Graphics: 9
Gameplay: 9
Sound: 9.5
Controls: 9
Replay: 10

Sega football games have been beaten out and out every single year by the Madden powerhouse. Madden has such a die-hard following behind it that makes it so that most other football franchises just throw in the towel early. Not Sega, they have been battling since the beginning. Sega is now ready to make their move, by offering their new game at a bargain price (only $20! Can you believe it?!), adding so many new features it will blow your mind, and improving on already solid graphics and gameplay, Sega is preparing to finally pass up Madden. Let's just say, if there is any year for Sega to do it, this is it.

Not matter how many new features Madden is planning on including in the new game, it doesn't even compare to ESPN NFL 2K5. It is going to take a while to go through all of these, so bear with me. Let's start with the Crib. The Crib was introduced in last years game, ESPN NFL Football, and in this year it has been greatly improved. By playing the game for a certain amount of time, winning games, or completing certain tasks (like getting a sack, picking off a pass, etc) you earn points. You can then spend these points to unlock objects for your Crib. These objects range greatly from furniture to decorations to mini-games that you can actually play, such as paper football. There are 4 or 5 catalogs that contain hundreds and hundreds of items that you can use to improve you Crib and the game itself. Also, if you have online play, you can upload your Crib to the internet and other players can view your pimped out house. It is almost as good as being on MTV's Cribs. There are so many objects that no two Cribs will be the same.

Another major new addition to this years game is the "VIP" feature. Trust me, it is nothing like it sounds. The VIP feature saves all of your tendencies, such as scrambling, formations, play calls, substitutions, etc, and then you can upload it to the internet and other players can download your VIP and play against your tendencies and get some practice before they actually play you. This is a good way to prepare for that #1 ranked player. You can also download VIP's for famous people like Carmen Electra and play against her...it's the closest thing you'll get to being right next to her playing the game. Just imagine...sitting next to Carmen Electra playing video games...the two best things in the world...the possibilities...

Ah-hem, so after you get over your Carmen Electra fantasy, you can move on to the Franchise mode. You can take over your favorite team as the head coach and lead them to the Super Bowl. The new Franchise mode can be as deep or as simple as you want it to be in this years game. You can simply choose to play the games and forget about everything else, or you can truly get into the game. You have the option to do just about anything in this game, ranging from the ordinary trading players, picking up free agents, and negotiating contracts, to the all new weekly preparations. The weekly preparations are something unique to the ESPN games. You are allotted a certain number of hours each day for five days that you can use to prepare for your next game. You can have a team meeting and decide on how you want to conduct it (as in you can show your disappointment in the loss and get the players focused or you can get them pumped up after a big win by being confident). You also have about a million other possibilities. You can either target each position individually and choose from a variety of exercises and training that you can use to improve their stats or target the whole team by running 7-on-7 drills and 2-A-Days in full pads. You actually have to try the game to see how many different drills there are, it is seemingly endless.

All those improvements not enough for you? That is just skimming the top. Did you like last years half time show? Come on now, how couldn't you like the way they actually described the half and how it went and they would mention key plays and players. It was awesome! It felt like you were really watching the game on TV. Now, they took it to the next level. There is a show in the preseason that will describe each team for the upcoming season, another show right before the playoffs, and yet another show at the end of the year that summarizes the year. In addition to this, there is a pregame show before every game that plays while the game loads. It is uncanny how many different lines and phrases the announcer has. He almost never says the same thing twice. And the amazing thing is that he will describe your team and their tendencies precisely. The game simply draws you in and makes you feel as if you are really watching an NFL game on ESPN.

Did you like the gameplay from last years game? You better had if you want to buy the new game, because the gameplay is the exact same in most respects. Naturally, there have been a few tweaks to make the game more fun and realistic, but the majority of the gameplay remains untouched. Visual Concepts doesn't need to fix what isn't broke, right? But that doesn't mean you don't improve on it, and they took that heavily into account when working on the new game. In last years game, the running game was just too easy and the passing game too hard. Your running back could easily pick up an average of ten yards a run and yet receivers would drop passes when they were wide open. This has all been worked on and now the defense has been amped up so that they will knock down passes in close coverage but when you get the receiver open he will catch the ball this time around. As for the running game, on the normal difficulty it is nearly the same, but when you turn it up a notch the defense will now actually stop the run for a change. This is a welcome improvement over last years game.

