Jump to content

NFL Head Coach Demo For PC


Trey

Recommended Posts

I didn't know how many people here might be looking forward to NFL Head Coach, but I figured I'd throw it out there anyway.

http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?si...=thread&order=0

And you might have to download this also.

http://www.dll-files.com/dllindex/dll-files.shtml?d3dx9_27

The second is just a .dll file while the first is the demo, 300 MB.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It blows.

I mean, you think about it (like I did) and think "Wow, cool idea".

But think: When you play Madden, exactly how much FUN do you get from scrolling through playbooks and picking a play? It's not very fun at all.

Plus, you have all these "Motivate" or "Strategy" selections when you talk to your team, which, by the time you scroll through and find the one you want, you've missed that play you had so much fun calling (I got lost in the menus, and missed out on a huge touchdown pass play that I had called as a result)

The draft seems to be well-hyped but I found it to be clunky and cumbersome in comparison to the Madden draft methodology.

Maybe it's because it's a demo and not the official release, but this went from a must-buy to a POSSIBLE rent-to-see-if-it-improves and a probable non-purchase. It just wasn't any fun doing anything; it takes the playing of the game itself (fun) out and replaces it with a lot more menus (not fun).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems to cater to the fantasy football fan more then anything. And as for the draft, I expect the scouting and such that you are forced to sim through to be very good, thus making up for the sub-par draft we get in the demo.

As for the menus and such, this game is for a specific audience. I think the ones meant to enjoy it will, and those who are "on the fence" will have to give it a shot.

However, I do expect it to be much easier to navigate on PS2 and X-Box. That's just my guess though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So is it basically a glorified version of the Franchise mode in Madden, except instead of playing the games you just pick the plays? Sounds... Interesting. God knows that within 15 minutes I'd be calling down field passing plays on every 4th and long just to see how many times it would actually work.

The saving grace for me with Madden's franchise mode is the ability to relocate teams. I started a game last week as the Steelers, after 5 years of play, I switch users to Carolina, which then had zero prestige and the lowest fan support in the leauge. Right away, I move them to Las Vegas an became the Vipers. Then I just kept on going from to team to team, relocating franchises. I moved the Vikings into Carolina and became the Wildcats (to fill the void I left), the Cleveland Browns are now know as the Toronto Blues, there is an LA Bears franchise, and I moved the Bills to Mexico City, only to move the Cardinals into Buffalo the next season. Funny because if a team would ever move to Mexico City, it would be the Cardinals. Instead the Bills, who had been 1 of the 3 teams that won the Super Bowl almost every year (along with San Diego and the fucking Texans!), pack their bags and go South, while the Cardinals, coming off an amazing 1-15 season, move to Buffalo right after. I dunno, for me that was the only real interesting thing about controlling a franchise in Madden after awhile, besides playing the actual games.

I may give it a rent to see what it's all about, but sounds like something I'd pass on for sure.

Edited by Enter Blue Guy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Leave it to EA to screw up a good concept. I'll save my final comments for when I actually get to play the game but if it sucks I wouldn't be suprised. I'm a bigger player of sim games (OOTP and Front Office Football and of course the EW franchise and TEW and Wrestling Spirit) and I was honestly kind of excited about this project. I'd still rather play ESPN NFL 2K5 with the roster updated then Madden 06.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok I bought it without trying the demo since I have 56k. I began with the Bengals and in two hours I have yet to coach anything! I have been just scouting prospects, signing people and doing meetings and shit. I like it tough...

It seems that the only way to get trust with your owner and coaches is to agree to almost all their suggestions. Also I had a sucky coaching staff and ended up firing everyone and having to go trough a long and ardous process of calling a coach I was interested in, scheduling a meeting and then negotiating a contract if I wanted him. The thing is, that you dont see actual numbers during the meeting(or job interview) and have to guess at his talents by his answers to your questions, which is nice(such as "What importance do you think special teams have on a team?" or "If you where looking to draft a CB in the first round, what would you look for?"). This allows you to take a rough guess at what their main skills are. It also helps that before you schedule a meeting you get to see what the coach's last position was and his main skill(with a little bar that tells you how good that skill is).

