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Screens & Info Updated: 8/30/2003

There's little doubt that the next bold step to video games, especially sports games, is the virtual online arena. By its own nature, sports is extremely competitive and the ability to play against opponents across the country through online play adds an incredible amount of longevity and competitiveness to sports video games. And with ESPN NFL Football, the online gameplay is not only a grand experience, but several new online features will bring football gamers together in an exciting new way.

This year, players will be able to set up online leagues with all the buddies online and compete in their own personalized leagues in ESPN NFL Football for PS2. Setup your play schedule, look at complete Game Casts of other players' games in your league, sift through every statistic for each game played, and even write headline stories to be displayed on your leagues homepage - all in the style of ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports.

Visual Concepts' is leaving no aspect of ESPN NFL Football untouched in their quest to develop the best pigskin game on the block. This week, they've provided some screens and information on the Email and communication feature included for those General Manager types, and those control freaks should absolutely love the amount of detail included.

The E-Mail system will be used for guiding new franchise owners through the pitfalls of free agency, the search for that diamond in the rough in the Combine, analyzing the good and bad in Game Cast diagrams, and most importantly, progress reports from your Owner to gauge how good/bad you're doing.

Some of the screens also show off various historical teams and legendary players, which can be made available in Free Agency.

When it comes to the professional level of football, every team has a gameplan before the coin toss. But even the most prepared teams can be caught off guard when a play doesn't work or if the defense adjusts to your offensive play calling. The offense has to be flexible in adapting to the defense. Hot routing receivers to exploit a advantageous defender match-up, motion receivers to see the what type of defensive coverage is called, and calling an audible to cleverly shift the direction of a play are just a few things a good offense must be able to execute in those high-intensity situations. As you'll see in this edition of Football Friday, players will be able to perform a host of offensive actions at the line before the snap of the ball.

* Hot Routes - Improved hot routes allows the QB to change the routes of receivers eight different ways.
* Flip Play - See the defense stacking the side that you're about to run to? Flip the play at the line without having your players reposition.
* Visual Audibles - ESPN NFL Football features a new audible system that lets you see exactly the plays so there's no confusion. Combined with our On-The-Fly Audible system and can potentially have a new set of audibles every down to call.
* Enhanced Motion - Want to figure out whether the defense has called a man or zone defense? Need an extra blocker on the counter run play? Players can now motion multiple receivers in each play formation to cause confusion to the defense. Combine all these elements together properly in ESPN NFL Football and the offensive possibilities are tremendous and are extremely useful for those two-minute scoring drives.

Welcome to another exciting edition of Football Friday and for today, we take a look at the most important part of a football team. Without This integral division of people, football would be without passion, emotion, and excitement. Football wouldn't be the same with the dancing freak in section 128, the portly, half-naked fanatics in row 22, or those wonderfully flexible cheerleaders. With that in mind, we dedicate this Football Friday to the fans in ESPN NFL Football.

In ESPN NFL Football, you'll experience all the emotion of the onlookers as they'll scream and holler for the home team. With these hardcore fans, you better perform up to their expectations; make a bonehead pass into triple coverage, or fumble one to many times, and instead of the usual shower of support, you'll get a barrage of boos. But if you go all the way to the end zone, they'll worship you with chants and you might give some love back to them in the stands. Remember, without the fans there wouldn't be any football team. So give it all you've got on the field, and the fans will start loving you more and more... and you'll start loving them.

Info and Screens Updated: 7/25/03

It takes a lot of hard work, savvy skills, and steel-willed determination to succeed in the NFL. But all work and no play, make football fanatics dull boys. Enter The Crib, your new home for unlockables! In this virtual 3D condo, you'll start off with a decent place to hang out away from the gridiron battles, but as you explore different parts of ESPN NFL Football, and perform incredible football feats in the game, you'll unlock new items to snaz-up your pad. This includes NFL team banners, NFL bobbleheads, mini-games like Air Hockey and Paper Football, new music tracks on your jukebox, and much more. You can upgrade you furniture, unlock gameballs for display, and check out new movies to view in the Boom Boom Room. Of course, you better have the skills to pay the bills in order to get the good stuff for your Crib, as there's amazing amount of goals to attain.