The last mentionable additions to the gameplay come in the forms of quarterback control and Maximum Tackle. The game has now made it so that if you time it right you can use the right thumbstick to dodge tackles and avoid sacks with your QB. This makes the passing game much more interesting as a skilled players can make a defense very frustrated. As for the Maximum Tackle, it has obviously been added to counter Madden's Hit Stick. It's not quite as deep as the Hit Stick, but it has the same effect. If you time it right you can cause fumbles and stop the running back dead in his tracks. Of course, if you miss, you will be left in the dust and you will have one pissed off coach on the sideline waiting for you. The point? Don't miss.

Phew. So many additions and improvements. How did they have time to do this, I wonder? I mean honestly, who thought of all this stuff? They really put a ton of effort into this game and only charge a measly $20 for it. This is easily worth $50 and honestly, I don't care how good Madden is this year, this is the year of ESPN. Oh yeah, and you thought that was it. That was all the improvements. That is only the beginning. That is only the gameplay and features, just wait. Oh yeah, I even forgot another feature. Too much for you? Thought so. But oh well, here goes. Now, there is a ESPN 25th Anniversary Mode. It is similar to NCAA Football's Classic Games. You can now go back in time and play through the most memorable situations of all time.

Alright, alright. The game blows your mind with all the new features. Trust me, I understand. My head is pounding too. But we have to move on, there is so much ground to cover and so little time. Ready for the graphics? Oh yeah, those ARE in game graphics. No really, that is a game. It's not real life, but it sure as hell looks like it. That's right, ESPN NFL 2K5 is the best looking sports game ever made. From the faces to the animations, there is no comparison. Madden's graphics haven't changed in four years but the 2k series has been improving yearly and they have now officially squashed Madden in the graphics department.

So what makes this game look good? Everything. Let's start with the player design. There are no jaggies, no "tearing", nothing. Everything is picture perfect. The muscles are in the right places and are the right size. The football is actually caught and held by the receiver. But, the best thing about the player design is the faces. Although there is the rare instance where the faces don't match the player, it is just that, rare. I can't even believe how much the players faces look like their real life counterparts. It is simply uncanny. These players make it look like you are actually watching a real football game.

Moving on to animations. This game is simply amazing in this department. There are so many animations it simply blows my mind. For instance, when you are running the ball, if you run into your own blocker there is actually an animation where you push off him to the side and avoid him. I mean, who would have thought? There are tons of these "situational" animations that make this game feel so real. Of course, the best part about ESPN games has been the tackling animations, and it still is. The gang tackling is just awesome in this game. All football games should have gang tackling like this. Is the runner falling forward for an extra couple yards? Get another player and smash him from the front! Both players will be shown tackling the runner. Gang tackling is the perfect way to stop an annoyingly powerful runner from getting those couple extra yards.

What else is there to describe about the graphics? Lighting? Shadows? All perfect. The lights and the stadium actually reflect off of the helmets. The shadows are cast realistically off of the players depending on time of day or if you are in a dome. The stadium? It looks amazing and extremely well animated. Cheerleaders? Wow. These are the best video game cheerleaders I have ever seen. Effort was actually put in to make them look good. The crowd? Ok...the crowd is still paper machete, but then again, what do you expect? It is pretty difficult to animate 80,000 people in the crowd.

Just chugging along. Now we are venturing into the area of sound. How good can sound possibly be in a football game? No better than this, that's for sure. The grunts from the players, the taunts, the celebrations, the cheering of the crowd, everything blends perfectly to make an incredibly experience. Want to listen to your own music while playing the game? No problem. You can upload any music that you have on your hard drive.

Okay, okay, that in itself isn't all that impressive. But the announcing is what makes this game shine. The ESPN presentation is perfect for this game. The pregame show, the postgame show, the half-time show, everything rocks. The announcer has like a million lines recorded. It is crazy how many different things he says and how right he is when he describes the teams. Even while you are playing the game, the play by play announcing is simply awesome. I have never heard better announcing than ESPN NFL 2K5.

Replay. Do I even need to mention anything? You got yourself the best Franchise mode ever and an awesome game that you can use to get friends to come over and sit on the couch and smack some heads. That's not enough for you? How about the VIP's? Still not enough? Fine, fine. They gave us awesome online play as well! You can play in leagues, tournaments, or just mano y mano with someone across the country online with either Playstation 2 online or Xbox Live. The fun just never ends.

Every sports fan everywhere should buy this game. Trust me, don't rent it. Rentals cost about $7 a week. The game costs only $20 for a lifetime. Think about it, what is the better deal? Anyone who ever even though of playing or watching a sports game needs to buy this game. Support Sega and their amazing game to keep this series alive and well. It beats and Madden and it would be disappointing if the sales didn't show that.