The World Series has been canceled and the NHL is talking strike, leaving football to dominate the fall sports scene. And if gridiron junkies aren’t satisfied by the countless televised contests, they can get even more kicks-and punts-by playing computerized versions of their favorite game.
Perhaps the most ballyhooed new pigskin program is Ultimate NFL Coaches Club Football, which combines a 3-D simulation of NFL action with software that lets you run a fantasy football league.
Opening a new software package is like starting a new football season: you’re full of great expectations and hoping for the best. Too often, though, disappointment follows, as your team-or program-doesn’t live up to the hype.
Ultimate Football comes handsomely packaged, and the back of its slick-looking box touts an array of features, such as teams with actual NFL names, logos, stadiums and players; a giant Playbook Editor that lets you design your own plays; and even the ability to “Humiliate your No. 1 draft choice in front of the team using the slick instant replay.”
Unfortunately, just trying to get Ultimate Football to load will be humiliating for many players. I spent almost two frustrating hours attempting to start the program. It’s bad enough that the program won’t load on many systems without a boot disk; it’s worse that the “Create Boot Disk Option” doesn’t always create a workable disk; and it’s unconscionable that the technical supplement has a curt line saying, “If you have trouble creating a boot disk, refer to your DOS manual for help.”
If you are able to load the game, you’re rewarded with dazzling screen displays and superb animation. As is typical in football simulations, you can have the computer play itself; you can call all the plays yourself in Coach Mode; or you can also control player movements in Action Mode. Easy-to-use menus make choosing game options and play selections a snap.
One option that’s apparently missing (I couldn’t find a mention of it anywhere in the 140-page manual; an index would have helped) is the ability to shut off game animations and to compete in a pure strategy game of play calling. As is, you need to watch every animated moment, and after a while the action can become boring; it certainly becomes tedious to play out a full game, especially in a blowout. A better option would have been the ability to turn displays on-and-off at will.
Still, you have to give Ultimate Football credit for trying, and it does have some superb little touches. For example, if you move your mouse pointer over a player, his name appears on the screen. And the program comes with an online option that allows you to download real 1994 stats from Prodigy for your fantasy football league. It also comes packaged with a complete 300-page book, the 1994 Fantasy Football Journal, to aid in running your rotisserie league.
Moreover, the game has a nifty draft league option that lets you assemble a team of your favorite NFL players, and you can even play through multiple seasons, watching your players’ skills deteriorate with age and injuries.
Nonetheless, it’s fitting that Ultimate Football is endorsed by Marv Levy, whose Buffalo Bills have lost four Super Bowls in a row, because Ultimate Football, like the Bills, tries hard but comes up just short.
Ultimate Football is available from MicroProse Software Inc. on CD-ROM only for IBM compatibles at $57.95 suggested retail.
– The baseball season may have been canceled, but the pennant races continue at Nintendo headquarters in Redmond, Wash. In Nintendo’s No-Strike Baseball League, employees are playing out all regularly scheduled games using the Super NES cartridge Ken Griffey Jr. Presents: Major League Baseball. Recently, the White Sox dropped out of first place in the league. But guess what? The Japanese-owned Seattle Mariners have opened a huge lead in their division. Is the fix in? For detailed updates call 800-859-4520. (As the Mariners’ majority owner, Nintendo’s chief should know.)
– If you’re looking for a hot game that shows off all the power of the 3DO system, look no further than Road Rash (Electronic Arts; $69.95). This motorcycle racing game was a hoot when it was released for the Sega Genesis a few years back. It’s tons better now on the 3-DO, thanks to texture-mapped graphics, 600 photo-realistic course objects, and an amazing Dolby soundtrack featuring 14 songs from alternative rock groups like Soundgarden, Paw and Monster Magnet.
