iPhone Football Games Reviewed with Surprising Champion

By Eric Meister

With the iPhone and iPod touch gaining popularity by the day and the football season upon us, we thought it would be appropriate to review some NFL video games. As we put together this iPhone Football game roundup, we found three that could just be some of the best apps out there. Let's take a look at EA's Madden 10, Gameloft's NFL2010, and Chillingo's Super Shock Football.

Madden has been dominating the football game market for the past 20 years. EA Games has now released the first version of Madden for the iPhone into the App Store. Now there is quite a rivalry between Madden 10 and NFL2010 and gamers face a tough decision.

From a visual standpoint, Madden delivers, but not exactly with the precision we had hoped for. Everything looks a bit old-school like the graphics of consoles of days gone by. Yet, for the iPhone they look standard. You'll quickly recognize that the original John Madden comments and helmet-to-helmet crash audio effects are all included in this iPhone version of the game. If you don't like the included music tracks, you can play your own selection from your iPod library. All the controls in Madden 10 work great and a variety of options are available on demand.

We're looking forward to multiplayer and roster updates coming in a future software update. As it is, replay ability is exceptional. This IS a Madden football game. Expect to be engulfed in it until the next one is released. Gameloft's NFL2010 is right up there with Madden yet each offers a few things the other lacks. So, go ahead and buy both if you can pull it off. At $9.99, Madden enters the App Store at an expected price point and should stay there for the entire season. As anticipated, Madden 10 brings a 4-Star experience to the table and shoves its closest rival NFL2010 into OT.

NFL 2010, the first full-featured football game specifically for the iPhone and iPod Touch, was released earlier than expected by Gameloft. With a graphic style similar to Madden, it is hard not to compare NFL 2010 to the king of all that is football. Fortunately for mobile gamers, NFL 2010 holds up quite well.

We really were shocked by the stunning visuals in NFL2020. Madden 10 better watch our as this smaller competitor is racking up to be a huge success. All the audio sounds are pleasing. Controls are well honed and respond appropriately to our commands. Some functionality does feel absent as the plays come off as preplanned. We felt like we just set them up and then watch them unfold in front of us. However, we did like the Kicking plays as we felt these offered the most control with aiming and power. This was probably our favorite aspect of the gameplay.

Gameloft really impresses with NFL2010, their first effort at iPhone football gaming. This will be on our most-played list for some time to come. The $7.99 price is a bit steep, but it is lower than Madden 10 and it's a huge savings when compared to console games. We have to give NFL2010 a 4-Star rating as well.

Chillingo has taken a different approach with Super Shock Football by basing it on the electric football gaming style. It won't replace Madden 10 or NFL2010, but it does present some coolness with vibrating players and other additions that justify it as a worthy contender.

We really loved the graphics of the 2D players running around in a 3D world. A top down viewing angle is used for setups but switches to an on-field view when watching plays. Crowd noise, whistles, and vibrating players humming all adds up to some cool audio effects. All the controls can be met with a single finger. The bottom of the screen hosts game info like scores, time remaining, etc. These don't distract from gaming but are a little hard to make out. Players can set the quarter length and the number of men on each team up to 11.

Nostalgia and humorous gameplay put Super Shock Football in a league of it's own against more traditional football games in the App Store. You'll have a blast if you don't take the game too seriously. No two games will ever turn out the same as the outcomes are so random. This leads to high replay ability. At a price of $1.99 Chillingo gives Super Shock Football a huge advantage over its competition. In fact, we give it a 5-Star rating that will make its more mature rivals jealous.

The iPhone and iPod touch have skyrocketed to true gaming platforms in little over a year. We wanted to put together this NFL video games review for your benefit, but had no idea each would perform so well. All the titles: Madden 10, NFL2010, and Super Shock Football prove they are a few of the best apps available in the App Store at present. - 29943

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