When people
think of the NFL, two things come to mind: EA, the sole owner of the NFL
license, and Madden, the property secured by the multi-year deal. However, most
gamers don’t realize that the license only extends to the PC, console, and
handheld forms of gaming. It does not extend to mobile phones, allowing
courageous developers a small window to experiment with their interpretation of
NFL gaming.
Generic mobile
technology prevents a Madden-quality game from being made for your average
phone. That won’t change until the day comes when your Nokia cell doubles as a
Nintendo DS or PSP. But you can still enjoy a mobile football game, so long as
the developer in charge puts the fun before anything else.
NFL Gridiron, a
new football series from THQ, ensures you won’t have to be at Ford Field,
watching TV, or playing Xbox to get your football fix this Thanksgiving. You
could be anywhere, even at the dinner table, playing a mobile game that crams as
much of a console football experience as possible into a keypad and a tiny,
1.5-inch screen.
At first
glance, NFL Gridiron looks no different from the plain sports titles designed
nine years ago for Game Boy Color. After witnessing the game in motion, you’ll
be convinced that this is a solid step up from what the GBC could produce.
Rather than having players that are, when broken down, nothing more than colored
pixels that were shoved together, NFL Gridiron has actual player models. They’re
not overly detailed, but for the technology at hand, the results are notable.
The game gets
even better looking when the camera jumps to the close view. It does this
automatically during running plays and close-range passes. The camera also leaps
ahead when the ball lands in your hands, or when you’re about to tackle an
opponent. Aside from the colors of their jerseys, all the players look the same.
But each one is an actual body – with arms, legs, and a head, not merely
pixelated blocks.
Players are
controlled with the arrow keys; kicks are handled with a charge/timing meter.
When setting up a passing play, arrows appear over your teammates’ heads. Push
an arrow key and the selection key simultaneously to pass the ball to one of the
four players. If the arrow is green, the receiver is open. If yellow, the player
is partially covered, and if red, he is heavily covered.
Quick Play and
Season are your two play mode options. While going through a season, players can
check the schedule, stats, standings, and roster – just like you can with a
console game. From the main menu players may choose their favorite team, adjust
the length of games (one-, two-, or five-minute quarters), and play with or
without vibration. The force feedback feature is slightly amusing the first few
times it’s encountered. You expect your phone to shake when a call comes in, not
when your quarterback gets sacked.
There isn’t
much to the game other than that, and there really doesn’t need to be until the
technology advances. If you want a no-hassle, no-nonsense game of pigskin
action, NFL Gridiron is worth a few quarters from your wallet – and a few
quarters of your time.
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Gameplay: 7.5
NFL Gridiron is a
solid mobile phone take on sports gaming’s biggest genre.
Graphics:
5.0
Not much color or
differentiation between players.
Sound: 3.0
When the game asks
if you’d like the sound turned on, just say, “No.”
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Not what I would
call a difficult game, but certainly capable of giving the player a reason to
stay focused.
Concept: 7.0
It’s not easy for
developers to convert football’s moves and play mechanics to a game that doesn’t
even have polygons. (At least it doesn’t appear to – if it does, they are
definitely in short supply.) But the team behind this one did a good job. When
3D capabilities are added to every phone, I hope these guys are still at the
helm of NFL Gridiron.
Overall: 7.5
Worth checking out
on your mobile phone. It’s nowhere near the potency of the sports titles for the
latest handheld game machines, so don’t go expecting the world. But if you can
understand the limitations and appreciate what the developers have produced, NFL
Gridiron won’t disappoint.
