Madden 64
Reviewed by Sung Yu
I was very skeptical about Madden 64 knowing that NFL QBC was coming out
a few days later, but I rushed to my local Toys-R-Us to pick up a copy of
Extreme-G and wound up buying Madden instead. Being a college student there
are tons of people constantly over at my apartment. Everyone that comes over
loves sports games. Gameday 98 and NBA live 97 almost literally melted
along with my PSX due to the amount playing they had gone through. As soon as
I brought Madden home my roommate and I played 2 quick games to test it out.
After we played, my roommate was hooked and chucked his plans for the
evening to stay home and play more Madden. None of us were ever impressed
with past Madden games. (We own almost every system created including the
Super NES and Genesis.) However Madden 64 impressed me in many ways. Let
me start out by talking about Graphics, Sound, Gameplay, and ending it with
FunFactor.
Graphics: The graphics in Madden 64 are above average. Compared to
Gameday there is a difference. The animation seems much smoother. When
players celebrate in the endzone it cool to watch. The instant replays are
nicely done along with the different camera angles. The only complaint I
have is I wish they could have made more of a top view overhead angle
where you could see the entire field of players. The game seems to run
fast. My roommate was complaining how it was difficult to get off
passes at first because of the speed of the game (i.e. before you got
sacked) Overall rating B+
Sound: The sound in Madden 64 aside from Pat Summerall's
commentary is my major complaint about the game. The crowd sounds
aren't that loud and some of the sound affects are less than desirable.
After getting used to Gameday's Loud music pumping on my surround
sound, Madden's music sounded wimpy. Overall rating C
Gameplay: This is where Madden 64 shines. Forget about
scoring 80 or 90 points because it's not going to happen. This game
is very realistic. The AI in the game is the best I've ever seen.
There are a lot of fancy moves to help you if you master them, but
don't think about running the ball 40 yards every time. The biggest
complaint I got from people about playing me in Gameday was I had
mastered the stiff arm and no one would be able to stop my running
game. This is not the case in Madden. There are stiff arms, spin
moves, and hurdles, but it's very lifelike. The game presents a
challenge, and there seems to be a lot to learn about it. Passing
is also realistic. I couldn't believe how many times my guys were
being intercepted because I through into double coverage. This is
what a football sim should be like. If you're looking to score a 100
points then go to your local arcade and play NFL Blitz or something.
Overall rating A
Fun Factor: This weekend I'm inviting a ton of guys to come
over to play in a Madden tournament. With four player support and
rumble pak support, this game is going to be tons of fun. Isn't that
what games are all about? Just a few weeks ago we stayed up until
4AM playing Super Tetris. Madden 64 is a fun football game, and I feel
that when it's all said and done, the game will be played until it dies.
Overall rating B+
Overall Rating B+ or 88 out of 100