I just got a Nintendo DS and as I'm a huge football fan I'm thinking of getting this game. The problem is, I've read somewhere that the game against the CPU is way too easy. Is there a way to make it more challenging?

Thanks in advance.

Gipper,

The first seasons are difficult until your player points and limits increase. You should win the Tecmo Bowl, but the games will be closer. As your teams increase in skill points and ability limits, and when you unlock Tecmo Jo, you will beat the computer by unreal scores.

The only way to make a more difficult game is to raise the abilities of the computer opponents and keep yours at a lower level.

The online play, when you can get good connection and opponants that don't quit is good. However there are so few good players online that finding them takes 30 min. to an hour, which is frustrating.

Overall, if you are a Tecmo vet, and grew up playing the old Tecmo Bowl games, you will like it. But they really skimped on features, including the online play, that really make the game frustrating.

Read some of the forum topics and you'll get the gist of the good and bad of the game. Take care.

I really appreciate it Tim. That was very useful. I grew up playing the football pro series by sierra, but I have never played Tecmo. I think I'll give it try.
Thanks for your time and advice.

Gipper,

In the forum you will find friend codes that will be good for online play. There are lots of "quitters" out there that will quit if they go behind by two scores.

People like Detroit Kid, Deshaun, RudyCA, and a few others are really good and they won't quit.

However, the "wuss" list is a list of teams who quit. I try to keep updating my experiences.

The only problem, if you get the computer to schedule a random game with someone online, you don't know who you are playing. Take care.

I guess the first step for me is just to get to know the game by playing vs the CPU and I`ll go from there.

As I said I'm a veteran football pro and madden player and I really want to try something else as there are no more football games for PC.

By the way, I've always loved to create my own leagues. I know the players are totally customizable, but how about the league format? Is it only the 32 team NFL format?

I don't know Tim if you're a Madden player but the football-freaks community is just awesome. A lot of third-party programs that have made the game so enjoyable. Is there anything similar like that for Tecmo? I mean, an external roster editor or something that lets you do do things in a fsster and easier way?

Thanks again Tim.

Gipper,

I think that you will find the league play disappointing. You can customize teams, but logo and uniform options are limited. It is the 32 team format, but you cannot alter the format, only the team names.

Too, the game simulations are canned. You can only control one team per season. Unless the computer is playing live, the "skip" simulations are canned. One week, at least half of the scores were 17-7 with the exact same statistics.

Tecmo Super Bowl was not like that. You could get a different result every time the same teams played.

Too, there are limits to player abilities. You have a max # of pts. If you make a player fast, you sacrifice strength, which eliminates star players.

The season play is extremely disappointing, and you will beat the computer by unreal scores, which is unlike the original Tecmo Bowl games.

The appeal of this game is to those who played Tecmo Bowl growing up. We can play each other online, which I enjoy, but there are frustrations.

If you are a Madden fan or an NCAA Football fan and playing it for the first time, then you may be disappointed. However, for us Tecmo vets, it is a salute to the old days.

I hope this helps...

I wasn't expecting much, once again, I really enjoyed Sierra's Football Pro Series for many years. The canned scores is a downer though. I don't know, I'll have to think about it. Thanks again for your help Tim.