This year marked an interesting time for the American Football game market. SEGA went out on a limb and released ESPN NFL2K5 before Madden and for the measly price of $20US. Not to be deterred EA released Madden with a vastly superior game engine to that of 2004, with some massive defensive improvements including the nifty hit stick. All this competition scared off developers of NFL Fever and Blitz and suddenly there were just two. It's been said a great deal but the choice between Madden and ESPN is largely down to individual preference, both are brilliant and both offer a fantastic representation of NFL.

The first thing that hits you about 2K5 is the incredible graphical standard that the title achieves. Players are unbelievably detailed and have a grand array of ultra smooth animations. After watching the real life Indianapolis vs. New England divisional championship game in the snow then recreating the occasion on 2K5, the sense of similarity was amazing. Snow flurries were constantly falling, players were breathing out the icy winds and Peyton Manning was playing poorly at Foxboro. It's not easy being a QB when it's snowing in 2K5; this game gives you an appreciation of just how hard playing in New England in the middle of winter can be. The sight of the video game Manning with his head down after throwing an interception was a pretty good replica of real life.

Last years ESPN NFL title was a brilliant example of making a game that included a major licence in the gameplay. This year Visual Concepts have taken the ESPN licence further and the results are even more impressive. Graphical illustrations of passing zones, drive information and key player comparisons mesh perfectly within the broadcast. The way the commentators seamlessly comment on the action and then revert to the statistical analysis is something to behold. ESPN NFL continues to be the benchmark for the presentation of a sports game. Additionally we now get a graphical representation of Chris 'Boomer' Berman as he presents his variety of NFL shows. Once again his halftime and fulltime analysis is brilliant, correctly detailing key plays and players and maintaining the accurateness that other sports titles don't quite have. Suzie Kolber also makes an appearance, but her post-game interviews look and sound a bit suspect. Hearing a small white guy like Eli Manning talking like a 6 foot 8, 350 pound offensive tackle is a little disconcerting.

A common complaint about last years title was the apparent ease with which running backs could break tackles. When a guy like Eddie George can break 5 tackles and sprint away from the secondary something is wrong. Thankfully the effectiveness of the run game has now been reduced. It's no longer a worry if Vinny Testaverde sets off for a QBs scramble or if Tom Brady lines up at tailback. This has largely been achieved through making the running backs directional changes far slower, a sudden cut from a back now carries with it a necessary loss of momentum and speed. This, in addition to the fact that defenders now have the ability to deliver a big hit, means a far more balanced game. Unfortunately the improvement in one area has lead to a slight backward step in another, in this case the loss of defensive back skills. Corner backs and safeties have a great deal of difficulty in intercepting passes, they can be in the perfect position to make a pick but for some reason miss the ball completely. Sliders are the answer, but even with the interceptions turned up Chris Chandler managed to go through a game with no interceptions.

Like all complex sports titles ESPN2K5 will take a while to get to grips with for the novice. Rookie and Pro difficulty levels are very generous though and it won't be long until you're tweaking the sliders in search of a perfectly balanced game. On a side note the game is made unnecessarily hard because of the lack of a better playbook management feature. There is no function for creating new plays and some are apparently mandatory, making playbook management overly complex and frustrating. Why we can't change a jargon filled play to something simple like 'Crumpler short pass' I'll never know.

To complete the experience Visual Concepts once again have the same fantastic commentary. It may not have changed much from last year and you may not know who Peter O'Keefe actually is, but it's a treat listening to talk that is deep and matches the actions on the field so well. Comments like 'clearly Barber is favouring the run up the middle' or 'Vick really is struggling with his short passing game today' capture the game situation perfectly. As expected the game supports custom soundtracks and most appealing is using certain sections of certain songs to celebrate a TD. Having something like 'We are the champions' by Queen playing after a long end zone pass completion has the possibility of really rubbing the score in when playing against a mate.

Replayability has been increased slightly through the introduction of weekly preparation schedules for franchise play. Basically it's a tool for improving player progression through focusing on specific activities. Franchise mode as a whole is still a little way behind Madden, but it's still very well implemented. A big bonus with this and all modes is the opportunity to unlock a variety of possessions for your new and improved Crib. Our new pad is bigger, better and can be filled with a variety new cool gear, of particular note is the dart board, it doesn't come easy however.

The unfortunate thing about ESPN NFL2K5 is that the PAL territories were largely neglected. As we sit here in the middle of January 2005, finally holding the game in our hands, U.S gamers have been enjoying NFL2K5 for close to six months. To make matters worse the only discernable change SEGA have made in that time is the removal of Xbox Live compatibility. Sales might be smaller here than the U.S but I don't think a delay of half a year to convert a title from NTSC to PAL shows that European gamers are held with any respect whatsoever. We can only hope SEGA follow EA's example and concurrently release NTSC and PAL versions in the future and also include online play.