your guide, if you got a question I got an answer.

All I ask is you tell me the team and difficulty for questions that is important too. (and what system you play on)


I look forward to answering any questions

[swisher]

Well I won the Super Bowl with the Texans on all-pro. Beat the Eagles 17-14 and Andre Johnson was the Super Bowl MVP.

Now I feel like I can continue with my life now.

Even with the few annoying glitches and mistakes it was still a pretty sound game.

[texasguy346]

Originally Posted by swisher

Now I feel like I can continue with my life now.

LoL Good Luck. I said the same thing after I beat the Rams narrowly. You have the headache of the offseason schedule(draft,retirement,free agency,etc.). Now I sit at week 7 of season two. LoL. Hopefully when Madden 05 comes I'll devote more time to it instead of ESPN.