Still rises above everything else on the market. A true testament to Sega/Visual Concepts. From NFL 2K on the Dreamcast, to this amazing title, the series grew and refined to perfection. The presentation alone, with features like cheerleaders, coaches, even peanut venders, and tail gate parties, not to mention half time shows and recaps, it's second to none...period.

The added collectables, customizations, RPG elements, mini games, Celebrities, data base, pushes this way beyond a simple football game. This is one of the finest games ever made.

Even if you don't normally purchase sports titles, even if you know very little of football itself, you will love this game. And if you want to learn more about football? It's all right here, including a detailed dictionary of terminology.

The bottom line is, it's fun. It's fun no matter how you feel about football in real life. And there's enough to keep you busy having fun for a very long time. Just filling your 3D pad with decorations, collectables, and games will keep you going for years! You don't have to buy sub-standard products from other companies just because they scored an 'exclusive' license from the NFL.

With any luck, this won't be the final chapter in this legendary series. Two years on, and still nothing can touch the excellence of this masterpiece.

If you have an Xbox, get this game. If you don't, get an Xbox, and this game!

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2K5 is sick. im a die-hard madden fan but how could i pass up a game for 20 bucks? after 5 minutes i knew had the right choice, and just to make sure i rented madden and was very dissapointed. i hate franchise mode and dont give a crap about how much cokes cost in a stadium. ITS ALL ABOUT THE GAMEPLAY BABY. first person mode kick returning, R U KIDING ME? this game rocks *****

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This game is the most real to life sports game i have ever played i love the first person mode with the helmet cam's and i love watching sportscenter at the end of the games and not ot meniton the Crib mode is awesome this game is a must have for any true football game fan

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I recieved this game 1 day ago and have already played for 8 hours. This is simply the best NFL game I have ever. ESPN NFL 2K5 has picture perfect graphics, and is extremely user friendly if you the know the game of football.The game is very smooth and the animations of the players after the play, on the sideline, and the fans in their seats are pretty much flawless.The Halftime show is an extremely great feature,if you haven't played the ESPN NFL series the halftime show consists of stats of the game just like how ESPN has it, there is also the stats running across the bottom(very cool). Then Chris Berman runs through the biggest plays of the first half by showing you the full length of the play over again. You can also at any point of the game replay any play you would like. Another extremely cool feature is all the control you have over the game and players. There is about 15 different moves you can perform. You can choose what celebration you want your player to do after he scores a touchdown. Since this is ESPN's 25 anniversary ESPN chose the 25 greatest plays in playoff history, they tell you about the play then you can change history by changing the outcome of the game. What I think the coolest part of this game is the "CRIB" option. You start out with a house full of junk furniture and no quality in anything but you can transform it in your dream house by earning points to help buy leather chairs, fish tanks, a plasma t.v., team couches, darts that you can play with, a air hockey table, and much, much more.This feature is wonderful.You can earn these points buy completing tasks in games such as a 75 yard run by your runing back, or even just a pass completed to your reciever. This keeps you very entertained. I have just skimmed the top of this great game, so buy it, you will not be disappointed. It's at a great price of 19.99,(I believe it's worth 49.99)SO BUY IT!!!

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Here is what I know about ESPN NFL 2K5 as we speak right now.

1. The Live feature will be enhanced with leagues and tournaments, just like XSN Sports...until it folded.

2. The release date has been pushed back... pushed back as in it is being pushed back the good way (from September 2 to August 10 to now July 20!)

3. The Crib mode has been expanded to include more unlockable goodies than ever before.

4. There is a new VIP Mode where via memory card, you can play an arch rival of yours wihtout really playing him (you play his tactics and try to master them!)

5. First Person Football is back and it's better than ever!

6. ESPN NFL 2K5 has centered it's attention solely on the Xbox, therefore look for a major graphics boost on the Xbox!

7. The Sportscenter from ESPN NFL 2K4 has been vastly improved, giving us a 3D vision of Chris Berman (Tear!)

8. Suzy Kolber is also 3D, giving us interviews with the star player, I have seen an itnerview with Garrison Hearst on his star performance and it rocks!

