Madden NFL 2001 Review

I have played quite a lot of football games in my life. I am not a hardcore football fan, nor do I play Madden as if no other game matters. But my first football game I ever played was Tecmo Bowl, I believe thats what it was called. That's quite a long time back. Ever since then, I have rented many football games, so I think I have the experience needed to review this game.

Gameplay:
There is no game out now that matches the gameplay of Madden 2001,the other game for the Playstation 2 is NFL Gameday 2001, which is a bad joke that came out of 989 Sports. It would've been funny if they gave Gameday for free, but I'am still waiting for the real version. Anyways, back to Madden, It's AI and graphics are not matched by any other game in the world. There are so many different ways to tackle that it's always fun to watch what the next tackle will be. The plays are awesome, and the balance is perfect. As in any other football game, there are ways to fool the AI and make it look stupid, and this game is no different. But it's the ultimate Holy Grail of Football games for now.

Graphics:
The graphics are the best there is now for a football game, I have only one complaint, that is that the players face are too... what's the word... weird? I mean, they look so happy all the time, I don't know how to explain it. When I zoom in on the replays and look at the quarterbacks just as they pass the ball or are sacked, he looks so happy, so do the players who tackle, they look so happy when they're in the air. It's just too creepy for me.

Modes:
There are many modes in this game. There's the standard modes that you've come to know and love, and there's also a Franchise mode that is awesome. Playing season after season after season of games and making your own team rise as the monarchs of football for several years and fall as the worst teams. It is simply amazing to do this.

Teams:
The teams are well-balanced and statistically, they seem on par to how the teams play. The great teams are as great as they should be, the bad teams are as bad as they should be. The players are accurate, but the Madden Team seems to be incomplete, with I think more than a couple no-name players who are identified as No. 80, etc, by their number. Did the great John Madden finally forget to pick some players?

Extras:
There are plenty of extras in this game, the chief being the Madden cards. They are fun to collect, and there are some rare and bonus cheat cards that are simply awesome. 100 percent passing for an quarter, field goals from anywhere, etc. It's just fun!

Replayability:
The replayability is infinite. It's the most perfect football game to date, so to not get it is a crime. There are so many teams to experiment on, so many new challenges, so much fun. It's even more fun with another player, not even Madden's great AI comes close to a humanan's intelligence.

Overall:
Overall, if you want football, and online play doesn't make such a big difference to you, get Madden, but if it is all the difference in the world to you, get NFL2K1. But this is the best single player game you can get for any system.

This review was added on 7th February 2001 by nGaming user Jay_Davis.