NFL Head Coach

NFL Head Coach

EA Sports

PlayStation 2

$39.95

With the No. 1 pick of the 2006 NFL draft, the Houston Texans select ... Mario Williams. Mario Williams? With Reggie Bush and Vince Young on the board, the Texans chose to go for a relatively unknown defensive end, thereby bypassing two of college football's greatest players of all time. Whether this is a monumental blunder in line with many of the Texans' previous upper-management mishaps or a shrewd maneuver inevitably guiding them toward their first-ever Super Bowl appearance will play out over these players' careers. Regardless of the outcome, their decision has left many Texans' fans bewildered and stunned and has baffled the hardcore football world in general. EA Sports NFL Head Coach allows all the armchair Tom Landrys and Don Shulas out there a chance to step into the role of all-powerful head coach for an NFL team and to handle the tasks and duties thereof: hiring a managerial staff, drafting college players, signing free agents, creating and adding plays to the playbook, motivating and training players, adjusting the depth chart, conferring with the coaching staff, etc. As fun as that may sound (not much fun at all), NFL Head Coach is one of the most boring, tedious, and unsatisfying video-game experiences known to mankind and nothing more than a glorified version of Madden's franchise mode with all of the gameplay removed. Sure, you can call the plays on "game day," but that's it – the computer simulates all of the actual football action. On top of the total lack of gameplay; simming, loading, and saving take a torturously long time, and many of the tasks are lifelike in the sense that they actually feel like work and are neither entertaining nor satisfying. How about an exciting "chat" with your defensive coordinator? It's in the game. Feel like choosing the outfit for your coach NFL Head Coach brings that dream to reality. Head Coach's possible success could pave the way for future titles like NFL Equipment Manager (must be hard getting all those grass stains out), NFL Beer and Peanut Vendor (bad for the back), or Fat, Drunk, and Obnoxious NFL Fanatic (try not to puke on the guy in front you). EA Sports is known for producing quality sports titles, but this attempt to feed off America's raging appetite for all things football places commerce above entertainment.