If you are the typical cornerback, and you look up and see Jerome Bettis (a.k.a. The Bus), rumbling in your directions, you have three choices.

The first, and really not an option if you wish to keep your job, is to run away screaming in terror; second, you can throw yourself at the legs of Bettis and risk either going through the rest of your life in a neck brace, or becoming a skid mark on the field; or third, you can hop on and hope for help as you ride him toward the ground.

One of the more striking elements of ESPN NFL PrimeTime 2002, a Xbox release from Konami, is the tackling animation. It looks very, very good – perhaps the best of the NFL games released to date for this platform.

Another element that really stands out is the soundtrack – most notably the play-by-play and color commentary work of ESPN’s Chris Berman and Tom Jackson. Berman’s freewheeling style of delivering is a joy to listen to, and it really makes this game come alive.

This game features an options-rich menu. It’s true that Microsoft’s NFL Fever does incorporate the Pro Bowl as part of its season package, whereas in the ESPN title you have to go to the code menu, enter the word Aloha to unlock both the game and the stadium.

The game features a nice bevy of options, such as Exhibition, Franchise, Practice (a great way to learn the controls of this game) and Tournament game play.  In Franchise, you have an incredible array of choices. Not only can you put together your depth chart, you can assign the amount of playing time someone gets in preseason games, or put together a game plan (which can include adjusting coverage on your next opponent’s top players).

If you really want to make things interesting, you can go into the Front Office Roster’s menu and edit your players or create new players. The create players options take place under the Free Agents tab – which means that once you create a player, you will have to sign him to a contract. You can also trade, block trades, make offers and sign free agents with either other human players, or an intuitive CPU owner.

Where the game starts to fall apart is in the graphical rendering – not movement animation — department. The box promises NFL authenticity with players’ body types and faces. Not quite. The face profiles look the same, and there is a tendency for all receivers, kickers and quarterbacks to have long, skinny arms.

A game played outdoors does have some field detail, but go into a dome and everything goes flat. The colors fade and have a grayish hue, and the field itself lacks details seen in other games.

When it comes to the game controls, this is a program that may seem a little awkward at first, but once you have learned all the elements, it really takes on a life of its own.

Brett Favre walks up to the line of scrimmage and gets in behind the center. You hit the left trigger button and Favre looks to the left; hit the right trigger and he looks to the right. The B button varies the cadence, while the X button calls for a pop-up menu and the audibles you can call. Don’t like the entire feel, no need to hit the game pause button and scroll through the menu items to call a timeout – just hit the white button and Favre calls the timeout on the field.

In the final analysis, NFL PrimeTime 2002’s good points outweigh the bad or not-so-good points. The movement animation is outstanding, and the commentary of ESPN veterans makes this game fun to listen to. While it is not the most visually rendered game on the current market, it still provides its share of challenges and entertainment.

This game is rated for Everyone.

Gameplay: 8.5
The game moves nicely through all phases of the game.  There are quite a number of options that are easily accessed, once you understand how the control elements work.

Graphics: 7.4
The animation is well done, while the rendered elements – such as players, fields and other environmental elements – are not as good as other products on the market.

Sound: 9
Chris Berman and Tom Jackson do an outstanding job. The game does supply other elements that make it better than the typical audio track for this genre.

Difficulty: 8
This game has a more complex control system than some of the other games, and there are several difficulty levels that will challenge players of any skill level.

Concept: 7
At this early stage in the initial year after the release of the Xbox, four football games have been released. This market is too inundated, and may foretell what players can expect for baseball season.

Multiplayer: 8
Once again, a game like this is meant for multiplayer game. Sure, it is fun to work through a season as a franchise owner, but the real test of playing ability comes in head-to-head (this game will support up to four players) competition.

Overall: 8.3
The game may be weak when it comes to the look of the game, but the animation is very good, the sound is excellent, and the program is rich with options. It may not bring the eye candy that Microsoft or EASports have dropped into their programs, but it gains ground in other departments.