First-Person Football

It will make a comeback in Sega's next NFL game. Pix inside.

Are you familiar with first-person football games? No? Well, that's because not many developers were brave enough to try it (notable attempts include Madden 64 and Digital Pictures' highly underrated Quarterback Attack). Now, though, Sega isn't merely including a first-person mode in their next football game?they're also positioning it as a revolution in the entire football-game genre.

Sega's new first-person mode, which will be a top feature in ESPN NFL Football for the PS2 and Xbox this fall, allows you to play football from the perspective of the players themselves, from the quarterback to the receivers and special-teams folks. The action's viewed through the eyes of whoever you're controlling (the player's name will be on the inside of his helmet, so you'll still know exactly who you have control of), and the audiovisuals will change fluidly depending on where you are in the field. If you're a quarterback, you'll hear the tromping of defensive linemen closing in on you, and if you're a receiver, the POV will tilt wildly and you'll hear the thud of hitting the ground after getting tackled.

"Our fans have been asking us to find ways they can get even more involved in the game," said Greg Thomas, president of developer Visual Concepts. "We've put considerable resources behind this revolutionary feature and created a game mode that allows you to become any player on the field and experience the game just as they do every time they hit the field."

At a Sega Sports launch event held earlier last month, Thomas told GamePro that the first-person mode will only be available in one-player and online games; no split-screen option will be implemented. The classic bird's-eye view, of course, will still be available for play. Although Thomas said that plans are underway to include first-person in other Sega Sports titles, he admitted that it's not suited for every sport in their library: "When we thought of this, we thought, 'Hey, this is really cool; why don't they do this in games?' Then we learned: Because it's really, really hard."

More information on ESPN NFL Football's assorted new features is expected to leak out over the next few weeks, so stay tuned.

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A football field's much bigger than you'd expect from watching the game on TV. Sega Sports will make you realize this fact very, very soon.

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