Info and Screens Updated: 7/21/03

In ESPN NFL Football, gamers will be given a place to flaunt their rewards and bragging rights with snazzy new feature called "The Crib." Deck out an empty pad with more than 300 unlockable items and "score big" for making great plays, scoring points or just getting lucky. The more you play, the faster you can move in that air hockey table and chill in your overstuffed recliner. Cool stuff! Check out screens of "The Crib" on the next page.

Info and Screens Updated: 7/18/03

Welcome to another edition of Football Friday! This week, it's all about the battle in the air and in the trenches.

Gridiron combat takes many forms - from the swift and sleek precision of wide receiver route running, to containing a dangerous defensive end threat by double teaming, or fighting gravity itself to stay in bounds after a catch, the battle in the air and at the line are both key to winning the on-field war. No football game demonstrates the high-powered aerial flights and the long, hard ground clash than ESPN NFL Football as you'll see in the screens and movies.

Additionally, a brand new gameplay weapon to ESPN NFL Football is the Coach's Challenge. Did the ref make a ball spot error? Did the QB try the "Tom Brady" forward pass trick? Was the defender out of bounds on that crucial 3rd down play? You don't get too many times to use the coach's challenge, so you better make sure to only use it to your advantage.

Info and Screens Updated: 7/12/03

Hey kids! How many of you remember a game called Gamestar Football on the Commodore 64? Raise your hands! None of you? Damn ankle-biters...anyways, Gamestar was the first title to introduce a revolutionary concept known as first person play to the football genre, bringing you right down on to the field into the action. Fast forward around 20 years (man, do I feel old) and Visual Concepts has dragged this concept kicking and screaming into the new millennium. Wait until you see the new screenshots of how ESPN NFL 2K4 is implementing first-person action - if the control is done correctly, it'll be hard to go back to playing it with the old camera.

First Person Football was conceived for the following three reasons:

1)The Technology - The hardware technology in the past has advanced exponentially, allowing developers to truly develop cutting edge video games. With ESPN broadcasts continually finding new ways to present football action in innovative ways, First Person Football truly innovates the way you see the game.

2)The Experience - The driving force behind every title of the ESPN Videogames brand is innovation and finally, football gamers can truly see, hear, and feel the gridiron experience. Imagine trying to see over your lineman through the eyes of the QB or getting a jump on the ball and plugging the running lane as a linebacker.

3)The Emotion - The sports gamer has been asking for new ways to truly become immersed into the sports experience - what better way than to suit up the pads, strap on the helmet, and take it to the field?!? Players will feel the fierce intensity of the NFL; whether it's satisfying crunch as you sack the QB, or the roar of the crowd as you score the game winning TD, First Person Football delivers a sports gaming experience like never before.

It's more than just knowing the game, it's about seeing, hearing and feeling it in a new way - welcome to First Person Football.

Info and Screens Updated: 6/20/03

It's Football Friday again, and we have some new NFL 2K4 err.. ESPN NFL Football assets and information directly from Visual Concepts.

With ESPN NFL Football, you definitely expect two things: the best football video game from the ESPN Videogames brand, and the best commentary and analysis from ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports. And today for Football Friday, we're ecstatic that The Boomer himself, Chris Berman, will be lending his flair and fervor to several parts in ESPN NFL Football. This includes the NFL Countdown pre-game show, the ESPN NFL Primetime weekly wrap-up, and his halftime analysis for both teams in the Chris Berman Halftime Show. Over 4,000 lines of commentary and "Bermanisms" have been recorded, adding to what has been established as the best video game football commentary and making it better, bolder, and Boomer.

Info and Screens Updated: 6/16/03

Each Friday, Gaming-Age will be posting a weekly update on Sega's NFL 2K4, detailing changes and additions to one of the most critically acclaimed pigskin series on the gaming market today. Yeah, yeah - we're a couple of days late, so sue me. It was sunny outside and I've been drinking heavily all weekend. Rest assured that GA will stay on top of things, so this Friday we'll be back on track. Until then, enjoy the new Xbox and PS2 screenshots and learn all about "The Charge" and the "Chain Reaction".

