Football Heroes is a pleasant little throwback to the arcade-style football games that thrived before Madden came along. Its combination of on-screen combat, powerful upgrades and simple touch-screen gameplay make it an ideal fit for those who don't want realism.
The Good
Football Heroes benefits from a user-friendly control scheme for running, passing and defensive plays. It also throws in a few wild moves, such as over-the-top tackles, special attacks (this is one of the few opportunities you get to "ground slam" an entire defense) and plenty of punch combos. It's arcade style fun at its best.
The free-to-play system is just right, not gouging you for content. You can unlock new boosts, teams, arenas and decks as you go along using in-game coins, but you earn a sufficient amount during each game that you'll barely need to dig into your wallet. That's a good thing.
The Bad
Although Football Heroes comes with plenty of run, pass and defense plays to choose from, it's hardly an authentic recreation of the sport. Each play is pretty much "get to the end of the field and beat up anyone in your way," and it remains like that throughout. If you're looking for something more in-depth, look elsewhere.
While the presentation has cartoonish appeal, it doesn't change much over the course of the game. Players and fields don't change that much, and the same music and sound effects are heard throughout. We didn't expect licensed teams or anything, but some changes would've been nice.
Finally, the A.I. can be incredibly easy at times. You can try your luck with multiplayer, but it worked sporadically at best during our matches.
The Verdict
While Football Heroes is hardly the next NFL Blitz, it is a fun little football romp to play when taking a break from Madden. It's worth a trip to the end zone.
