Agreed. While I am more optimistic about this game, I keep thinking I am being set up or something. I will still wait for reviews.

I just found the gamespot nearest to my new house, and I'll be preordering in a few weeks once we move.

If you can get on that EA mailing list, they'll send you a 15 dollar off code about every month. I'll probably use mine on this game, end up with a net savings of at least 9 bucks after shipping, and I won't have to leave the house.

Dunno if it's new news, but it's to be 39.95 for any of the 3 systems. According to the the EAStore. I guess 39.95 for the PC version isn't a suprise. http://eastore.ea.com/shopping/brows...ord=head+coach

Given where you live, why wouldn't you want to leave the house?

:D

will there be advantages to the PC version or are these titles from EA usually Ports?

Price of gas for starters, and the 15 minute trek to civilization. Plus it's annoying having to try to pass the amish on 2 lane roads with so many blind turns.

I have got to make my way up there one day.

Dola

western pennsylvania represent 4 lyfe word up

Hmmm...you sound like me when I was told that FOF was going to be packaged with Madden back in 2001. ;)

Aren't you sensitive to the Amish people that might be reading this? Oh, wait...

Oh man....I remember that. That was the worst version of FOF in regards to the interface. I hated that microscopic scroll bar.

There's a lot of animosity towards EA's handling of FOF - but it was from those very rumours of bundling that I first heard of FOF.

When it finally wasn't included with madden, I bought it (I think it was the roster-updated FOF 2002) standalone and have subsequently purchased every version.

I always wanted to mention this, but kept forgetting. Isn't is weird that most of us are getting excited about a game that Joe Stallings is rumored to be involved with? This just proves that no matter how one feels about the people who create the game, if the game is solid, people will purchase it.

Very interesting point. I never thought I would purchase another game that he was involved with again. I guess I can rationalize it by saying that his role was probably fairly minor. However, your point is well taken.

This crossed my mind also. I wonder if alleged past misdemeanours would preclude any FOFers from buying this product even if it proves solid.

I can think of at least a few who probably wouldn't buy it due to his involvement no matter how good it is.

Ditto.

To be honest, I don't know if too many people knew he was even involved with the game. Either way, if the game is anywhere close to how it is advertised, I think people won't really care. However, I am definitely waiting for those reviews, because you never know.

If this game is half as good as it looks to be, I wouldn't care if Osama Bin Laden worked on it.

I think he is the lead quality assurance guy (You know, the head beta tester).

Osama or Joe?

Good question. It was meant as a joke for Osama, but I have no idea if that is Joe's title.

http://www.easports.com/nflheadcoach/home.jsp

new intro video on site

not a big deal, but it is something

Refresh my memory, what did Joe Stallings do to be considered evil?

Well, for one, he set my uncle on fire.

Twice.

Joe Stallings started WW2, as well as created cancer

Accused of borrowing copyrighted images for a test version of a baseball game, and then accused that he had paid off/convinced a reviewer to slam another game in relation to his product.

Thanks for ruining it.

any time. :)

I'm pretty sure things go deeper than this, but the principles involved are reluctant to publicly disclose all of their issues with him. Suffice to say, he's not trusted by most of those who've worked with him in the past.

sounds like we need a "Joe Stallings Facts" web page/thread

...which is screaming for a Flere diagram.

SegRat, thanks for that link. I have been waiting for a game like this for quite some time. I hope it delivers and not end up being a buggy piece of crap.

You and me both.

That Suicane quote is probably the funniest thing I've ever read.

Me too.

Me three!



Sorry :(

Another preview is up, this one is on teamxbox's site:

http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox/13...Head-Coach/p2/


It's a 3 page preview with mostly repetitive information, but a few new tidbits I got out of it:

- Steve Sabol chronicles key moments throughout your career. Having grown up watching old NFL films, this is a nice touch.

- The HC is only going to have good attributes on one side of the ball most of the time, making one of your Coordinators very important to the team's success.

- Related to that, coaches (both coordinators and position) will make suggestions on who should start, injuries, and who they think you should draft and sign in FA. Ignore them enough and you will erode their trust and they will seek to leave your team!

- Not entirely new, but a bit more info on this one. If you lowball a player multiple times, the agent representing him will remember. If you upset an agent enough, he might not negotiate with you in the future, or he might take a harder stance with you. This could potentially eliminate all of the players he represents. (I hope players will fire agents as well.)

- When you want to hire an assistant, you can interview them, asking them a variety of questions and seeing how they respond.

- Not completely new, but reportedly all assistant coaches currently under contract are in the game. Only Bill Parcells and Belicheck aren't in the game. GM's and owners are fictional.

- The coordinators and staff will make suggestions for trades and who you should take in the war room on draft day.

- Clarification of the draft scouting: You can scout at various times throughout the year. More scouting means that you will have a narrower range of "overall rating" but it will still be a range. If you don't scout a guy, the range could be very wide.

- The Off Coordinator and Def Coordinators will also be suggesting plays when you are on the sideline.

- "The Coaches Corner lists every statistic imaginable for every coach in the game." (Hopefully, that is actually a deep list of stats.) Also, stats for the 25 best coaches of all time are in the game to see how you compare.


The preview ends by saying it probably won't appeal to most mainstream gamers, but football strategists should love it.

I swear. This game sounds too good to be true. They are added a number of features I would have never expected. My pessimism tells me that it is going to be lacking in some areas. It just has to. There are so many things that you can do in this game that I can't imagine everything working smoothly in it first incarnation. I really hope they have been working on this for about a couple of years before anyone knew about it. Otherwise this will be the game I have been waiting for in almost a decade.

So what do I get to do again if I have to listen to my assistants all the time about who to sign, draft, and start?

You get to ignore them

and then hire new ones who know their place...

Or ignore them sometimes and listen to them when they make good suggestions. Seems like something a real coach might have to deal with.

I was thinking of throwing this game on my Christmas list and waiting patiently. That's not going to happen now.

I'll be out of the country when it's released, so I figure by the time I get back all of you will have the game and I'll know if it's worth buying or not. :D

Agreed totally. I picture it as some of these options being very limited. Like, when interviewing a coach, you can ask three questions out of maybe a dozen options, every time. I have a feeling things like that may get repetitive.

Let's hope it is everything they are saying it is. If so, then I agree this is the game I have wanted ever since Sierra went belly up.

This game, done right would be my FPS 99. I've only been waiting for a game like that, every since I loaded that shitty program on my computer.