Game Review: Tecmo Bowl Throwback (Xbox, PS3)
I grew up in the Tecmo Bowl generation, which meant my friends and I burnt out our copies of the 1988 football game on a daily basis. No other video game put us in Bo Jackson or Joe Montana’s shoes like this, complete with detailed cinema scenes at big moments, and no other sports game at the time was snappier or simpler, to boot. For years, its big, breakaway runs, colossal sacks, and “Guess Your Opponent’s Strategy” system had no peer.
As I got older, so did Tecmo Bowl. After a remarkable sequel in 1991′s Tecmo Super Bowl, the series didn’t see any major upgrades, instead bowing out silently as Madden NFL took over the virtual pigskin crown. But I didn’t fall for Madden. When my friends and I hit the virtual gridiron over the years, we used an old NES. Still do.
…at least, until this week. Tecmo Bowl: Throwback is now available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3′s online stores for $10, and it delivers what my friends and I want: almost nothing new. TB:T sticks to the series’ speed and simplicity to great effect. But it also misses an opportunity to tweak the original formula—or, at least, offer enough customizations for the fans who want an old-school experience—potentially leaving all comers in the dust of fictional Bo Jackson.
