The lights are on
What new ideas the game brings to the table and how well old ideas are presented.
How good a game looks, taking into account any flaws such as bad collision or pop-up.
Does the game’s music and sound effects get you involved or do they make you resolve to always play with the volume down?
Basically, the controller to human interface. The less you think about the hunk of plastic in your hands, the better the playability.
Flat out, just how fun the game is to play. The most important factor in rating a game.
Let me start this off with a message to the Miami Dolphins: Believe it or not, you're not the only team that's toiled in futility and totally embarrassed yourselves on the football field this year. I thought that in retooling the NFL Street series into NFL Tour EA would actually be improving the franchise and learning from its past mistakes in the sub-genre. Unfortunately, I was mistaken, as NFL Tour represents a total regression – one that the company says is aimed at young kids and football novices who don't play Madden. Even if I take this at face value, it's clear that this game is a failure no matter how you try and qualify it.
EA should be ashamed that it's trying to bilk some kid out of $50 while offering so little in return. I can understand simplifying the controller in an otherwise button-heavy sport, but that doesn't mean the gameplay itself has to become uninspiring and so lacking. NFL Tour's version of Gamebreakers only occur on defense, and gone is the showboating and over-the-top moves that would make plays possibly exciting. The best Tour does on this front is offer counter moves to break or perform tackles. Also, if you're going to simplify the gameplay this much, I think you need to offset that with bells and whistles like unlockables, an intriguing career structure, football cards, or whatever to offer people something off the field. And if you want to go easy on kids, cleaning up the blatant catch-up AI and unresponsive controls is a good way to get into their – or anyone's – good graces.
Given how badly this reinvention of NFL Street has gone, I'd ask for an overhaul of NFL Tour, but who knows what we'd end up with then.
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If I were the NFL, I'd be seriously questioning my relationship with EA. Sure, Madden sells, but any football game with the NFL license will do that. Is the rest of the partnership really worth it? Case in point, NFL Tour, which, along with NFL Head Coach, shows a startling lack of effort on the behalf of EA Tiburon in developing solid content for America's game. Xbox-quality graphics, sketchy gameplay, no player selection, limited rosters, no build-your-own team mode, and the anti-comedic announcer (who blatantly calls out the lack of quality play-by-play) round out one of the most lackadaisical game releases in years. Which begs the question: Is EA trying to lose the NFL license with these terrible games?