Nintendo media summit - Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff - impressions

Ah, Tecmo Bowl…the only football game I will actually enjoy playing. Remember the days when sports games weren’t filled with branding, stats, online play, and everything else that turns of a non sports fan? They don’t make games like that anymore. Oh wait, they do…and Tecmo is behind it! Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff is the next entry in the long-stagnant Tecmo Bowl series. The franchise has finally returned, and it has barely updated since last we played. I have one word for that…awesome.

Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff gives you the cheesy, simplified version of football that we all became addicted to on the NES. No fancy moves or commentary to drive you insane. The graphics are nearly identical, down to the still-frame animated celebrations. Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff is to football fans what Mega Man 9 is to Mega Man fans. This is a love letter to all those players that spent hours with the originals, racking up scores that are nearly impossible in the real-life game.

You know what my favorite part about Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff is? I actually knew what I was doing! Grab the ball, run down the field…do it again. On the flip side, tackle the guy with the ball. Does it get any simpler than that? This is a game I could play for hours, and wanted to while at the show! Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible…and I couldn’t find a way to crack open a dev DS to get the cart out of there.

I am going to buy a sports game…I can’t believe it. Even more surprising, it isn’t going to have Mario, Luigi, or other Nintendo characters in it. Tecmo, you are doing the impossible!