Pro Strategy Football 2020

It is a really solid game. After reading a recommendation elsewhere, and seeing some people I knew from the past having this game, I decided to give it a go. Honestly, my very first initial impression was WTF did I just buy?!?! LOL - but I gave the game a chance...and it really grew on me! Everybody can read the game description (what it does and doesn't do) - as everybody should before they buy any game. It is NOT Front Office Football - nor does it try to be. It isn't about extremely detailed and complex franchise mode. It isn't about graphical powerhouse renditions of on-field play -- it isn't about controlling individual players (indeed, you can't). What it is about is COACHING the game of football on field (or simulating matches between AI teams) - and in that the game really excels! Kerry Batts (developer of the old Tom Landry Strategy Football) has created a really excellent coaching strategy simulation with this endeavour. The game plays really well and honestly - absolutely zero "hoodoo voodoo" going on influencing play results other than the true play calls and players abilities (unlike some other games). Stats are good, the AI is great. Quick play, single season, career modes. There is a beginner mode where you can simply just choose what you want your team to do the next play (eg, run middle, pass short, etc) or the far more advanced expert mode - which is fantastic and allows for pretty much total control over formation, player assignments and responsibilities, and any nuances to the play - this is the heart of the game and Kerry has done an amazing job with it. There is good advice given if desired or you can have the game recommend or choose a play for you if you wish. The play call screen is well done and very functional. I play on expert mode when I am coaching and really enjoy the offering - however, it can feel like I am designing the play almost from scratch each time (and certainly has me more invested in each individual play both time wise and emotionally! LOL) - and that can be a ton of fun. What is lacking perhaps is an intermediate mode for those that want more than beginner and are more familiar with the game of football, but don't want to be more of a play designer that expert entails (in other words, more canned play offerings already set than don't need the human coach to designate a new primary receiver, route, etc.). When I play football games, I always love to coach my team, but also really enjoy watching other teams in the league play against each other - so it should be noted that you can totally do this with this game! The game plays really well CPU vs CPU. Note that the results from the play are not determined in real time as the play unfolds on the screen if you choose to graphically watch the game - the play results are determined ahead of time and then displayed graphically on screen. Which is absolutely fine by the way - and unnecessary the other way around because you don't physically control any player anyway. The AI is really well done (again, unlike some other games) - and like I said earlier, stats are really decent (I am kinda a statistical realism freak btw, lol). Should be noted that obviously this isn't a 3D engine and graphics are on the simple side (but player sprites can all have their own uniforms, stadium fields there own graphics) - but all in a homage to retro days - and these are far better than simple dots or X's and O's moving on a field! Indeed the sprites have grown on me and these little guys have character! LOL. There isn't individual player designations on field at the time of writing this review, and all players have the number 55, unfortunately (but this may change - and is certainly something to improve upon - as well as perhaps upgraded graphical options in the future). You can choose to a simple text output format instead if you want. Stat keeping is decent too. You can also download mods that add proper NFL graphics or fantasy team leagues. There is career mode. Worth mentioning is that unfortunately for this edition there is a limit of 42 players I think it is and not a full compliment of 53 as per NFL teams. Hopefully the next edition will have this. Also as of this writing, teams are built on the draft only. There is no AI trading, financials, contract negotiation, or free agency. It is this more complex franchise system that the game does not try or attempt to emulate, so know that if those are important to you. However, it appears like a simple system to facilitate and emulate some between team player movement within career leagues will be implemented for next edition - with at least some player movement between teams certainly desired by me - so it is currently a short coming of this edition as it stands right now. Also note career league has a set structure of 32 teams and cannot be changed at the time of this writing. It appears perhaps next edition will allow for at least some choice/options to career league sizes and this will be a very welcome feature. It should be noted that this is a one man project (and not a full time undertaking) - so consider this when regarding expectations - resources are finite and this isn't Electronic Arts. The developer, however, is very receptive to community input/feedback, is realistic, hard-working, and very pleasant to deal with. If you are an owner of Sierra's Front Page Sports Football Pro series or a fan of it, then this game may be for you. I can see this game series developing into one of my very favorite football sims. It is fun, focused, doesn't pretend to be anything it isn't -- and with a good developer leading, a pretty decent community, the future looks very bright. I give this a thumbs up and would currently rate it a B-/B.

Excellent game. Been getting better year by year. I regard PSF2020 as the best football strategy game available. In expert mode, the degree of control of on-the-field, in-game play calling is remarkable -- if you want it. Virtually everything can be edited, including how you play it. You can sim, edit , and choose what you control. I highly recommend this game.

