Elite Eight: Mike Tyson's Punchout vs. NFL 2k5

[BlyGilmore]

Mike Tyson's Punchout/NFL 2k5 Division

#1 Mike Tyson's Punchout

vs.

#2 NFL 2k5

The Argument for Mike Tyson's Punchout:
By Wil McCombs
How do you compete with the original? Mike Tyson’s Punchout was the first great boxing game, and the ultimate underdog story. Pitting the undersized Little Mac (who was 4’5”, 90 lbs soaking wet) against a colorful array of 8-foot titans, Mike Tyson’s Punchout took us on a journey to the top of the boxing world, without having to suffer the broken noses and concussions along the way.

Punchout is a title dripping with nostalgia. The classic game of well-timed button presses and pattern memorization was a staple of my childhood. And who can forget the first time they TKO’ed Iron Mike? It probably took you a couple hundred tries, unless you had a friend show you the pattern before hand, but it was well worth it.

No need for me to be long-winded with this one. This one’s a knockout.

If I still haven’t convinced you, this video should be enough reason to vote for Punchout.

The Argument for NFL 2k5
By Noles_ACC
This now seemingly forgotten football series (I'm staring at EA's Napoleon-esque griphold on the NFL genre) hit its full stride with the 2005 version. Not only was the game extremely economical - it retailed for just $20 - it got the oomph of having the ESPN name and presentation, bringing it a certain "Yes, we deserve to be a Big Boy on the Block" feel that the previous incarnations lacked.

Since the game originally launched on the Sega Dreamcast and was slow to come to PS2 or Xbox, this precious football gaming gem was like the trendy Indie rock band you found on MySpace that MTV had yet to serve to the masses. If you played this game, consistently acclaimed by the critics, you were not only avant garde by not drinking the Madden Koolaid but also you were, in fact at that time, playing the best game the genre had to offer.

The main reason for this is NFL 2k5's complete commitment to realistic gameplay. A simple contrast in the version's Right analog stick innovations highlight this philosophical difference with Madden. In 2k5, the right analog stick was used to among other things: quarterbacks evading on-coming rushers, running backs lowering their head to bruise forward, and adjusting linebacker and secondary coverage. Madden? This was the year they added the "Hit Stick," which for all its popularity, added nothing other than the entertainment value of laying Pro Wrestling-esque piledrivers on other players.

And in its own version of the "Hit Stick," 2k5 added its own tackling innovation: you press the square button (on PS2) hard and you get an aggressive tackle; you press lightly, you get a more accurate, wrap-them-up one. Not only is this a more natural process for gamers than ramming the righth analog stick with your thumb while simultaneously moving with your left thumb on the left analog stick...it makes sense.

Now, as time passed, Madden has added numerous innovations and gameplay tweaks that have brought it more and more to realistic gameplay, but 2k5 was perhaps the most accurate representation of NFL football we've ever seen. Couple the realistic gameplay with the ESPN in-game presentation (still ranks as one of the best ever), and you get a game for the ages. I think 2k5 is the only game, in any given year, to best the overall power of Madden, and for that reason alone, it should be considered as a classic.

According to the Community

All you have to say is This is Mike Tyson's Punch Out. Thats all there is to say! (kcvix)

NFL 2k5. Just one of the best and innovative games of all time. It's one of those games that you can go back and play anytime. The difference is it's a modern game. It has all the extras that you wished a classic football game like Tecmo Super Bowl had (franchise, presentation, etc). (slickdtc)

[MMChrisS]

Punchout gets my vote. It's an easy formula for me, I spent a ton more ton with Punchout than I ever did with NFL 2k5. There's also the old school factor as well as the simple fact that I think Punchout, for its time, was a far better game.

[yamabushi]

I used to love Speed Racer cartoons when I was a kid, watched some a few months back, so long childhood memory.
NFL 2K5.

[Jethown]

Ah Punchout... good ol' button mashing.

2K5 gets my vote, because it's still the best football game ever made.

[jballa838]

This is the hardest decision for me, just because I played both games a combined 200+ hours. I have the Nintendo Wii VC version of Punchout and I still play it today.
My decision goes to ESPN NFL 2K5 Because I feel it did more for sports games and had it all. Close call, but NFL2K5 had that IT factor which pushed it over Punchout.

[bsb13]

Punchout

[aukevin]

Go Little Mac!

[Dislimb]

Punchout all the way! I was never a fan of 2K5! Sorry!

[JohnDoe8865]

Gonna have to go w/ 2k5 in a very tough call.

[The GIGGAS]

I'm a younger guy, so if you want to come at me with the whole "young kid doesn't know what he's talking about" schtick, bring it.

Punchout has nostalgia dripping all over it, yes. But going back and playing it doesn't hold the same amazing qualities as it did back then.

NFL 2k5 is the best football video game ever, was the only major competitor to Madden (major being a key word), and even made Madden better (and then NFL and EA signed that deal with Lou from GH3, heh).

I've played both extensively (2k5 more extensively, yes), and I can without a doubt say that I think 2k5 is not only a more fun game, but a better game, and deserving of your vote.