The Most Underrated NFL Game of All Time 

Let's just admit that 2004-05 was the peak of gaming humanity

Hard to believe we’d be gearing up for NFL 2k23 if EA hadn’t got that license💔 I get heartbroken just thinking of all of the years of NFL 2k we missed out on between 2005-2022.

Its crazy how iv been playing 2k4 2k5 and allpro 2k8 literally for over 10 years now.

2K5 nailed the presentation of real NFL football but it did sacrifice a lot from the gameplay perspective of 2K4. 2K5 was kind of stiff and had a lot of canned animations and 2k4 played smoother and player movement looked more natural. Both games blow Madden away still.

Day 2 of asking SDTV to make NCAA 2005 retrospective

I bought 2k5 solely because it was 19.99. I couldnt believe a new game that looked so cool was so incredibly cheap.. I was blown away by the realism and all of the ESPN animations with Chris. still better than the newest madden.

I grew up with this era of sports games. NFL2k4 and 2k5 are awesome football games. They played more like real football than Madden. Madden, between 2003-2005 had a deep and fun franchise mode. More arcade gameplay, but I will argue, a better and deeper franchise. Add the great college football and basketball games. What an era to be a sports and video game fan.

Oh my gosh Soft drink you're gonna bring back a wave of nostalgia for this Aussie fella!!! This game was my introduction to what is the masterpiece of 2K Football and as fate would have it make me a Philadelphia Eagles fan! I started off on NFL Fever 2003 on Xbox and sometime later picked up this game not knowing what I was getting into!.. But wow was it something magical. The player models took me a bit of getting used to, coming from Fever 2003. But the realism was unreal. The replay camera zooming into the holes in players jerseys etc. Man thank you for covering this and all your other videos..

The 2k4 demo sold me on 2k4 and I played it religiously so yeah I agree. The game was a masterpiece.

softdrink you release videos at the most perfect times, they always calm me down, thank you so much

NFL gameday 2002. Idk why this game sticks out so much in my mind, possibly because it was the game that got me into football. But a retrospective on that would be funny as hell

You gotta do GameDay 04 now that you mentioned it dude. That game and gamebreaker 04 are hugely underrated.

Thank you! Someone else recognizes how under the radar this game is! I also liked this more than 2k5! It's sad that Microsoft left it off the backwards compatibility list for Xbox 360!

This is literally my second favorite NFL Game right behind 2K5, I mean they are pretty much near identical it's just 2K5 has so much more to offer, that doesn't discredit this game one bit though, as it's also one of the deepest NFL Games ever made 2K did amazing on the ESPN Series on all their games

Talk about an under rated RU-vidr, love you sdtv! Keep it up!

Some of the animations that you see see for either the tackle or the brake tackle that you see later on in the video are actually really nice animations that I wish would have made their way into 2K5 and all pro football

My favorite part of this game? The fact that if you complete specific milestones, you can unlock Sega characters and even some football icons for the free agent pool. You can put Axel from Crazy Taxi and Michael Irvin on the same wide receiver core. LT can be set behind Jeffrey McWild on the defense. Ryo from Shenmue, Kage from Virtua Fighter and Ronnie Lott can become the prototype for the Legion of Boom. It's stuff like this that I miss and it's a shame it wasn't in 2K5.

I'm pissed we didn't get NCAA Football 2k5. Now that would've been fire 🔥

Due to new branding and where I was in life when ESPN NFL Football, I never was drawn to it when it released. I remember the commercial ads being pretty bizarre and it was the 1st time I really gotten into Madden with Madden 2004. My buddy though Loved this game and I just kinda brushed it off and he was always a GameDay and Madden player. I hadn't realized that it was 2K making the games still. I play so much of NFL 2K through 2K2 on the Dreamcast, but didn't really know what had happened with the franchise as much as I did not yet have an Xbox, PS2, or Gamecube. When ESPN NFL 2K5 released, I had realized what it was, how good it looked, how much enjoyment I had gotten out of some of the really cheesy GameSpot videos, plus the cheap price for this kind of game? Sign me up, Day 1 must buy. I loved it, was it awe and still play it now and love it. So awesome to see the support it gets with community roster updates and the updates that the community has applied to PC for the PS2 version. My buddy though was just not the fan of 2K5 like he was corner box 2K4. Mainly for the reasons stated in the video. To slow and sluggish. I think he liked just being able to turn on a dime, just like how you can in Madden. 2K was evolving for better or worse depending on the player. I love playing both in their own way. You really cannot go wrong. There is something there for someone in one of these games. Gameplay is the most important thing and it will all be in personal preference. Cheers 🍻

4:02 actually Franchise mode in 2k4 DOES have the weekly wrapup show. It's ESPN NFL Primetime, which actually fits better than just SportsCenter.

Thank you for another video man. Been missing your content!

To play this game with superb graphics I play it on my Android tablet and through the PS2 emulator for Android called Aether sx2. Which can also be done not just on a tablet but on a mobile phone. It's just brilliant if you get a tablet with an 8 series processor. Runs smooth as a nut.

