NFL 2K1 Review

One of the main reasons for purchasing the Dreamcast, after it died in 2001, was because of the enormous strength that the sports lineup on this system showed. The Dreamcast was the first system to offer next-generation quality gameplay, graphics, and commentary for a sports game. For the time, the level of pure immersion in the game left us all awed. Even today, NFL 2K1 is still renowned as the greatest football game of all time.

Possibly the greatest achievement that Visual Concepts made was the amount of improvements over NFL 2K. This is the biggest step that I’ve seen from one year to the next, when it comes to sports titles. By no means was NFL 2K an under-performing, it’s just that 2K1 outperforms it in every area imaginable.

The most obvious change from 2K is the addition of online play. Using the Dreamcast modem, you could connect to SegaNet, which to the best of my knowledge, no longer exists. This allowed you to play with other players over the internet or update team rosters.

Aside from online play, which again, I don’t think is available anymore (and I don’t have dial-up to check), the next biggest addition was the franchise mode. This is a managerial simulator, more or less, letting you play through multiple seasons, signing players, and participating in the draft.

Being that I’m not a big football fan, I played this game with a slight amount of strategy, but used more of an arcade approach. The menus are much more clean and navigable than any Madden game. Even my 45 year old father, who doesn’t play video games, other than NES and Genesis, was able to compete against me. This is the biggest appeal that I had with this game, the ability to play with literally anyone, except grandma. Then again, if granny is a pigskin fan, this might be the game for her.

By day’s end, NFL 2K1 is the most enjoyable experience I’ve ever had with a football game. I played this game for months at a time, and I’ll still bring it out, instead of my Xbox version (NFL 2K3). Whether you’re a die-hard or an amateur, this is the football game for you. I’d go so far as to say, this is worth buying a Dreamcast for.