NFL 2K2 still lives on even 18 years after its release for the Sega Dreamcast. From a gameplay standpoint, it is quite simply the most responsive football game ever made. When you make a catch with a WR, you know you’ve worked for it. When you throw a deep ball to a prominent WR like Amani Toomer, you know you have to put the ball in exactly the right spot to give the WR an opportunity to separate from a defender and grab it. When you sack a QB, you know you’ve earned it by powering through a ruthless offensive line. When you pick off a pass for an INT, you have to step in front of the WR at the perfect time to intercept the pass. The exceptional controls; along with the responsive gameplay, make the game incredibly addictive. NFL 2K2 is also chock full of game modes that include a franchise mode, season, practice, exhibition, online, playoffs, and more. 2K2 offers an impressive amount of difficulty as well, the “Pro” difficulty offers a serious challenge due to the brilliant AI the game offers. Defenses play brilliantly, and you will have to switch up play calling and scheme to adjust and adapt to tough defenses like Tampa and Baltimore. The “All Pro” difficulty is even tougher, demanding near perfection in your game plan. 2K2 is excellent in how it respects the intelligence of the player. It is worth mentioning again how tight the controls are in 2K2. Scrambling away with a QB, throwing the ball away, running up the middle and sprinting through a hole with Ron Dayne, sacking a QB; all of these moves feel so fluid and so rewarding in 2K2. The gameplay is simply unparalleled to any football game that has come before it. 2K2 offers highly addictive online play and some very deep game modes. The Franchise mode will certainly keep you entertained for a long time, giving you control as a GM while still playing season games. Meanwhile, the season, exhibition, and practice modes offer a ton of enjoyment as well. From a graphical standpoint, 2K2 is quite simply one of the most beautiful NFL games ever made. Everything from the character models to the tackling animations look incredible. The snow and rain falling on the field looks superb, and the faces of the players even look like their real life counter parts. The frame-rate is also near flawless, offering very little lag (in the Dreamcast version at least) and offering a fast and frantic experience. The audio is also incredible, the commentary from the broadcast booth with Dan Stevens is exceptional. With Dan frequently making jokes and anecdotes about the game; and providing excellent in game analysis and play by play narration. The players also sound fantastic, groaning after a tough tackle and even talking smack during the actual game. It’s worth mentioning that the rock guitar theme is also incredibly catchy and will get you hyped. While the Dreamcast version is near flawless, the PS2 version does have some glaring issues. The frame rate is not as strong, showing some noticeable lag in some spots during gameplay. The AI clock management towards the end of the game is also terrible in the PS2 version. I’ve noticed teams down 3 points in the 4th quarter (with time running down) not use timeouts. I’ve seen teams up 10 points kick FGs rather than take a knee. These AI quirks are not issues in the Dreamcast version. It is also worth mentioning that in-game stats in the PS2 version don’t always add up, “QB” stats and “WR” stats don’t add up, making you wonder if the developers ever learned addition and subtraction in 2nd grade. Regardless, NFK 2K2 for the Dreamcast remains one of the greatest NFL videogames ever made. With the NFL 2K series potentially coming back, and Madden stagnating, it is worth revisiting 2K2 for its fantastic gameplay and tight controls. The game is less than $10 on eBay or amazon and still with checking out if you haven’t. NFL videogames do not get much better than 2K2, my highest recommendation.
