Tecmo Bowl Returns!

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http://kotaku.com/5011541/tecmo-bowl-screens

 

Here are some screenshots from the new Tecmo Bowl: DS game that's coming out later this year.

 

I'm so goddamned excited. You can also edit the teams/rosters, so I'll def. be picking this up over Madden.

 

preview from IGN:

 

Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff Hands-on

The pigskin you remember is back.

by Daemon Hatfield

 

May 29, 2008 - Many a football fan lost days/weeks/months of their life playing Tecmo Bowl on the NES back in the day. The arcade-style sports game was a lot easier to get into than the Maddens of today. Tecmo is set to re-launch the franchise this September with Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff for the Nintendo DS. Next year will see Tecmo Bowl Wii, but 2008 is all about the portable game. We got to throw Kickoff around a bit recently and are happy to report it looks and feels much like the Tecmo Bowl we remember.

 

Since Electronic Arts has the videogame rights to the NFL, Tecmo has loaded Kickoff with fictional teams like the Baltimore Bulldozers. But players can edit their team's name and uniform, so there's nothing stopping you from replicating NFL teams or your high school football squad. There is also a logo editor for creating your own symbols. In the build we played, though, the end zones were blank. It would be nice to see our team's name on the turf and maybe the home team's logo in centerfield. We also noticed that the coin toss is missing from the start of a game.

 

The power to control the weather is in your hands.

Individual player stats are editable, as well. What has us a bit worried is there doesn't seem to be any restrictions on maxing out all your stats -- especially since Kickoff includes local and online multiplayer. It would seem to make sense that players would earn stat points by playing through a season, but at this time that does not appear to be the case. We will be able to trade team mates with other players, so we're holding out hope there will be some sort of advancement and development of our team.

 

Players can work through a pre-season, regular season, or go for the All-Star Bowl. Weather effects and quarter length can be set for each game. The game has the same 2D appearance of the original Tecmo Bowl. Even the play selection screen is presented the same way. Kickoff includes the original game's entire playbook. During a game, the scoreboard is displayed on the top screen while the game and play selection screens hang out on the bottom.

 

Fans of the original's groovy soundtrack may be dismayed to hear that Kickoff features all-new music, but it is in the same style as the NES game. Familiar voice samples ("Hut! Hut! Hike!!") have been included.

 

Kickoff can be controlled entirely with or without the stylus. Tecmo Bowl fans will likely choose the more familiar feel of button control, although selecting bass recipients and such with the stylus appeared to work well. We now have super abilities, some of which are initiated by the player and some automatically triggered by the game. One such ability we saw was the Rocket Pass. These special moves trigger a brief cut scene, the style of which is very reminiscent of Tecmo Bowl. Cut scenes are also triggered by touchdowns and big events like a quarterback sack.

 

It's great to see Tecmo Bowl back and the DS is a perfect fit for its 2D presentation. There are a couple "features" that have us raising an eyebrow, like the apparent lack of restrictions on maxing out our players. But Kickoff is still in development and we're hopeful it will give Tecmo Bowl fans the fix they need.

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This looks pretty great. It's like an EBA style meets tecmo bowl. I wonder what the Wii version will be like.

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I hope this turns into what "Blitz: The League" could have been without the shitty storyline stuff.