Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff DS
  • Publisher: Tecmo
  • Release Date: Nov 18, 2008
  • Also On: Wii
Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff Image
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Metascore
66 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.1 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Summary: Based on the most popular Tecmo Super Bowl, Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff delivers to long time fans and newcomers easy to employ controls, fun, huge plays and exciting cut-scenes. The classic, over-the-top, all-American football game enables players of all levels to engage in a fun filled, fast paced, arcade style of football. Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff brings a host of new features that will further enhance the gameplay experience, including: Customizable Teams: Choose team colors, emblems, player names, team cities and abilities. Super Abilities: Tactically use over-the-top plays to take over a game. Wi-Fi and Wireless Multiplayer: Play against friends across the country or across the room. Variety of Teams: Choose from 32 different teams across the country. Cut-Scenes: All-new cut-scenes showing off the dramatic presentation of various plays. Stylus Control: Feel the action by using the stylus to control your player. Customizable Playbook: Choose four running and four passing plays to your liking. Music and Sound Effects: Turn up the heat on your opponent as you play the game to rock ‘n’ roll remixes of the most memorable tunes in football gaming history. [Tecmo]… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. ZTGD
    85
    With arcade-like, simplistic game play and easy controls, Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff gives a nice little alternative to the realism found in that other football title. Now if we could only get an Xbox Live Arcade or PSN version with online leagues life would be grand.
  2. GamePro
    70
    If nostalgia is your game, the original Tecmo Bowl on Virtual Console still remains unbeaten after all these years.
  3. NintendoWorldReport
    70
    For long-time Tecmo Bowl fans looking for a new fix, Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff gets the job done as a solid, if unspectacular, entry in the storied franchise. However, neophytes are unlikely to appreciate its arcade spin on football and retro-gaming appeal.
  4. GameSpy
    70
    For those who fondly remember tapping the "A" button as fast as they could to avoid tackles, this is an enjoyable title, mainly because of the feelings of nostalgia it will inspire.

See all 21 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. PaulC
    10
    Don't listen to reviewers. This is a GREAT football game and a history lesson to all youngsters that Tecmo Bowl was the building foundation for all of video game football today. Tecmo Bowl Kickoff does not mess with the old formula. It plays exactly like it did 17 years ago with some new improvements. HUT, HUT, HUT this game is FUN, FUN, FUN. See you online!!!… Expand
  2. wowboywowboy
    10
    Finally! I've been waiting and I'm glued like I was back in the day. The stylus control is sweet and the gameplay is the way I remember it. Worth the cost of my DS!… Expand
  3. DJT
    9
    Tecmo is back! It's good to see this game on nintendo DS. This game isn't for everyone - the critics have been a little overly harsh on it. It's not madden and it's not the 8-bit game either. You do, however, have beefed up graphics, a good bit of plays to swap out, customization of your players, and just overall easy pick up and play mechanics that is what the DS is all about. If you want something a little more in depth, go play madden like the rest of the football nerds out there. You want old school, fast paced, simple football? Pickup tecmo, your 8-bit childhood deserves it.… Expand
  4. JustinD.
    7
    An old classic brought back to life, the Tecmo Bowl series was insanely popular, back when there was no Madden or 2K Sports to rule the market. And what you got in those Tecmo Bowl games back then, are a spitting image of what you get here, for better or worse. A graphic and engine style that could run on an NES, it's simple gameplay is easy to pick up, but difficult to master. Or, in other words, for a Madden generation, confusing to master. Passing can be done in two ways. First with buttons, where tapping a button will go through your recievers until you land upon one which you want to throw to, and then you'd press the button to throw, which is quite different than having a reciever assigned to a button you could simply press, but for retro sake, the old style remains. Secondly, and slightly easier is to use the DS touch screen. With the touch screen, you can tap your reciever twice to select and throw the ball. This seems like the better of the two, but the touch pad can have some sensitivty and placement issues, many times which resorts in the user tapping directly on the reciever, but it never registering, which leads to a nice sack in your confusion. The running game is simple enough, pick the play and move with the D-Pad. Another option is leading your back by dragging the stylus over the touch pad, but here, D-Pad is easier. One of the huge draws about this game is it's INCREDIBLY in-depth game editor. Obviously this game has no NFL license, and it's players are randomly generated names and teams which on start-up have vague associations with pro teams. But with the editor, you can change absolutely everything about a team, from name, city, colors, uniforms, logo, and playbook. Which goes without saying, players are fully editable as well, along with stats, and with a bit of effort, you can have a replica of the NFL in no time. The replayability comes with the addition of a Season mode, where you simply pick a team and play out a season. It has a simplistic trading mode between teams that can keep things interesting, but for game mode depth, that's the only option. Overall, the game is very easy to find yourself picking up and playing many times throughout a day, and being hard to put down.… Expand

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