NFL Xtreme 2

Pros • Great Voice Samples • Cool Sound Effects • Awesome Cartoon Hits • Great Graphics	Cons • Why this when you can have Blitz? • Half Arcade/Half Sim Interface • Gameplay is not fluid • Not as good as NFL Blitz
Bottom Line Unless you're the most diehard football fanatic on the planet and you consider it your duty to the NFL to pick up every single officially licensed product on the shelves, I'd keep extremely wide of NFL Xtreme 2. NFL Xtreme 2 is much better than the previous attempt, which was a bit of a mess--too much like GameDay and not enough like the arcade football game it was trying to rip off. This time, NFL Xtreme 2 gets a lot closer to the insane, no-rules, breakneck pace of Midway's now classic arcade sports franchise. There are lots of terrific additions in the gameplay this year, most notably the decisions to simplify the play-calling screens and to drop the pace-choking time outs. The silly throw-tackle moves, the flaming feet, and the zany NFL pro-delivered trash talk that have become staples in Xtreme are all good. Unfortunately though, despite the plethora of features, the actual gameplay of Xtreme 2 feels more uncomfortable than finding yourself at a Barbara Streisand concert.

These guys just don't get it do they? Last year, NFL Xtreme was slightly better than expected but still a disappointment. It's hard to believe that a sequel was even considered but here I am again, playing a sad NFL Blitz knock off that feels all wrong.

TRY AND TRY AGAIN

I'll grant that NFL Xtreme 2 is much better than the previous attempt, which was a bit of a mess--too much like GameDay and not enough like the arcade football game it was trying to rip off. This time, NFL Xtreme 2 gets a lot closer to the insane, no-rules, breakneck pace of Midway's now classic arcade sports franchise. There are lots of terrific additions in the gameplay this year, most notably the decisions to simplify the play-calling screens and to drop the pace-choking time outs. The silly throw-tackle moves, the flaming feet, and the zany NFL pro-delivered trash talk that have become staples in Xtreme are all good. Unfortunately though, despite the plethora of features, the actual gameplay of Xtreme 2 feels more uncomfortable than finding yourself at a Barbara Streisand concert.

There's just no rhythm to the gameplay. When you get in the groove with NFL Blitz (or any of the regular console football sims, for that matter), you forget all about the fact that you're playing a videogame. NFL Xtreme 2 never lets you get into that groove. The frame-rate is fine, this time it's the gameplay that's choppy.

The player animations, while nice to watch, don't add to the flow of the game. It really feels like they've been tacked onto a clunky half-sim, half-arcade football engine. Throw the ball to a receiver and all of the computer controlled defenders stand still while he catches it, then the defense comes to life and crunches the ball carrier. Compare that to the constant stream of "hard to get in the open" carnage you'll find in Blitz and there's just no contest. I do think that all of the crunch tackles and spinning throws in Xtreme 2 are fantastic but the stop start momentum makes it seem more like a series of wrestling moves performed at various junctures across a football field. NFL Blitz, on the other hand, despite being a simple arcade-style sports game, never ceases to lose sight of the sport it's representing. I dare say that NFL Blitz provides some of the best football gameplay you'll find in the sports game genre period, no matter how anal-retentive you are about simulation. NFL Xtreme 2 provides no such recreation. The graphics and animations are pretty and the disc is feature-laden but in the end, there's simply no flow.

Part of the problem lies in 989 Sports' insistence on using all of the buttons on a PSX controller. Nobody picks up a controller for Blitz and stays confused for long. Meanwhile in Xtreme 2, you're likely to continue discovering little tweaks and jukes that certain button combinations will cause for days and days. Some may call this "deep gameplay" but personally, I'll stick with the awe-inspiring control nuance that Divita, Turmell and the rest of the Midway Blitz squad were able to squeeze out of three simple buttons.

PUMMELING PRETTINESS

There's no denying that NFL Xtreme 2 is a tasty looking title. The weather effects, particularly the deceptively peaceful snowfall, are absolutely brilliant. The player models are enormous and extremely well detailed. Sure they look PlayStation blocky, but these pros sport facial mapping, color-correct jersey textures and cartoon muscles that would make Popeye weep like a baby. I was extremely impressed by the celebration and tackle animations in the game. It's hard to come up with fresh hits after all of the insanity in Blitz but the animators have added great flourishes, like being able to knock the helmets or even rip the jerseys off of pesky receivers.

The sound effects in Xtreme 2 are all pro as well. The thunderous claps of Xtreme 2's monster hits sound as nasty as they look. The fire bursts that accompany turbo-streaking rushers don't seem at all out of place. Best of all, the sound team was able to record real life NFL pros embroiled in the fine art of the trash talk, the taunt and the showboat. The authenticity is appreciated.

Not quite as successful in the sound department, however, is the late-to-the-call and dry-as-a-corn-chip announcer that 989 Sports has propped up in front of the microphone. The guy may have been a game god in the Genesis' SportsTalk days but in this era of high-voltage Blitz-barrage commentary, anything less pumped, comes off as lifeless and boring. Sorry.

Xtreme 2's music, while appropriately haughty, is just not the right score for an arcade-style, mega-touchdown, massive-hits game of turbo-football. The 5-on-5, no rules, no-holds-barred gameplay of Xtreme 2 screams out for some screaming rock and roll or at least some million-beats-per-minute funk. The Game Day-lite pap that thumps in over the killer intro movie clip or in between quarters of gameplay is lame to the nth degree. Blitz 2000 wins in this category too.

IS THERE REALLY A DECISION TO MAKE HERE?

Unless you're the most diehard football fanatic on the planet and you consider it your duty to the NFL to pick up every single officially licensed product on the shelves, I'd keep extremely wide of NFL Xtreme 2. Send a message to 989, "no more pretenders please!"

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