9. Trey Wingo is in the game giving the injury reports for the week and Mel Kiper Jr. is in the game as well, giving us scouting reports from top draft picks for the next year (no 3D model though, bummer!)

10. Draft Picks have faces that are combined from the physical features of today's players!

11. The Halftime has been vastly improved as well, instead of screenshots in last years version, we now have streaming video of the best plays of the half!

12. Franchise has improved as well. Giving we, the people the power to manage our teams on a daily basis (have a pass-savvy team you're facing next week, send them to film to analyze the pass)

13. There is an ooption in the game as QB evade, where the QB , insead of just standing there helpless when the line is crumbling, you can use the QB evade to evade the defenders and throw the ball away.

And last but not least... ITS A BUDGET TITLE!!!!! $20!!!!!!!

I recommend if you have not even played the game or resistant to change as a Madden fan, I still reccomend that you buy or at least rent the game, on the basis that it is only $20. And it could be the best $20 you have ever spent.

(...)

Enjoy!

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If you ever wondered what Madden would be like if they fixed all the problems as they promise us every year but never do, ESPN NFL 2K5 would be it.

First of all, in ESPN 2K5 , you can't drop back 30 yards and complete passes in triple coverages in this game like madden. You have to know the aspects of your quarterback as in real life and take the right amount of step dropbacks and release the ball on time to open recievers. If you do the 30 yard madden like dropbacks, you will be sacked.

Also, in ESPN NFL 2K5 there is no 'mario running' in this game like madden. If you go in the middle of the line, you won't just get stuck there as you do in madden. The running backs will actually follow their blockers! Yes, believe it, after years of playing madden, ESPN 2K5 actually does this.

Defense is exciting to play as well. The game will be very hard at first because the cpu will actually play defense against you. Unlike madden, in espn nfl 2k5, the cpu will not cheat and know where the pass is going before it's even in the air. Mostly, you, the player will be in charge of making all the plays on defense.

This is the most realistic football game I've ever played. The cpu will actually play you tough and you won't be getting those 82-72 games like you do in madden. If you like high scoring arcade football , buy madden. If you like real NFL simulation football, buy ESPN NFL 2K5. AT at 20 bucks, you can't really go wrong with this game.

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This was the Best Football game on the market

but of course like all sports games stupid companies buy all the rights to the sports associations and we get stuck with games like MADDEN WHICH SUCK or MLB 2K6 and so forth

NFL 2K5 WAS SUPERIOR TO THAT PIECE OF GARBAGE MADDEN

BRING BACK NFL 2K5 PLEASE UNTIL THEN I WILL BOYCOTT EVERY MADDEN GAEM

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This game is a lot of fun. AI, graphics, sound, presentation, and gameplay are all great. Seven of the guys at work got this and we all love it (including the Madden fans).

Want a different opinion? Gamerankings.com has an average review of 92% for this game from 30 different sites.

Certainly worth $20, certainly worth $50. Buy it for yourself and find out.

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I have owned and/or played almost every Madden football version since its inception, including the Sega Genesis, PS1, PS2, XBox, and PC versions as well as several of the EA Sports NCAA series and 2K series. Botton line is, 2K5 beats them all hands down. The graphics, the gameplay, everything. Yeah, the game prep gets a little too involved in the franchise mode, but you can just turn that off and not worry about it. The running game is the most realistic I've seen yet and you have to do more than just call the same basic dime defensive packages over and over again. This game is terrific. I have not played Madden 2005 so I cannot compare it, but this is the best football game I have ever played. On top of that, it is only $20 (I got it for $15.88 on sale), so it is the best video game value out there. Sega won me over with the low price strategy and I am not complaining.

