Wild Card Football reintroduces a fun-packed NFL action back to the streets.
The National Football League has amassed a massive following over the years, making it one of the most popular sports in the world. On the other hand, NFL games have a respectable record of success despite sports game developers constantly raising the bar on realism. John Madden Football, Legend Bowl, NFL Street, Blitz: The League, and the long-running RealSports Football series (which debuted in 1982) are just a few examples of the many football video games that have come before the ever-consistent Madden NFL Series.
And we’ve just entered the new 2023 NFL season, and when we’re not watching it, we love to play some. No, we’re not talking about Madden NFL 24, but something just as good, if not better. An arcade-style addition to American Football gaming called Wild Card Football. If you’ve ever had an ideal dream team, you’ve come to the right place, as this game will allow you to create your perfect team, showcase it on the gridiron, and then some. But we’ll come to that later.
But other than that, what else makes Wild Card Football a must-play? Well, stick around and find out. Let’s start by discussing the key feature that symbolises Wild Card Football, which is, of course, the wildcards – hence the name. You have over 150 unique wildcards containing special moves to give your game an advantage over the opponent, boost your stats, and generally take your matches to the next level, even if it means breaking the rules to win.
Each team will have four wild cards randomly assigned from a deck. There are wild cards for both offensive and defensive tactics. Ten bars are located at the bottom of your HUD – those are your energy points, and you’ll have a maximum of 10 points at the bottom. Energy costs are assigned to all wild cards, and each requires a certain number of points to activate the special. For example, the turtle’s speed will use up three of your energy points. And you’re given energy points from the start of every down.
There are only three wild card types: Specials (yellow-colored cards), Modifiers (green coloured cards), and Rulebreakers (pink coloured cards). Specials are actions that are classed as ‘over the top’. Some of these cards can be automatically activated. While the rest, you must activate them manually. You’ll know when to activate them manually when you see a hand pressing on a button icon.
Modifiers are the ones that’ll impact the stats of a certain position or the team. They’ll be an icon informing you of who will be affected. Let’s say you see an icon of three players and the ‘QB’ acronym; that means the card will affect the quarterbacks.
And the rulebreakers are pretty much self-explanatory. Allowing you to bend the rules to add insult to injury. When you see a clock icon, it’ll be activated on the next screen. Things get trickier when you have a short time to select your wild cards. Thankfully, this specific timer doesn’t affect the clock in your games.
Some wild cards can counter plays or, even better, stop them altogether. You can even reduce your opponent’s stats whilst improving yours. Also, you can view a description of a wild card, so you know what you’re dealing with. You could choose the likes of the ‘stop run ban’ rulebreaker wild card, and you can disable your opponent’s ability to choose run stop plays on the next down. Or the super speed + modifier wild card that’ll boost the speed of your players by a whopping 80%.
As mentioned, Wild Card Football has nostalgic arcade-style gameplay but with urban street settings. And to add to that, you have current and former real-life NFL ballers that almost look like bobblehead toys delivering bone-crunching mayhem from start to finish. It hurts just looking at them, but at the same time, we love to see them. And to top it off, the likes of celebrations you see on TV after scoring touchdowns and the ball exploding after succeeding a field goal. Seriously, what’s not to love?
And speaking of touchdowns, if you choose to only score a conversion point, the mechanic is really simple. There is a large blue arrow that you can move with the arrow to point in the direction of your kick. And to dictate the power of the kick, all you have to do is press X and X again to stop the bar when you please. Keep in mind that the wind can impact the direction of a kick, which is why there’s another arrow that displays the strength and direction of the wind to help you direct your kicks properly.
After each down, you’re given a series of offensive or defensive plays to select. Passing, tackles, the ever-loving stiff arm, and more hyperbolic animations give you an intense and at the same time, cartoonish NFL experience. As well as performing ‘jukes’ that feature four different ways the ball carrier can evade opponents, albeit it does consume stamina. And, of course, if you’re not a very strategic player, you’ll have suggested plays, just like you’d see in the likes of Madden games. You’ll see a button to press during certain plays in quick-time events.
These are called handoffs. You’ll see highlighted buttons, and you must click them on time. This is where your reaction timing is tested. If you click the required button quickly, it’ll boost your speed and make it harder for the opponent to tackle you.
Now for Wild Card Football’s content. An exhibition is more for you to chill with the CPU or friends, either locally or online. Then we have arguably the best feature in Wild Card Football, which is the single-player career season mode, where you aim to reach the top.
Whether it’s on local or crossplay multiplayer, you’ll do everything you can to claim your crown as king. On top of that, regularly check up on your standings for stats and schedule to know who’s next on your hit list. As well as getting new immersive challenges, you’ll be getting daily challenges to complete.
Remember when I mentioned the dream team? Yes, you’re in total control of creating your dream team of seven players. That’s right, choose from hundreds of players, build your elite lineup, and complete several fun challenges. As well as unlocking rewards such as new players and much more.
Take your dream team and face other players around the world in Quick and League games and complete challenges while you’re on tour. Plus, open packs, trade cards, manage player cards, vanities, logos, and wild cards, and trade them for tickets. This is essentially Wild Card Football’s Ultimate Team mode, and it’s very impressive. Although the matchmaking is pretty slow, and you’ll have to wait some time to get into just one game.
If you’re wondering about customization, Wild Card Football allows you to do that and all that jazz. Uniforms, logos, colours, and more for you to modify and give your dream team your ideal style. You can even select your stadium to claim as your home and create wild card decks and playbooks that you’ll use on the field.
Wild Card Football is a blast from the past, and it’s great to take a break from a realistic simulation like Madden and simply enjoy an old-school arcade sporting title with a unique wild card system. Whether playing solo or with others, you’re guaranteed an incredibly fun-packed, content-compelling American footballing experience with some of your favourite NFL ballers. And for more incentive, you’ll love how much the game costs.
