NFL Head Coach 09 Review

[Josh_Looman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lieutenant Dan

What a great review....excellent job, Terry. You also had me laughing at my desk with your documented struggles, firings, etc. Great stuff!! But I fear your score with be the exception to the rule. Based on what' I've seen at other review sites (trend wise), I think this game will be getting ripped for it's bugs and yes, it's complexity. I'm expecting to see other's score it in the 5-7.5 ranges. Short-sighted reviews with some legit gripes, but not seeing the good that FAR outweighs the negatives; most of which should be fixed in a patch soon. I, for one, love the game. And I loved your quote "For me, it’s closer to a 10. I found it extremely easy to look past some of the issues that it has since I was easily able to work around them, and the on-field action kept me up until two in the morning." That really says it all. I've gotten so LITTLE sleep since I started this damn game up it's crazy. I'm almost to the point where I have to force myself to leave it alone during the week and save it for weekends! Thanks for the great review...I hope it makes waves and helps to counter one or two of the other 'big' sites probable lack-luster reviews somewhat. People need to buy this game and support quality gaming...money sends the message to the companies that this is what we want.

This was a great review. I really appreciate it, guys.

And if we get knocked for bugs in other reviews (with Head Coach essentially being a first year product) I'm going to be frustrated. Every other sports game out there has huge bugs when shipped.

The baseball game I'm playing right now has some very major bugs and it was rated very highly this year. I got into my second year offseason last night in that game and not ONE free agent was signed. So big time players like David Ortiz and Roy Halladay could be signed for 1 yr/500k. To me...that is a gamekiller.

I'm not making excuses for the bugs...as I've said, I take full responsiblity for these things slipping through.

But to base a review on bugs that can be fixed and to give a game a low score because of it...I'm not a fan of that approach. There's a difference between a game that is terrible vs. a game that is fun yet has some bugs.

[ChicagoSparty]

Quote: Originally Posted by gjb01

Isn't a lot of the negotiating and stuff like that already in Madden franchise? I love sim games but just don't get the appeal of this when you could have both the onfield playing experience and the management experience.

For me, there are two primary reasons:

A -- The management experience here is much deeper and more realistic than in Madden.

B -- In Madden, if you're good with the controls, you can make most players into HOFamers. Here, they have to (i) fit into the scheme; (ii) know the playbook; (iii) have the physical ability; and (iv) have the mental ability.

Madden sits in the CE box. It seems like a great game on its own, and the presentation is spectacular, but it's just not as interesting as HC.

[El Greazy 1]

I don't understand the score. While I've read a lot of great reviews from people, there is still a large list of bugs and glitches, some of them being game breakers yet it still receives a 9? What is going on here? A GAME BREAKING BUG means it completely ruins the game. That's like saying Halo 4 gets a 9 but oh yeah, there is a bug where your opponents won't die in online matches, ie: game breaker!!!!

Even still, I'm very much looking forward to testing this game out. Goes to show you EA what can be done to a game when you take the time to put some work into it, **coughMADDENcough**. If EA can make the patches a go, as promised, then I could warrant the reviewers rating of a 9.

[ChicagoSparty]

Quote: Originally Posted by El Greazy 1

I don't understand the score. While I've read a lot of great reviews from people, there is still a large list of bugs and glitches, some of them being game breakers yet it still receives a 9? What is going on here? A GAME BREAKING BUG means it completely ruins the game. That's like saying Halo 4 gets a 9 but oh yeah, there is a bug where your opponents won't die in online matches, ie: game breaker!!!! Even still, I'm very much looking forward to testing this game out. Goes to show you EA what can be done to a game when you take the time to put some work into it, **coughMADDENcough**. If EA can make the patches a go, as promised, then I could warrant the reviewers rating of a 9.

Which ones?

[Caveman Mafia]

the negotiating in madden has always been terribly shallow and would actually make it possible to sign an entire squad of veteran pro bowlers or , my favorite, using draft picks alone, end up with 10 1st round draft picks (and thats without trading future picks).... the depth this game strives to achieve is amazing and surprising in the sense that this is a product released by EA

[TCrouch]

El Greazy, let me clarify that right up front: the reason it didn't impact my score is directly because of the fact that the developers are on here so much and have given us very simple workarounds. My "real" job is a technical support rep for a software company, so I'm probably more versed than most in how complicated it is to account for every little issue that arises. The support that has been given to the community to account for, acknowledge, and provide solutions to the bugs that crop up is the best I've seen from a major company with a major release like this.

Josh, I understand it sucks, a lot of reviews will slam a game for bugs. I will dock it some if it breaks the immersion and really messes up the experience, like the injury bug would have done withour your guys' giving us a workaround. Since I had simple ways to get around the issues that it does have, it didn't really dampen my enjoyment of the experience.

[swaldo]

Bought the CE and haven't even touched Madden yet. Good review and fair score. With a game this deep you have to be cool about some of the issues. If total hours of play were the only way to score a review then Head Coach would definately get a 10.

[Lintyfresh85]

Do many forum posters understand the concept of what a "game breaking bug" really is?

That means that one bug has rendered the game unplayable. So we're talking a MASSIVE bug. People throw around the word "game breaker" like they throw around the word "great" when describing an above average player. There are NO bugs in this game that "break" it.

Frustrating? Yes. "Game breaking"? No.