Then it comes negotiating with players and scouting prospects. You get a significant amount of input from your coaches, such as your RB coach telling you about a hot sleeper prospect, or your OC telling you about the importance of resigning a key player. In my case, I had to let Jemeri Johnson go even when the owner wanted me to sign him back, since his agent wanted him to be an unrestricted free agent and kept telling me that he would wait until the Unrestricted period began before considering my offer.

So far it is good, if a bit overwhelming at first.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Update:

Well, I managed to go trough the draft and to my surprise, Reggie Bush went N0. 15 to the Falcons!!! I picked FB BJ Ryan with the 25th pick and now I have gotten to the part where you run drills and call practices. Still, I have coached no games whatsoever and the practices are just like in Madden, but you can actually "motivate" the players and according to their practice time see improvements. If you practice a play a lot it actually becomes easier to do as your guys get used to the coverage and the like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've heard alot of people say lots of different things about this so I'll ask one question. If I buy it on xbox will it be wasting $40 or is this game actually enjoyable. I've heard of a bug where your QB turns around and throws it 40 yards in the wrong direction, I've also heard HB/WR screens don't work. So do the pro's out-weigh the cons?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I suggest you rent.

Since I am in love with my new PC, I opted to buy it for it the day it came out, instead of renting the PS2 version first and then deciding. My opinion: not worth the $40....at least to me. The game is fun, but it feels like the skeleton of a better game. Some things are quite annoying and can even become boring in 15 minutes, like having to do every single practice. Yeah, you can sim them, but according to the review at gamespot, if you want to try and win, you have to practice yourself since the stat benefits of simulated practices are significantly lower. The good: you get your players used to the plays you want, making them money plays and improving their chances to suceed. The bad: It gets boring to run the same play 10-12 times in a row to achieve that status. Yeah, you can mix and match, but what use? It is better to have 5-6 plays at 100% than 30 plays at 6%, so you will end up doing this repeat trick.

Also, you have to schedule everything! Even a change of clothes! Office Hours suck, you cannot change them for anything else and the only thing you can do in them is read mail, check NFL.com or view tutorials. The only good thing you can do is switch the depth chart and are only limited to two changes per office hour! WTF? Which means that you need to schedule a TRADE PLAYERS task, a STAFF MANAGEMENT task, a SIGN PLAYERS task and a CHANGE OF CLOTHES task!!!! The same for adjusting the playbook and drawing plays. Yeah, because iot is impossible to call an agent for a signing or a GM for a trade during office hours! The bad thing is that if you want to make a trade during the season, more than likely you will need to change one of the practices for a TRADE PLAYERS task which doesnt make much sense.

Then we have the motivational conversations. This is so random! It is virually impossible to gain something from them! Sometimes you yell at your QB after an INT and he takes it ok, but oher times you congratulate him and he gets mad...WTF? Also you are limited to two different approaches, agressive and passive, and they are usually two different ways to say you suck....no proper way to encourage them positively.

The rest of the game is good on my book. The coaching staff is really useful for suggestions if you take the time to hire a decent staff(that is another thing, most coaching staffs suck, so you need to fire everyone and hire new people your first time trough), the owner sets realistic goals depending on the team's status and the time of the season(he might want you to draft a certain position in the draft or re-sign a particular player in the offseason, get certain position players ready for the beginning of the season during training camp, during the season he might want to win the division if you are a good team, or finish with a .500 record if you are a loosing team and so on). Also the way you interview staff for signing is cool. In the field, I found that is better to use money plays constantly, with a couple of others in between. Rarely motivation works, the adjustments you can order usually deal positive results if you know what you are doing, etc.

So the game is good, but you need patience and low expectations. If you wanted something like Total Pro Football on the Madden engine, then you will be dissapointed. Good game, but not worth $40. With some more tweaks, this franchise can really be something, but not right now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. To learn more, see our Privacy Policy