Madden NFL 2000
- January 01, 2000 00:00 AM PST
Forget about all the hype surrounding the competition between EA Sports and 989 Studios regarding the "best" football game around. You'll go with whatever you feel is the right choice for you. If you're a Madden fan, you'll want Madden 2000. If you're a Game Day fan, you'll find fault with this game and expand upon it until you've convinced yourself that Game Day is better. If you're a fence-sitting armchair QB, check out what Madden has to offer first.
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Madden About You
EA updated the rosters, put a new game face on the player control and interaction, and added a ton of new options to clearly make Madden outshine the competition. What they came up with was a bigger, better, badder version of Madden - quite possibly, the best ever.
The graphics are much better than past Maddens, with new and incredibly realistic animations for the player models, with some of the coolest celebratory moves, spin and jukes, and hardest drag-down, turf-in-the-face tackles ever seen. Almost perfect, except for the fact that Madden 2000 for the Nintendo 64 looks much better.
The sound is All Madden, all the time. It gets annoying when you hear two or three of the same Maddenisms creep into each set of plays, and extremely frustrating when you're losing and John states the obvious. As for controls, you won't find a more intuitive or easier set of controls to learn. There's even an extremely helpful practice mode that shows you how to run routes, pass better, and fake out defenses like a pro.
Options Bonanza
New to this season is Madden Challenge, a set of attainable goals and a trivia test that allows you to unlock codes for different teams. The goals are clearly defined - pass for more than thirty yards in one play, rush for a certain number of yards, etc. You must complete all goals and answer some 200 trivia questions correctly to get through the Madden challenge.
Another new feature is the Situational Game mode. In this mode, you have to play classic matchups like the 1972 Dolphins against the 1972 Raiders. The game will place you smack dab in the middle of the turmoil, and you have to successfully complete your goal (like 4th and Inches, no time on the clock, ten yards from the goal line) to unlock more teams.
Madden Rules
But a sideline full of options won't help a game that plays poorly, and thank Vince Lombardi that Madden comes equipped with some of the best and most intuitive game play around. You have to think in Madden 2000 - simply picking plays and throwing the ball works in Blitz, but not here. Well-conceived playbooks and tight controls ensure a game that appeals to hardcore football gamers, yet leaves room for the semi-experienced gamer to learn.
Semi-experienced, not novice, mind you. Novice players will find that the history behind Madden is apparent in its simulation-heavy interface, even though the developers have included one-touch play-calling. If you've never picked a Madden up before, this is not the one that will warm its way into your heart. However, if you like your football tough and real, you won't find a better game in town.
