The game that shook EA to its core
This review contains spoilers
It’s good
I'm a sports fan but I get that most gamers don't care for the experience that you get from a game like this. That said, I was amazed at how this game is presented and controls. I've played earlier 2K NFL games, as well as entries from the Madden series and the NFL Gameday games. There is good to be found in a lot of those earlier games but football games (read: Madden) have went downhill in the modern era.
ESPN NFL 2K5 was the last "sim" NFL game that doesn't have the word Madden on it and they went out with a bang. As I mentioned before, the game presented an NFL football video game as close to what you would see on ESPN if you were watching the real thing and the ESPN coverage after the fact. I love stats so it was awesome to see how my team and its players had performed after a game as if it was on SportsCenter later that night.
Great memories for a great game that was sold at a budget price(!).
ESPN NFL 2K5 was the last "sim" NFL game that doesn't have the word Madden on it and they went out with a bang. As I mentioned before, the game presented an NFL football video game as close to what you would see on ESPN if you were watching the real thing and the ESPN coverage after the fact. I love stats so it was awesome to see how my team and its players had performed after a game as if it was on SportsCenter later that night.
Great memories for a great game that was sold at a budget price(!).
The best football game of 2004, even with Madden getting a truck stick. This game was so good, EA bought the NFL license and destroyed NFL video games forever.
While lacking some features in terms of raw gameplay it doesn't get better than this. Somehow a game decades old now has better AI and smoother movement than modern Madden games.
Potentially the most well-put together sports-ball game ever put to retail. Still worth playing nearly 20 years removed from its release.
20 dollars will last you a lifetime
the absolute pinnacle of nfl games. if you only ever play one, play this one. you dont even need to be a fan to enjoy this one. matter of fact, it comes with a full-length football for dummies book inside the game for the newcomers and casual fans like me who maybe dont know every rule. it has a fully featured franchise mode, player creator, shockingly good commentary from a game from 2004, excellent physics and hit detection, a house you can wander around in and plaster every wall of with posters of chris berman, and most notably a got damn first person mode that somehow works flawlessly. madden 08 WISHES it was on this game's level.
I miss this series. I took it for granted when it was being released. I was way into Madden and used the 2K series as an appetizer each year. It helped that it was only 20 or 40 dollars. It was definitely cheaper but the quality was great.
they just don't make sports games like this anymore
One of the greatest football video games ever made, the presentation, graphics, and gameplay were far ahead of its time. It’s a damn shame that EA monopolized the market just a year later
Best football game of all time in my opinion. Everything about this game is fun. Perfect game for what it is.
NFL 2K5 still provides a solid game of football but has become somewhat over-romanticized over the years, as it was the last NFL 2K game before EA secured exclusive rights to NFL video games.
Whether or not you prefer 2K or Madden football on PS2 ultimately comes down to the gameplay, and for my tastes, Madden simply feels better to control. Most notably, running feels a bit stiff and robotic in NFL 2K5. Breaking tackles and forward momentum feels good, but having to mash a button for speed boost is clunky. It sounds like a small thing, but I think the game would have been significantly improved with a different turbo system.
Presentation-wise, the game is overflowing with mid-2000s ESPN. While it obviously looks a bit dated now, it does feel like a TV broadcast. The ESPN NFL music adds a lot to the experience. Pregame, halftime, and postgame shows are a cool touch, but you will likely skip them after the first few watches.
In terms of features, there is The Crib, which is a house/trophy room used for collectibles and achievements. It's a cool idea that I wish sports games would bring back. Franchise mode is serviceable though not as deep as Madden, and the UI is mediocre. There are 25 historical game scenarios to play through, but they missing the special touches and unique presentation players have come to expect from these type of modes. The game also notably lacks a create-a-team feature.
NFL 2K5 holds up well for the most part, but I don't feel like it is the best football game of all-time as it is sometimes called.
Whether or not you prefer 2K or Madden football on PS2 ultimately comes down to the gameplay, and for my tastes, Madden simply feels better to control. Most notably, running feels a bit stiff and robotic in NFL 2K5. Breaking tackles and forward momentum feels good, but having to mash a button for speed boost is clunky. It sounds like a small thing, but I think the game would have been significantly improved with a different turbo system.
Presentation-wise, the game is overflowing with mid-2000s ESPN. While it obviously looks a bit dated now, it does feel like a TV broadcast. The ESPN NFL music adds a lot to the experience. Pregame, halftime, and postgame shows are a cool touch, but you will likely skip them after the first few watches.
In terms of features, there is The Crib, which is a house/trophy room used for collectibles and achievements. It's a cool idea that I wish sports games would bring back. Franchise mode is serviceable though not as deep as Madden, and the UI is mediocre. There are 25 historical game scenarios to play through, but they missing the special touches and unique presentation players have come to expect from these type of modes. The game also notably lacks a create-a-team feature.
NFL 2K5 holds up well for the most part, but I don't feel like it is the best football game of all-time as it is sometimes called.
this game was 20 dollars back when madden was 50 and they put more content into this game than all of the madden games combined. absolutely goated
This game is just so damn realistic for its time. A little tedious, though
18 years later as I write this review, it still baffles me how no Madden game has reached ESPN NFL 2K5's level of authenticity with its presentation.
You can play against Steve-O AND Carmen Electra
I'll be honest, I don't get it. The UI is horrible and age has not treated this thing well. It DOES play better than Madden (even the newest installations), but to me, only marginally.