Nerjyzed Game Studios' BCFX

By: Eric M. Martin

Wednesday May 28, 2008

The ups and downs of the first, self-published title to come out of Nerjyzed Game Studios in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
All of you faithful readers know that Static Multimedia is all for the independent game developer. If you don’t believe us, ask Gamecock Media Group! But today, we’re not focusing on that pile of awesome. No, today our hats are off to Nerjyzed Game Studios for completing their first, self-published title. No matter what else, congratulations on a presentable product. That’s a feat in today’s gaming industry and something that should be applauded on merit alone. In this article, we are taking a look at BCFX: Black College Football - The Xperience.

Thirty plus teams from the various HBCU organizations are showcased in this college football extravaganza released for the PC. Each team also has a selectable variety of playbook groupings, each based around their teams’ playing style. In short, there is certainly no lack of customizable playbook options, which is great for the hardcore football enthusiast. For a more novice sports player, BCFX thoughtfully adds something known as Freshman Mode Playpicking, which is a condensed playbook, offering basic plays and variations without getting into severe minutia. In the end, the extensive playbook options are a thoughtful touch, but may lead to many delay of game penalties if you’re not careful.

At some point, the options become overbearing. Whether you’re on offense or defense, you have many audible options and the choice to change around line and player positions. This is clearly a case of “better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.” I’m sure the developers meant well, but there is not enough time to carefully plan out your play short of pausing the game. If you’re by yourself, that’s fine. If you’re playing against another warm body, you may end up incurring their impatience.

Various play modes are at your disposal. Among the more common are Standard Mode and Practice Mode, wherein you can practice your chosen playbook over and over until you get it right. Classics Mode is geared more toward the game’s personal subject matter, in which you have the chance to play out the various team rivalries found within the HBCU. However, the most intriguing (and genius) mode put in place is the option of Interactive Halftime. Choose your difficulty and in rhythm game fashion, make sure to keep your status bar in the green as you hit the buttons that pass by in time. Completing Interactive Halftime successfully will give some of your players brief boosts, allowing them to outperform your opponents.

Even with all of the enticement, there are some problems with the game itself. In short, it’s still got a few bugs. Granted, some of them are fixable with the aid of the website, www.bcfxgame.com, which offers a user-friendly base of topics. Regardless, some of the errors have a chance of rearing their head every now and then. All in all, they’re pretty minor, but need to be corrected if further production of the game should continue. Some of the more common instances are the inability to snap the ball, resulting in a delay of game penalty. In some very rare cases, the program will perform the options for a pass play, even when you’ve selected a run. Others are not as game specific, such as the commentators verbally announcing the wrong team during a fumble recovery or a penalty.

The more blaring error results in the intermittent cutting in and out of the sound file during the Interactive Halftime segment. Noting that BCFX has made use of Bink Video, a format notorious for sound drops and video choppiness, the core of the mystery is quickly resolved. Truly, if possible, Bink Video is something to be avoided altogether in future Nerjyzed releases. Secondly, the voice bites are not only repetitive, but seem to be tagged on in an effort to polish off another factor in a contemporary sports title. One of the “attractive” features of color commentary lies in its seemingly unrepeatable character. This is something that BCFX sadly lacks, along with the large need for a Tournament Mode.

Reiterated; all things considered, this is Nerjyzed Game Studios’ FIRST title. Not everyone will make a masterpiece right out of the gate, so all of the errors noted should not be considered in an effort to write off Nerjyzed before they’ve had a chance to show us what they can really do. There is an obvious commitment to making working titles for the gaming community. What remains to be seen is what genres Nerjyzed is willing to visit. If they continue to use Unreal technology, perhaps they may be considering a first-person shooter next. That, of course, is unknown. If you want to check out any upates on their games, please visit http://www.nerjyzed.com.