With football season in full swing, it’s hard not to blame anyone for wanting to play a football video game. The most iconic of the genre is the Madden NFL series by Electronic Arts. Having been a staple on gaming systems for decades, it has been a while since another football franchise was as popular.
This latest installment of the franchise, Madden NFL 21, was not received well. The game’s Metacritic scores range from 63 to 69. Some are longing for a change and while players may be far out from a new non-Madden football game, there’s plenty of games in the past that are among the best.
10 Football Heroes (77)
One of the few games on this list that doesn’t have an NFL license, Football Heroes is a 2013 iOS game that was perfect for the football fans who love strategy. Players build a team of players tailored to how they want to play. This team can take on challenging opponents in single-player or play against another player-built team in multiplayer. This game has a feature called Hero Cards, which allows players to upgrade the powers of their players. The game is praised for its easy control scheme and hilarious action.
9 NFL Rivals (77)
Another iOS game that garnered some praise is NFL Rivals, a unique game that was not around for long. For the 2011 season, the NFL partnered with NaturalMotion to create a fun interactive experience with all 32 NFL teams. Players were able to choose their team and play as them in a realistic-looking football game. Each game ends with the player earning a score that added to the team’s rankings for the year. The game also allowed players to play along with their team’s schedule as they went through it.
8 NCAA College Football 2K2 (78)
There were some great gridiron hits on the Sega Dreamcast. One of the underrated games on the console was NCAA College Football 2K2: Road to the Rose Bowl. With future Saints legend Drew Brees on the cover, the game featured two modes.
The first was a season mode where players would take on the responsibility of a team’s schedule and try to win their way to a berth into the “The Granddaddy of Them All,” the Rose Bowl. There was also a legacy mode that expanded the season mode beyond just one year.
7 NFL Fever 2002 (79)
Back in the early 2000s, consoles had their own NFL games. For the Xbox, their best exclusive NFL game was NFL Fever 2002. The model for the game is similar to a franchise model. Players can choose between any of the available teams and play up to 25 seasons as the team. The game rewards players with trophies based on individual or team achievements. The game is known to cater to an audience of players that aren’t as used to the difficulty of Madden. Overall, the game embraced its arcade-like gameplay.
6 Bowl Bound College Football (80)
Most major football games are all about the action-packed gameplay in motion. Bowl Bound College Football focuses more on the simulation element. Rather than put fans in the shoes of football players, it puts them in the shoes of a coach. After picking a program, the goal of the game is to schedule games outside of the conference, recruit players, decide on a playbook, and much more. Players will need to manage all of this and more in order for their team to be successful.
5 Front Office Football 2004 (80)
Another game that dips its toes into simulation-based football games, Front Office Football 2004 turns fans into general managers of a professional football club. Similar to Bowl Bound College Football, fans can take on some coaching responsibilities by determining game plans and depth charts. In addition, fans are able to sign free agents, trade players, partake in contract negotiations, and draft players for the future. There’s even some owner responsibility with the ability to set ticket prices and move the franchise.
4 NFL Street (81)
Imagine playing a casual football game in street clothes with Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders. NFL Street introduced this concept in an excellent way. This is a 7-on-7 football game that focuses more on aggressive, casual gameplay compared to a limited, true-to-life NFL game.
The main mode of the game is called NFL Challenge. Players can create a team from top to bottom and face off against other teams to help unlock various stadiums, equipment, and new teams. There’s also an All NFL Pickup mode that can randomly select players for a game.
3 NFL Blitz 2000 (85)
Speaking of 7-on-7 football, NFL Blitz 2000 is the highest-rated game of a series that is widely acclaimed to be one of the best NFL game series ever made. The series was a departure from the realism of Madden NFL and NFL 2K. Instead, it fully-embraced its over-the-top arcade-style game mechanics that made the action that much more captivating. There were radical decisions that made the games more off-the-wall, like no pass interference penalties, allowing excessive celebration, and giving players the ability to move around players to different positions.
2 NCAA Football 2004 (94)
EA Sports’ NCAA Football is one of those series that has many games with high Metacritic scores. The best of the bunch is NCAA Football 2004, which has former USC quarterback Carson Palmer as its cover athlete. Like most yearly EA Sports games, this installment didn’t change much year-over-year with the exception of the rosters. Players can create their own college team and rename players since they do not have the ability to market off of a student athlete’s name. Though the series is dead for now, there’s still plenty of versions to go back to and play.
1 NFL 2K1 (97)
Bringing it back to the Dreamcast, the greatest football game ever made is NFL 2K1. That’s even including all of the NCAA Football and Madden NFL entries. The game was the primary rival to Madden NFL as both series were focused on a similar goal: bring realistic football to gamers. This game in particular was a significant quality improvement over its predecessor. The game includes a long-lasting franchise mode as well as an online mode. It only makes sense for this premier football game to be in the Top 15 highest ranked games on Metacritic.
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