WELCO METOT HENEX TLEVEL - ESPN Sunday Night NFL

Publisher: Sony Imagesoft Developer: Ringler Studios Release: 1994

Finally! We've reached the last of the ESPN sports games for the Sega CD from Sony Imagesoft. This is arguably the most important one of the group. After all, the NFL is pretty much like a religion in the US.

Sunday Night NFL is one of only two authentic NFL football games for the console (the other being Sega's Joe Montana game). EA Sports never bothered releasing Madden on the Sega CD, though they did put out a disc version of Bill Walsh College Football.

And considering how bug-ridden Joe Montana ended up, I guess this is the best NFL game on the system by default. It's too bad, then, that it's such a bare-bones title – even with the NFL and ESPN licenses, Ringler Studios didn't do much in the way of presentation here. The title screen doesn't even have play any music. Heck, it doesn't even tell you to press start. You figure that out when the game automatically launches into demo mode.

Sunday Night NFL features all 28 NFL teams from 1994, and gives players the option of playing a single game, a season, a playoff series, or the chance to play through the 1994 NFL schedule. The game also includes weather changes, and apparently the players actually react to changing weather, though I couldn't really tell if this was the case.

Unfortunately, Sunday Night NFL does not have an NFLPA license, so none of the pro players are included in the game.

The game itself plays pretty well considering how old it is. Graphics and presentation are very reminiscent of the Madden NFL series, with the same 3D, down-the-field view that series made popular. Play calling is interesting, too, in that players could choose from nine offensive plays with single button presses. I think this is actually six more than the Madden quick-select menus offered at the time, so in that regard, the ESPN game is actually a bit more advanced.

Honestly, though, with such a spartan presentation and nothing particularly great happening on the field, ESPN Sunday Night NFL doesn't leave much of an impression. Not necessarily a bad game, just forgettable.