Soft Drink, your the channel is the ish man!!! We need that NFL Blitz 99/2000 retrospective!!! Get a cabinet with a friend and turn on tournament mode, and behold a beautifully fun but seriously competitive game.

This was the reason I never bought a Madden game again. I didn’t even know the word boycott at the time but boy did I live by it. I wish more folks would just not give them money. Patience young grasshopper.

Yessss. You finally made a video on the TRU most underrated football game of all time

These older games have such good openings/intros

Always siked when I see you put out a new video!! You should do a video on the lack of Sports Games on PC.

Great Vid Like always

This is the relationship WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain has with Shut Your Mouth (and even SD!2), it's just accepted that that's the best one, but not enough people who love that game spend enough time with the others to really understand what they did well/better and their unique qualities. Predetermined physicality isn't a sport, but wrestling games are often grouped with sports games in that way: the nuances of each year's version are lost on the general public but there's probably more changes (and pros/cons compared to the next year) than you'd think.

I like how in 2k4 when doing a franchise draft players like Ray Lewis and Derrick Brooks go 1 and 2. And there are a select few players like Warren Sapp that can go anywhere from round 1 til round 3 making the draft different every time.

Excited to end my day watching this!

I had this game as a kid, I played it all the time and loved it. Nobody else I knew at the time had ever played or even heard of it, everyone defaulted to madden. But I enjoyed 2k a lot more, although I have to say I ended up playing madden's franchise more back then. First person football was crazy too, such an unexpected and cool feature.

This was my childhood glad to see it being resurrected I was 12 in 2005 the NBA ballers series & NFL 2K 5 so so underrated now I got to pick up 2K4 totally missed that one

Still would like a NFL GameDay retrospective or NFL Quarterback Club or the rise and fall of 989 studios

I feel AP2k8 is the best feeling football game ever. It's so fluid in motion as well as gameplay. 2k really should've stuck with that until EA took the simulation rights like they did

Can’t wait to watch this one! Been a minute!

I played this game so much online back in the day on PS2. When you had to screw the Network Adapter onto the back of the console lol. Loved this game so much though

I love how you win a challenge in this game but the call isn't changed

2k5 is the best NFL simulation ever

Man I loved these old 2k NFL games so much. Growing up with the Sega/Dreamcast playstation days was so great. Kids now a days don't get it. The wait at the video game store because tecmo bowl was ALWAYS out 🤣

2k4 has WAY more competitive CPU and less exploitable salary cap, more organic blocking, I actually lost playoff games. Missing 2k5's presentation improvements and animations sucks.

one thing i hated about 2k5 is the WRs drop the ball wayyyyyyyyy too much. i have my sliders up as well and they still drop wide open passes

also on the customization side, you were able to add elbow bands and turf tape on players manually in 2k4 but couldn't in 2k5 without an editor

Great job! Love that series ! My favorite. 10x better then madden. I loved the bengals. I would move Peter warrick as 3rd wr n he would torch the 3rd DB. Still have that series on my Dreamcast.

Yes. SEGA got done kinda dirty by EA’s trashy, grubbing self. 2K has made some of the best football games iv played.

The most underrated NBA Game and my favorite is NBA Live 2004. The most underrated and my favorite Baseball ⚾️ video game is MLB Slugfest 2006

I was disappointed that the special character unlocks from 2k4 were removed from 2k5. The first time I noticed I unlocked characters from virtua fighter, I was extremely amazed and found out there were more unlocks

Man oh man, I always thought I was crazy for thinking that 2k4 actually played better than 2k5. Both GOATED tho 👑👑

You should do a retrospective on the NFL arcade games and what happened to them

I played 2k4 way more growing up as a kid cause it had my favorite player from my favorite team, 99 Sapp on my Tampa bay bucs…good times

I played ESPN NFL Football on the original Xbox for the 2013 NFL season and it was fun. I played as the eventual Super Bowl Champions New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers in season mode.

Pretty hyped for the community to try the NFL 4K23 Mod for this game. Coming soon ;)

i’d like to see a video series on the NFL QB Club games especially the final one from 02 which was the first/last to be featured on ps2/GC

Your character jus moved so much smoother everything felt more responsive back in the day all my friends agreed 2k was by far superior

Whenever you play as The Ravens & you score a td, Gary Glitter's Rock & Roll Part 2 played. FAM, I LOVED THAT especially in FPF (First Person Football)

Nice video for sure

Can you do a career retrospective of the forgotten Manning brother, Nick Manning?

I got into this game before 2K5 actually. Which yeah I know it released before it, but I didn't play either back when they came out. I got both of them a few years ago when I was looking for alternatives to Madden, I did try 2K5 first but felt like 2K4 felt slightly easier to get used to. I eventually moved on to 2K5 which is my now my favorite NFL game to play.

