NFL Quarterback Club 2000

• Release Date: August 25, 1999
• Genre: Sports
• Style: Football (American)
• Similar Games: NFL Quarterback Club 98 (Nintendo 64), Madden NFL 99 (PlayStation), Madden NFL 99 (Nintendo 64), NFL Quarterback Club 99 (Nintendo 64), Madden NFL 99 (IBM PC Compatible), Madden NFL 2000 (IBM PC Compatible), Madden NFL 2000 (Game Boy Color), Madden NFL 2000 (Nintendo 64), Madden NFL 2000 (PlayStation), Madden NFL 2000 (Macintosh)

Game Description

NFL Quarterback Club 2000 returns for a third season on the Nintendo 64 with an enhanced Hi-Rez engine, a new passing scheme and user-controlled celebrations to show the world (not to mention your opponent) who exactly is number one.

The five available game modes include the following: Practice, Exhibition, Season, Playoffs and Historical Simulation. As with most sports games, Practice involves working on your timing by running certain plays over and over again, Exhibition is a one-on-one contest with the team of your choice, and Playoffs involve jumping directly into the final games leading up to the Super Bowl.

The final mode, Historical Simulation, has you playing as one team in the Super Bowl of your choice. Be prepared to face a difficult situation, such being behind three touchdowns late in the third quarter, since it's up to you to change history by taking control and calling the shots. The game also lets you customize your own scenario to see just how skilled you really are.

The most noteworthy addition to the game is an enhanced passing system that allows users greater control over their players. Once the ball is thrown into the air, control automatically switches to the receiver and you'll not only have to run to the ball, but catch it as well! Players can also jump and dive to improve their chances at making the reception.

Another feature designed to offer you more control is Pin-Point Passing; users can determine how hard or soft a pass is thrown by adjusting a vertical meter showing the strength of the throw. Want to lob the ball so a receiver has a better chance of getting there in time? Simply push down on the analog stick and press the corresponding button to carry out the throw. You'll then have more time to run toward the ball marker and (hopefully) make the reception.

Fans can also create their own playbooks with the aptly titled Create Playbook Mode, which involves choosing 128 plays on both offense and defense to place into one of two playbooks. Players can also create profiles to influence how certain teams react to certain situations. Three areas are involved with a profile: preferred offense and defense formations, pass/run percentages and "shock."

For example, a team like the San Francisco 49ers can be set to pass 70% of the time, while a team such as the Chicago Bears could emphasize running the ball. While obvious passing or running situations will be automatically carried out, shock plays can also be set, which means running the ball when its third and 20 or passing when its third and inches! These plays are designed to keep the defense on its toes.

General Manager options include creating players (up to 22 can be saved), signing free agents, managing the salary cap (each team has a limit of 51.5 million dollars) and embarking a Fantasy Draft with up to three other players. For those owning an Expansion Pak, the game also lets you toggle how much graphic detail you want to see in order to improve the on-screen presentation (such as shadows and visible referees).

By reducing the detail, the game will be able to run faster for those who find the action too slow for their tastes. You can also choose from 16 camera angles (including a Create-a-Cam view) and an option to have a player's energy decrease as fatigue sets in (which can lead to injuries). Other settings that can be adjusted include weather, quarter length (one, two, five, ten or fifteen minutes), time of day and clock speed (realistic, accelerated or turbo). As with the two previous games in the series, complete statistical tracking as well as season progress can be saved to a Controller Pak.

Roots & Influences

Acclaim's NFL Quarterback Club series dates back to the 16-bit Genesis and Super NES platforms. The original game, 1994's NFL Quarterback Club, did not feature an NFLPA license for real players, so the only professionals on the cartridge were nineteen quarterbacks like Dan Marino, Randall Cunningham and John Elway. Since the Quarterback Club was a separate entity from either the NFL or NFLPA, this was the only game at the time to feature real quarterbacks. Later releases would focus more on delivering a realistic football experience akin to the John Madden Football series.

Review: Overall

This should have been the year that Acclaim put everything together and offered a legitimate contender to the Madden franchise. After all, isn't the third time supposed to be a charm? Unfortunately, the developers seemed to have concentrated more on adding to the already beautiful visual presentation than focusing on improving the AI and playability so important in a sports title.

The worst offense is a new passing system that is supposed to offer the user unprecedented control, but its implementation will frustrate more users than in any other previous football game on the system. Even if the passing system was as tight as a Dan Marino spiral, the AI still isn't up to snuff and won't offer veteran football gamers any challenge whatsoever.

The Pin Point Passing mode is a new feature designed to put users into the action instead of simply watching the receivers catch the ball and then controlling them. Does it sound good on paper? Yes, it certainly does. But if this is the result, then please let me never have this much control in a game ever again. Once the ball is hiked, pressing the Z button will show the routes of the available receivers. Simply press the appropriate button and the quarterback will carry out the throw. So far, so good.

The issue of slight delays after hitting the Z button in last year's game is but a distant memory -- button presses are quick and accurate as they should be. The problem stems from the moment the ball is thrown in the air. Like last year's game, control immediately switches to the receiver, so you have to run toward the circular cursor on the field to have a shot at catching the ball. One thing you'll immediately notice is the lack of a turbo button -- the players all feature analog control, meaning the harder you press the stick, the faster they'll run.

This is a problem since you won't be able to reach a majority of passes because your receiver isn't quick enough to get there -- a burst of speed is essential to have a chance at reaching the cursor. The other problem is that once you let go of the analog stick, the player takes two to three extra steps to account for his momentum. While stopping on a dime is probably not realistic, neither is running toward a cursor! The end-result is you'll constantly overstep the small circle after trying your hardest just to reach it in time.

While all of these issues make the passing game challenging, there has been one extra step added into the mix that makes it nearly impossible: you have to manually catch the ball. This involves holding the left C button so the receiver stretches out his hands to make the reception. Since timing is absolutely critical in order to pull this off, you'll be flinging controllers within minutes after fumbling around trying to grab the ball. That's if you get there in time!

In all honesty, last year's game is far better, suspect AI and all. At least that game offered some fun and was easy to control. The only things improved in this game are the graphic quality, the amount of features, and "fluff" like celebrations, a TV-style presentation and the ability to customize nearly every facet of gameplay.

Yet despite all of the options available, you cannot turn off the dreaded Pin Point Passing and the pretty graphics bog down the frame rate to almost unplayable levels. The action is unbelievably choppy even if you reduce all of the detail on the field! The bottom line is that with this release, the series has taken a punishing hit that may be too strong to recover from. How could this happen, Acclaim?

Review: Enjoyment

The game loses the momentum gained from 1998's version. The developers made the mistake of including an additional step in catching the ball without providing anything to help players out. The AI still has holes, however, so you can win games solely by running the ball!

Review: Graphics

The graphics are beautiful until you see them in motion. The choppy frame rate bogs down the action so much that it becomes almost painful to watch.

Review: Sound

The sound of the tackles, announcers and players are all above average. The commentary could use a little more diversity, however.

Review: Replay Value

If the frame rate was optimized, the game would have been worth a second look. The control scheme should have been left alone and the AI still needs work.

Review: Documentation

The manual clearly explains the game's features, but don't expect anything flashy or colorful.

Production Credits

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