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This is the best video football game on the market...this year it's much improved AND it's only $20

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if u are a big football fan like me then u will love this game. it is WAY realistic as to where the players land in a tackle and how they land. just get it or i will kill u.thats right, i no where u live

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If you're looking for a football game this season (I had Madden 2004 last year), this is certainly the game to get! Sega Sports/ESPN VideoGames is now the franchise for me. I was a die-hard Madden fan, but the game just didn't change enough from year to year to justify $50. This game is refreshing, new, HALF the price of Madden and, best of all, a GREAT GAME! Great marketing placement by Sega/ESPN to convert die-hards like me. The Crib mode is an innovative way to track your progress (much better than madden's trading cards) in the game. The franchise mode is good, but not as good as I was hoping for - I've played ESPN Baseball 2k4 quite a bit, and I was hoping they would port over a lot more of the franchise menu and format. That's not to take away from this franchise mode, I was just expecting the baseball version. Anyway... If you're looking for a new football game this season, spend $20 and save $30 for Halo 2 (if it ever comes out!). You won't be disappointed in this game.

Oh, one flaw I've found, but its really minor... To load & save franchises, you have to search around the menu for a little bit. Kind of annoying, but the game play of NFL 2k4 is fantastic.

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Ever since the dreamcast, this game has always been more fun than Madden and yet every year people come out like zombies and plunk down their money for another Madden-updated-roster-rehash. EA was doing this every year with all thier sports titles until SEGA came along. The only reason Madden has gotten where it is, is because SEGA came out of the gates with such an amazing game in 2001 (which was online!!!). This forced EA to have to actually improve thier game and not just update it. Still every year people wait for the new Madden. So finally after five years of leading in innovation and graphics, they throw in the towel, and offer what has got to be one of the best sports games ever made, FOR TWENTY BUCKS, and some people are still waiting for Madden. People....wake up, Madden is a great game but it is no where near as fun. It's presentation is inferior, it's graphics are inferior, it's announcers are inferior. What's up with EA and big-headed athletes. Madden 2005 represents the first year where the players actually look like pro football players instead of little leage kids with bobble heads. I mean that's cute and everything... I'm sorry if there are some loyal fans out there but what statement are you trying to make about being loyal to a video game. What are you out to prove? If I played a version of Madden that I felt was better, I would gladly switch over, but I'm still waiting.

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This game definitely immerses you into a great football experience. For $20 you cannot go wrong with this.

FYI to all those of you critizicing the game's AI - adjust your game difficulty settings. Believe me, all those of you complaining about how easy or how unreal some plays are, your conclusions about the game will change once you change the settings.

In the end, give it a shot, you have nothing to lose and for the value, it is a steal!

Madden is Madden and overall is a good game. But it is pretty much the same thing year after year and the mannequin-like animations leave something to be desired. I don't believe ESPN's great game will change the minds of Madden-set fans, but if you are one of those, don't be afraid of at least trying it before bashing it. Be warned...the controls are different so resist the temptation of saying the controls are awful; just realize the controls are different and once you give it a try, you will realize it is a good football experience. I used to play Madden and when I first tried the controls on the 2K series, I was a bit turned off because I was expecting Madden controls; but once I looked at SEGA's game for what it is...another great approach to a great football experience, I learned the new control scheme and from there the game turned into great fun.

In the end, it boils down to this: if you want a great experience, try it; if you are a Madden-set fan, what are you afraid of...experiencing something better? I think not, since we all want the ultimate football sim experience; so go ahead and at least try it. Even if you don't like it, you can't deny the fact that it is still a great football game at an unbelievable price point.

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i thought this game is REALLY good.

What can i say--i think that the ratings are good, and i think the teams are good.

you can make your own teams, players, create teams, and unlock players. in this game you have your own house. when u play a game, you get crib credits. crib credits are when you can buy stuff for your house.

i thought this game was really good--if you like spots buy it! its worth every penny!

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