The one thing I found interesting about the graphics in NFL Quarterback Club 2002 was the fact that they contrasted between the QB Challenge and an actual game. With the QB Challenge, player models looked great because they were smoothed over with a lot details. The backdrop for the Challenge looked just as realistic, except for the 2-Dimensional crowd. However, since you barely saw them anyways, that can be overlooked.

When you step onto the actual playing field, though, it's like night and day between the two. Those realistic player models are replaced with over-muscled athletes. The animations look OK, but it's the fact that I think they look like robots that definitely plays a part in the lesser graphics. Backdrop wise, the gorgeous colors used to depict the Hawaiian Islands in the QB Challenge are instead reverted into bland colors, with no imagination for an exciting stadium setting.

The commentary for QB Club hit the mark, sometimes. When the announcers were watching the same game I was playing, I found them to be witty and fun to listen to. That wasn't always the case, as they sometimes got off track. The sound effects were fairly standard, with the roar of the crowd and the hard-hitting tackles on every play. I feel more could have done with the sounds, maybe some trash talking or something, but all in all, it wasn't bad. It just wasn't great.

NFL Quarterback Club 2002 is just the latest version of a series that, to this date, still is the only game to have the exclusive QB Challenge. If you've never seen the actual event during the off-season on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, eight quarterbacks will compete through four events to try and win up to 125,000 dollars. The events range from Speed & Mobility, the Accuracy Event, Long Distance Throw, and Read & Recognition. It may take some time to get the feel for a couple of these events, but the gameplay will keep you coming back for more. Plus, you can take on seven of your buddies if you so desire, which can definitely lead to some serious bragging rights. By the way, if you happen to break some records along the way in these events, you'll unlock QB greats like Marino, Young, and Elway. The only bad thing I found with this mode was if I broke a record, it would not be saved over to the next game. Why not have something to shoot for later on?

Of course, no one is going to pay 50 bucks to play one game mode with four quick events. That is why QB Club 2K2 has all the other standard modes. You can go through the Practice mode, Exhibition, Simulation, Season, and Playoffs. The Practice mode lets you do just that, practice. The Exhibition and Simulation are similar, with only one game being played against a friend or the computer. The difference is that Simulation allows you to set up any scenario you want, from the yard you are on, to the time remaining on the clock. The Season mode lets you play from the Preseason through the Pro Bowl. Following the Pro Bowl, you can continue on to following seasons. This is the most unrealistic mode however, because there is no salary cap, so you can stockpile your team, and there is no drafting rookies or retiring veterans. The Playoffs mode lets you take a team through just the playoffs to the Super Bowl. You can also Create-a-Player, who can be used in both the game itself and the QB Challenge.

Gaming wise, I wasn't impressed with what was offered. An audible cannot be saved, so you must redo that every time you turn on the game. I found it a little difficult to run the ball, but passing seemed to be fairly easy to learn. However, the gameplay just does not match up to perennial favorites like the Madden series or Sega's NFL series. Truthfully, this series gets overlooked each year because of the lackluster gameplay.

The difficulty for NFL QB Club 2002 is in three degrees: Rookie, Pro, and All-Pro. Things got harder by the level, but I still didn't feel challenged at times, even at the All-Pro level. Things would be better if you could change variables at times, like how well your players catch the ball, or an improved AI on defense. Little things like that will take a game much further than imaginable.

Now that Nintendo has created the GameCube, Nintendo fans will have to get used to the loading time. Don't worry, things don't take long at all in QB Club. Also, I felt completely at home with the controller setting. Whether it is the QB Challenge or the game itself, you shouldn't have any problem learning the button configuration. Besides not saving records or audibles, the memory card will not be bogged down either, so that's good as well.

Basically, NFL QB Club 2002 is a decent game, but not one I would recommend buying. I would first go out and rent it, because I don't think a great QB Club mode, along with a lesser game, is worth the 50 bucks.