Graphics

Serious eye candy

The first thing you're going to notice about NFL Fever is its clean, crisp graphics. Colors are vivid and lush and all uniforms are recreated to a T. If you bump up the resolution to 1024x768 (as this game should be played) you'll easily make out numbers on jerseys, and in many situations you can clearly read the names on the back of players' shirts! All the stadiums in the NFL are rendered authentically. I noticed that the Oakland Coliseum (where the Raiders play) in NFL Fever even features the East Bay hills in the background behind the stadium! Now that's attention to detail. All this combined makes starting up a game in NFL Fever 2000 look almost as good as Monday Night Football. Another nice touch was the cinematic replays that happen after an exciting play.

Pro Player Stadium

Buckley breaks up the pass to Owens

Poetry in motion

NFL Fever 2000 really starts to shine when you see the game in motion. You might think that the pictures look nice, but static screenshots don't do the game true justice. The developers included dozens of motion captured animations in NFL Fever 2000, meaning that there's no ice skating or sliding around in this game - running looks fluid no matter what direction you're going in. What astonished me even more was the amount of detail added to all the other animations. Receivers put their hands up for the ball and turn their heads in the right direction when the pass comes in. Defensive backs get both hands in the air to bat the ball away. Ball carriers can do stiff arms, hurdle low tackles, and juke defenders while QBs do their own trickery with pump fakes and play action handoffs.

Getting upended

Kaufman tries to keep his balance

Then there are the tackles - send a receiver over the middle and he's liable to get upended by the free safety. Running backs take on tacklers and stumble, that is, if they aren't completely creamed and knocked flat on their back or sideswiped by a hard charging linebacker. This isn't over done though - you don't see your guys going airborne on every hit. Highlight reel hits seem to occur at a relatively realistic pace and in believable situations, making it all the more exciting when you see a ball carrier pulled down by his shirt collar.