Much like the rest of the 2002 football crop, Fever boasts a hefty bunch of play modes, including Dynasty (captain a team across multiple seasons), All-Time Challenge (go at classic opponents), practice, single games, etc. But all of the 2002 football games boast similar (if not identical) play modes, so the question is: How does Fever hold up against the competition?

Answer: It holds up pretty well. Fever not only stands up to the competition it knocks out the competitions legs and smacks it up into a crazy mid-air flip, spins it 360-degrees, and sends it down on its helmet all "oh damn did that dude break his neck?"-style. Microsoft has created a game that plays realistically while maintaining a tight flow, and, most importantly, is an absolute joy to play.

Surprisingly, the running game--usually the bane of first-time developers--is absolutely top-notch. Fever's interpration is realized with grace and fluidity, and since it's actually difficult to win a contest without first establishing a decent running game, the achievement is put to good use. While completing a pass was initially difficult (the arc of the ball and receiver's route weren't blatantly clear), it improves dramatically over the course of several games. This condition also means that you can't easily exploit a competitor's secondary, as both players (offensive and defensive) are forced to deal with the same realistic difficulties.

While all of the next-gen football titles look good, Fever boasts amazing player animations, sick character models, and the best grass textures seen ever. We're talking facial hair, uniforms that get mud-stained during gameplay, and linemen's big, floppy guts wobbling out of their spandex. Player attributes change over the course of a season, so things get emotional when your boy Marshall Faulk breaks his arm en-route to a record-breaking year.

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