Welcome to another weekly installment of Football Friday! This week, Football Fridays takes a special look at two unique gameplay mechanics that brings precise control and visual excitement to all fans of polygon pigskin.

"The Charge" "The Charge" system adds a new visual gameplay element that delivers unprecedented control and fun to the virtual gridiron. There are two basic ways on how "The Charge" works. The first option to simply press the X button (A button on Xbox) repeatedly to make your player run faster. When doing this, you'll see the cursor underneath your player flash yellow every time you tap the X button. The advantage is very obvious; your player will get a speed boost the faster you can tap the X button. The second - and much more exciting - option is to hold down the X button (A button on Xbox). When held down, the player cursor will begin to fill and once the cursor becomes completely yellow, it will begin flashing red indicating that you're fully "charged". At this point, you can initiate" The Charge" by simply activating a special move, instantly enhancing special moves for greater effectiveness. "The Charge" can also be used on defense; when playing as a defensive lineman, using "The Charge" to burst through the line will definitely keep the QB sweating. When used properly with the correct timing, "The Charge" is important weapon on the football battlefield. When your team needs a big time play, it's not uncommon for football players to summon that extra rush of energy to give 110%. That's when you take "Charge".

"Chain Reaction"Another important tool to complement "The Charge" is the ability to chain special moves together in what we call the "Chain Reaction" system. "Chaining" allows ball carriers to activate special moves while in the middle of a special move. If you read the defense properly, you can start performing special moves early to counterattack almost anything the defense throws at you. There are certain players that can see how the defense will act and in turn, react to every tackle before it even happens. For every action on the defense, there's a definite "Chain Reaction".

Listen. Do you hear it? Squint your eyes. Do you see it? You don't, do you? You don't because "NFL 2K4" goes beyond mere sound and vision - you feel it. You feel that deep breath you take when you're staring down 80 yards of real estate, a six-point deficit and 1:31 on the clock. You feel the fear in the air that results from unblinkingly staring down a quarterback from your middle linebacker position. You feel that brief moment in time when the ball's in the air and all that fills your mind is the overwhelming need to drive your helmet through that receiver's rib cage. "NFL 2K4" brings the complete NFL experience. Whether it's by making an opponent lose his shorts from a stop-and-go juke, by scraping your toes down as you make an acrobatic first-down catch along the sideline, or by piling on top of a swarming gang tackle on fourth and short -- you'll truly feel everything that makes the National Football League so intense. Don't look. Don't listen. Feel. "NFL 2K4."

Features:

• ESPN Presentation - Nothing compares to a stellar ESPN broadcast, complete with a new level of integration of scores, highlights, stats and overlays that further blur the line between a Sunday Night Football telecast and the game.
• Untouchable Gameplay - Responsive controls give you command over every aspect of the game, including the ability to tap into the power of your player with “The Charge” – a new way to boost your performance.
• Groundbreaking Animations – Unbelievable gang tackles, dazzling sideline grabs, and double-team blocks heighten the action, while smooth post-play animations accurately capture the exciting player celebrations and on-field disappointments that follow.
• New Play-Calling System - No matter your experience, the all-new interface -- complete with updated NFL team playbooks -- will quicken your decisions on the field.
• Stunning Visuals – New close-ups of all of the action including crowd scenes, cheerleaders and sideline players that bring more emotion to the game. Amazing player models, new fields, and sidelines bring it even closer to reality!
• Advanced Online Play – Take your game online on the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and Xbox video game system from Microsoft with fast head-tohead play, downloadable rosters, chat, USB keyboard support, and more.
• Challenge System – Flags can go either way, but in a tough game you want every advantage. Don’t like the call? No problem, throw the red flag and get a second opinion.
• Multi-Player Franchise – Why play franchise mode alone? Now you and all of your buddies can get together and pit your team management skills against each other headto- head for ultimate bragging rights.

Check back soon for hands-on impressions from the E3!