Jerry Rice lends his football popularity to the Wii console version of a game of dog football with human quarterbacks running the show in this dog teamed kids game.
Ratings:
Graphics & Audio: 16/25,
Gameplay: 18/25,
Creativity 20/25,
Fun 16/25
Total: 70/100
I thought at first this would be a real dumb game when I received it but it does have a cuteness and gentle kid friendly demeanor under that goofy cover. Jerry Rice may be a legendary football player and using his name may be a selling point but the game stands on its own for the most part.
Jerry Rice & Titus’ Dog Football is almost what you would think it would be with a human quarterback, there had to be some human leading things, while the rest of the team is dogs from all sizes and breeds. You simply choose from each play the general style and whether you’re going to attempt to pass or block the pass, run or block the run and blitz.
The kicking is handled with a direction bar and a kick strength meter that uses the A button and waving or swinging the remote to get the ball into the air. Passing is handled by holding the A button and waggling the remote to hike the ball and then letting go of the A button while performing a pretend pass with the remote.
You then are taken in control of the receiving dog if the catch is made and you just point a blue dot on the field with a handy hovering bone overhead to lead the dog to the goal line. Tackling is handled by simply waggling the remote when any of your team’s dogs are near the ball handler and the closest dog to the ball at any given time is the dog under your control.
Dog Football actually works pretty well but with a definite kids slant on the sport with all the dogs and the playground type football field. The game is not played on a nice flat stretch of ground but plots of flowers, logs and low walls dot the field to give you an advantage or to just get in your way.
You can play with a single player or up to four with play being controlled on each team simply using a different colored marker and dot. When two or more are playing each team selects their choice of play and then the game plays from the perspective of the ball and the closest dogs you can control with the markers of each color.
This works out well for multiplayer and each player can play at the same time without much interference from the games automatic view. Playing with more than one player adds some friendly competition to a game that could otherwise be dull after playing a few times.
You can change the teams colors and uniforms to create your own customizable look but this is more for hardcore players, you can just jump into a quick game easily with default uniforms and teams. The main choice of quarterbacks is mainly which slightly annoying voice over you get to listen to while playing but it’s not too bad, about what you would expect actually.
The characters you play as and with will often give voice to encouragements to their teammates who bark in response but mostly its stereotypical quips like the Valley Girl commenting on how rich she is. The games other sounds are pretty basic with some cheering at appropriate times and dog barks all over the place as you would expect but not overdoing things all that much.
When playing against the Valley Girl Dog Football has money falling all around the dog that made the touchdown which kind of negates any sportsmanship you could try to teach your child. Showing kids that getting that touchdown rains money down on the hero of the moment is a poor choice of cheers for a job well done but at least it doesn’t do this for all players.
Dog Football really did not need a pro to plug the game but the now common plugs by actors, sports figures and even brands a common thing in video games along with other areas of our world things could have been worse. Jerry Rice & Titus’ Dog Football is pretty good and with the variety of practice, game and season long modes gives enough to keep kids entertained a little while at least.
Some younger kids may have a bit of a problem with the controls especially as quarterback while passing and kicking because holding the A button or timing kicks with the remote is essential. Dog Football also has a few problems with lag or skipping during menus and in between plays but during plays things are smooth and good looking.
Overall Jerry Rice & Titus’ Dog Football is pretty good and for a single player football game it works pretty well for a different kid friendly game on the Wii console.