I'm gonna check this one out. I played 2K5 for a while and then later became an avid player of APF 2K8, which made going back to 2K5 near impossible for me. I got to a point where, while I adored the franchise mode, I found the gameplay not to my liking... at all. Interestingly enough, a while back I picked up College Football 2K3 and was pleased with how that game played. The actual gameplay of 2K4 sounds highly appealing to me. Combine that with a slightly less in depth franchise mode (which from what it sounds like the features that 2K4 are missing are features that I won't miss much anyway) and 2K4 is a game I'll pick up. Thanks for the great recommendation SDtv!

classic game and i loved the espn format that made it feel like nfl game day

Hey brother I’ve been watching your content for a while and wanted to say thank you I’m a little older so some of these retrospectives have a nostalgic vibe when sports games were great before pay to play

one of the greatest videos ive ever watched

EL PRESADOR (QUANTRELL BISHOP) has always swore by this game. He considered 2K5 inferior because he said that they tried to cater to the Madden fanboys with that one. I have looked for 2K4, but I haven't found it at flea markets yet.

150% most underrated game!! The NFL 2k series was the greatest thing ever! Seems like anything 2k touched was gold

I remember sitting on Madden and nfl 2k and just messing with rosters with the friends for hours.

We need one of these for NFL 2K3 aswell!!

Currently playing and just had a play where there were OFFSETTING PENALTIES! I don’t think I’ve ever seen that even in 2k5!

l love this channel

Junior year of high school 2k4 dropped. It's been a loooooooooonnng time boys and girls. Here we are about to enter 2023 and the world of football gaming is being held hostage by EA and an army of tots buying MUT cards.

had a great time with this game... great memories

Man, this game was great. Loved the gameplay.

I still have my 2K5 for PS2, I Remember getting it. 8th grade, just moved to Kapolei...

I used to get So many Picks With Bob Sanders, on That 05.

I like the one on dreamcast were u can modify the players n equipment.

I started buying every madden game in 2000. The only reason i bought 2k5 was because T.O. was on the cover, being an eagles fan. Wow my mind was blown. back then madden franchise was amazing but this felt and presented so much better. Its such a shame all they care about is MUT. They showed a little love to franchise this year, but wtf how is a game almost 20 years old still better...

It does have the weekly wrap up when Chris Berman covers every game of the week

When u goin to review Legend Bowl and Sunday Rivals' updating to v1.0?

Just bought 2k5. Awesome game

ESPN 2K4 Baseball was phenomenal and not bad at all compared to MVP 2005, so it does not shock me at all that this game isn't far down from NFL 2K5!!

Just got NCAA14 and I really like it. Next up will be 2K5 to check out the difference in gameplay to Madden.

This video earn my subscribe click.The 2k series I loved it was affordable compared to EA and captured the game differently.I owned every one of the 2k5 line NBA,NHL,NFL and enjoyed those better.the vip concept is fun as well.my first 2k experience with 2k was 2k3 as a budget choice when I was a kid rather then madden but enjoyed that just as much.Plus Urlacher as the cover athlete is a plus.

My mom bought this from Hollywood video and I put in so many hours as a kid on my Xbox cause I had madden on PS2 but this game was so much real miss these days

The halftime show and the franchise mode was sooooooooo intense!!!!!!!!!

I think one reason 2K5 is still so beloved is because is was half the price of Madden when is came out

6:49 actually I disagree if we had gotten a nfl 2k6 I think it would be just as likely they would’ve focused on the next gen consoles and leave the previous gen consoles behind

I'm getting flashbacks from First Person Football. Somehow it worked enough for me.

Didn’t even touch on first person football, which was supposed to be the major selling point of this game. As a safety, I found first person to be severely broken. Either I’d get burned deep cause I’d try and see anything behind the line of scrimmage, or I couldn’t see what was going on with the QB cause I didn’t want to get burned. I do remember, this game freezing all the time on my original Xbox. I remember getting mad and hitting my Xbox and the game unfroze. From then on, if it froze, I’d hit it and it would work lol

This video has shaken me to my core. 2K5 was gospel, but now with 2k4...

NFL 2k2 and 2k3 were some of the best football games I’ve ever played

do a NHL 2k retrospective

You should start a franchise for this game

I was 13 when this game came out this game was 🔥🔥🔥 on old Xbox

Hope we get a retrospective of NFL 2K3.

Hang in there NFL Football fans. While we may not see an official NFL 2K23 from 2K. We will see another update to our teams already fun NFL2K5 Resurrected Mod that will be released this summer to align with the 2023 season “NFL 2K23”. 🏈👍

The best NFL 2K game of all time finally gets recognition

I always felt like naming this game without a year was their way of saying it was supposed to be the last installment in the series.

I need to play one of these 2K football games one day.

I've been playing 2K5 for the last year and a half straight. I just put Madden 05 in my PS2 and I have COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN HOW TO PLAY IT. I keep hitting the square button when I want to throw to the X receiver LOL

This is the entry in the series where said series went from decent to godlike. And it was still godlike the next year.

It’s 2022, and a game that released in ‘04 is still GOATED. 🐐