Walter Payton Football
System: SMS
Release Date: April 1989
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Sports
Sega really needed to get a football game to compete with the several available for the NES. Their response to the amazing Tecmo Bowl came in the form of Walter Payton Football. They put their money in on the endorsement. I think it worked with Reggie Jackson, but how will Sweetness fare? You have a choice of playing a Monday Night Game, which is the exhibition, or Road to the Super Bowl, which is the playoffs. Then you can choose your team and it’s off to the field.
On offense, you have three pages of plays to choose from. There is a good mixture of passing and running plays. My first offense play was the Off Tackle running play. My first issue is that the player sprites on the line of scrimmage tend to disappear, meaning I get tackled without even realizing the opposing line was free. So, I give the Corner passing play a shot. Don’t accidentally press Button 2 when you are the QB, you’ll dive and lose a ton of yards. You pass with Button 1 and one of the directions. You have four receivers and target them with the directional pad.
Once you pass, you change control to the receiver, which takes some time to get used to. It took me nearly halftime to complete a pass! There are no penalties present, which means the computer can mug you before a pass gets to you. I gave up a couple interceptions in this manner, which drove me nuts. I leaned more heavily on the ground game. The Sweep was a particularly good go to play for a few yards.
Kickoffs, punts, and field goal attempts allow you to set a slice, hook, or straight kick. Then there are two meters for power and spin. I think the solid areas are where you want to aim. On defense, you can prepare for the run by attacking either the strong side or weak side, unless you’re on the goal line. When it comes to defending the pass, you can set up a Zone, which ended up being my main pass coverage. You can defend against the long ball with Prevent, which the computer tends to use a lot. Or the Blitz, which charges the QB. I mainly stuck with the strong side defense and beat up on the computer in the wildcard round. Detroit, however, was unable to win another playoff game and my time here ended.
Graphics: 1.5
There’s too much flickering on the field. The play selection screen and the referee are fine.
Sound: 1.0
The music and sound effects are not pleasant.
Gameplay: 2.0
The lack of penalties really knocks this rating down. Passing is difficult to get the hang of and you’re bound to accidentally dive as the QB.
Difficulty: 2.0
The game didn’t seem too hard, with some exploits showing up during gameplay. Getting mugged for an interception is cheap.
Fun Factor: 1.0
Well, at least Reggie Jackson Baseball was fun. This would serve as a playable football game, but I don’t think it would hold attention for too long.
Overall Grade: 1.5
Walter Payton Football earns a C-. It was 3rd and long and the development team came up short. Give it a shot, but don’t expect much.