NFL Tour... Where did the fun go?
I saw that NFL Tour was out and was actually exited because for some reason I hadn't come across warnings that it would be on the shelf and didn't take the time to research it myself. I was also excited to see that unlike most 360 Games it came with a price tag of $49.99 (instead of the usual $59.99). I grabbed a copy and went home looking forward to getting the full 1000 Gamerscore and looking forward to doing it... Little did I know what I was in store for from EA and their half-finished-fully-terrible game.
I throw it in and take a look at the Achievements... unlike most games that I research the Achievements long before I play them... As I look I only see one that looks slightly time consuming and 3 Secret Achievements... Well, me being me, I hit up www.Achieve360Points.com to take a look at those Secrets... Nothing crazy just a few in-game Achievements that should be easy enough.
I started by hitting up the Mini-Games... Nothing special... You can choose between running around in a circular Arena with one other guy (Smash-N-Dash) ...or even better... 1 on 1 Football... I mean they really thought outside the box on that one. I shut down the Mini-Games without a second thought because Gameplay is always what I liked in the Street Series anyways and Mini-Games aren't were that is going to show-off.
So I began playing Tour Mode... I created a fairly-boring Character since there weren't many options to make him look unique... but I thought "there will be upgrades" and just moved on... there are no upgrades. You get nothing but more Challenges after you begin the Tour… Challenges that seem to get less & less creative.
As I progressed through Tour Mode I started to wonder… where did that Taunting Option go? Why doesn't my left trigger do anything? Am I crazy or is all the fun missing? Why don't I get to customize my Character? Why did I have to mute the Trey Wingo's commentary after 3 hours of play because I want to rip his heart out?
There are so many gaps in NFL Tour it isn't funny. To start, you hear ALL the commentary before finishing your first game ($-10)... There is no Character Customization ($-10)… There is no way to Reset a Match from the Pause Menu ($-10)... There is a TOTAL of 69 Plays on Offense & Defense & Special Teams COMBINED ($-10)... All of the Fields appear the same ($-10)... There is no Training Area to learn the game and reverses ($-10) and even with that lack of content, the Load Times are Horrific ($-10).
So by my Calculations... EA owes me $30 for playing it. So much for saving 10 bucks!
My final say on this one is only RENT NFL Tour if you are into Gamerscore. It isn't a fun game so pass on it unless you want to add another 1000 Gamerscore to your card... If you are looking to enjoy Football, stick with Madden. Sorry, there isn't a better option yet.