Big Win Football (Android)

Device: Samsung Sidekick 4G

Quick Glance

Big Win Football is a fresh 1^st down in a free American football game market that is close to going 3 and out! In this game review we will look at if Hothead has managed to go long for a touchdown or have pulled up short with inches to grasp.

Background Check

Hothead has published an American football game in the same style as some of their other well-known titles. Big Win Baseball, Big Win Soccer and Big Win Hockey are the other names that have already made their mark with the same ‘card-team-build’ method of play. However, is it worth the 10 yards?

Released in mid-autumn of this month Big Win Football came at a prime time due to its conjunction with the NFL kicking off. This meant that users hoping to play an American football simulated game were able to be hands on and take to the field early into the season.

Design

The game begins with a tutorial that enables the user to get comfortable with the game as soon as it starts. This takes the user through the fundamentals of what will be needed in order to work their way through the game in order to build a team and compete for a trophy.

The cards feature if this game is essential and is used to build your squad. You will need to use coins or notes your team obtains and purchase either players, contracts, special abilities (big impact) or skills (big boosts). The cards used in the game will often have a value of bronze, silver, gold or platinum.

This is a nice twist to having a standard simulation football game. By incorporating this feature it means the user will have to be playing financial analyst trying to determine a suitable spending spree that will benefit the team to victory.

However, I found that there was a fair amount of time purchasing cards in order to get a player who is prebuilt with a skill that is balanced. It was apparent that I found numerous linemen with mainly speed when I would need ‘strength’ to block or, a kicker who is stacked with ‘foot power’ but no room for a ‘vision’ skill to allow him to hit the target.

Nevertheless eventually you will have different cards collected and they can be put into play by selecting on the My Team button. Here you will see a complete line-up of your squad, offensive, defensive and special teams. This gives you the chance to make substitutions, uniform changes, give additional skills to players of your choice, and check player stats and team history.

Unfortunately once applied you cannot remove the skill which means that choices will have to be made with care. I found this feature to be a fun tactical feature to begin with but became tired of holding out to pick up an ‘agility’ skill card.

With your line up established and abilities set you can go ahead and chose from three game options; Daily Big Bowl, Friends Big Bowl and Quick Game. The name says it for itself, a Quick Game will match you up with a random opponent also connected into the game. Before kicking off you have the option to applying three big impact cards.

These impact cards are used to try and tip the game in your favor and for the most part it will lead to an exciting battle between both teams when you see your special ability being put into use. However I played some games where even playing three gold standard impact cards I would be losing to an opponent not playing any cards.

Another enjoyable feature is the ability to play against friends. It did not take me long at all to configure this part of the game however if you are the type of person who likes playing with strong opponents they met online, good luck!

There is no friends list or anything along these lines meaning there is no way to communicate with potential future opponents. So unless you have friends that are willing to download the game you will not be using this Friends Big Bowl feature very often.

The final feature is the Daily Big Bowl, here you will compete in 12 games and gain the best record in order to make it to the top to win a daily trophy. I discovered that it takes 3 games to qualify into a league then the other opponents will appear with their W-L-D records.

I continued to play people that were not in the same league but this is not really much problem because landing top of the table is the main priority.

Gameplay

The main focus of Big Win Football is the match ups and I felt that they were executed to some degree of satisfaction. I have played other Big Win games and have noticed in the past I would be competing against players two or three levels above or below my own. This is not a factor in Big Win Football, the game does a good job at keeping the level differential minimal between opponents.

I felt that the game was constructed to give a perspective of a coach. I was able to manipulate my team to a way in which I wanted but then had to hope for the best as I have no actual control over the players. Therefore in my opinion this game is not for gamers who are seeking the next free version of EA Madden Mobile.

Unfortunately I found a number of times that there would be a ‘Big Win Error’ where connectivity has been lost even though I am in perfect coverage. This doesn't happen enough to put you fully off the game but it happened to me enough to take a break and come back to it later.

I was able to do so because the Daily Big Bowl once integrated gives the user approx. 12 hours in order to complete all 12 games which is more than enough time.

The game has a nice smooth running and there is no delay between each play. The A.I of the players in your roster is surprisingly high I found. There clock management skill is good however, I found my team 3^rd and inches, 4^th quatar, down by 3, 30 seconds on the clock and they decide to punt…….. Enough said!

Regardless of some bad moments the game makes for an enjoyable play. I found myself glued to the screen cheering, shouting and gasping most times as I immersed into the game.

Presentation

I am pleased to say that this is a well-polished game. It shows that a strong level of effort and determination to deliver a high quality game has gone into the production for Big Win Football. Even though there is a strong resemblance to Wii avatars Hothead games manage to tear away from the other free American football games and holds their head high and proud with the artwork and user interface layout.

As for the audio used I found myself humming the background music for many days since playing the game. I liked the blend of brief in-game music between plays and the brief and enthusiastic comments when a first down, touchdown, fumble etc. is made.

Conclusion

I would say that Big Win Football checks all the boxes for a user who wants to take control of an American football team, customise the players’ names, skillset and play like a coach. There is the added bonus of getting uniforms that pose a strikingly strong resembles to NFL teams which only adds to the excitement. 

The game gives the user to play as intense or laid back as they wish by giving daily rewards and the opportunity to generate more notes to buy cards by purchasing using real money. Therefore I would say this game does in fact get the touchdown and should be downloaded.

Game Rating 7.7
Design 7.8
Gameplay 7.0
Presentation 8.5