I never wrote a review before, but I feel I must, The biggest downfall on this game for me is not being able to change the depth chart. What is the point of trading players or drafting players that you cannot move around on your team for positions. The next would be. There is no creating plays. Sure this game offers a lot, but it does not offer anything you never seen before. You start a career. You select the league file. Choose the team you like and after that it just gets dull. When you scout a teams or a player. You do not see attributes like speed or agility. You see a number. Like your team is rated 3 in offense and 5 in defense. 4 in Passing. Same goes for other teams or players.. The rating system use just falls off the deep in for me. I guess something like . This player is rated 88 in speed instead of this player is rated 4. Like I said teams and players have one rating only. 1..2..3 etc. Now playing the game is okay and the look and feel brings you back to the late 90ties and I am okay with that. So I am saying is Depth Chart/Play Design and Player attributes with a team rating of 65..79.. or 88 would look so much better than. My team is rated 4 and the team I am playing this week is rated 4. I give a thumbs down on the those three things and as those three things effect the price. I give a thumbs down on the price

This is a superb American Football game, absolutely brilliant. The attention to detail to plays you can call is amazing, you can practically set any play you want to run. You can send players in motion, blitz individual players, keep players in to block, really anything you want. The game realistically follows what would happen in a real game. You can scout the team you are playing against and adjust your game plan accordingly. You can call the plays you want and can even set the offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator to suggest plays to you. The best part for me is the career option when you can be the head coach and take your team through as many seasons as you want. The offseason in the game is just as good as the actual season. You can analyse your teams strengths and weaknesses and scout up and coming players in the draft. The draft system is terrific (hint - without a meddling owner demanding results straightaway, you can trade your draft picks for future picks with other teams to get higher picks in later years). Another great feature is you can create leagues, edit teams and player names and attributes. I highly recommend this game, absolutely first class.

Well, I had high hopes after reading some of the reviews. I should have paid attention to the negative ones. This game has potential, but it is lacking in so many ways that it is not good at the moment. Something so BASIC as being able to change the depth chart in a "career" mode is missing. Really? Not worth $20 at all. This is a $3-$5 phone app in it's current state. I wish I could get my money back.

This is the best football simulator around. If you love the coaching, strategy, tactics and mind games of football -- you'll love this. The flexibility of play calling is enormous on both defence and offence. The game doesn't leave you wondering about what plays to call, or even what they mean. You can ask for advice, and every play possibility you can call has an "info box" that will explain what the play is, what the players will do, when it's normally called, when it's strong, when it's weak, and the pros and cons of it. Although it's great for the football fans who love the nitty-gritty of the game, it's also a must-have for football neophytes or wannabe experts who want a deeper understanding of football. This truly is a masterpiece.

First a disclaimer; as a Brit I've never played (Gridiron) Football, let alone coached it, so I'll leave any comments on authenticity and such to others! As a computer game, though, I first started playing PSF on Android, being one of the few decent sports games on that platform. Anyway, on to the PC and 2020. I love this game, not least for it’s focus on doing one thing and doing very well (as far as I can tell) – simulate Football games. Sure, there are the usual career and management options to play with, but it's not a ‘general manager’ simulator and doesn't pretend to be. Neither do you get to waggle a joystick to control events on field. What you do get is all the control you could ask for in setting up and directing plays, and watching the game unfold in realistic fashion. On-field graphics are adequate, if only what you might expect from a one-man project. I profess a particular fondness for the UI, both on PC and previous incarnations on Android, as unlike most text-heavy games these days my lousy eyesight can actually READ IT without any strain. Anyway, in short, I would thoroughly recommend PSF to those who love Football, appreciate quality computer entertainment, or both. PSF is all sports sim/game, no BS.

It's bad. It's just bad. There are some good things going on in this game, but it feels too much like a roll of the dice, and not enough like I'm the one in control of the outcome. There are also things happening that don't happen often in a real game. Like a defensive holding on a running play. This can happen, but it's definitely not common. Kickers seem to have a lower chance of making a field goal than I would expect in the NFL, but that one might just be me. Its a little frustrating that you can't mix different routes into the same play. You're routes have to either be all short, all middle, or all deep. There is no zone blitz. Defensive strategy in general is somewhat lacking. You can play cover 2, cover 3, or man coverage and that's about it. The lack of options on defense is a big part of what makes this game seem so much like a flip of the coin. You can't spy the QB. There is no cover 3 cloud. There is no cover 1 zone. There is very little customization at all from the defensive goal line formation. There is no dime formation (but there is a prevent). Also, sometimes the game crashes. This can cause you to lose your progress in a game. (Sometimes it recovers, sometimes it doesnt') This game generally feels too simple and bare bones to be charging 19.99. I think 4.99 would be a much fairer price.

Ok, first off I buy almost ever single football game that comes out. Most of them don't last long - this one will. I have purchased all 3 steam versions, and I knew this game had promise on my attempt. If your a plain and simple general manager/coach/stat geek type you will be overjoyed and the potential free agency systems Kerry is talking about - I'll never leave lol. This game reminds me alot of what the Dynamix/Sierra Front Page Sports used to be - for us older folks. I played 10 seasons, managed the roster (depth, draft), auto scouted, auto gameplanned and auto trained. I wanted to see the results before I invested too many time. During those 10 years, I only had a winning record twice (9-7). The draft system is the best and easiest one I've ever used. I found some real studs (QB with over 120tds and 16,000 yds, HB nearing 8,000 yds, recently drafted a superstar LB. The stats are near perfect, except maybe returns as I saw a lot of touchdowns on returns. Aging system is solid, development systems seem very realistic. Injuries are tad low maybe. You can't edit your depth chart during the season, only in preseason. I think Kerry may be working on a fix for that, not sure. Kerry recently added total editing capabilities, so you can create and edit to your hearts content. I believe you can create and edit plays and playbooks as well. With the new free agency pool/draft that may be coming over...that would be a 100% game enhances imho. Great job Kerry - the one man team!