Madden NFL 99
Developer - EA Sports
Publisher - Electronic Arts
Players - 1-8 (via Multi-tap)
Extras - Memory card, Multi tap, Dual shock
The bit on the box
"Madden NFL 99 - Football, American
style! New one button mode - get into the game quicker and easier. New
arcade mode - bigger hits, fewer rules, more fun. New motion-captured NFL
animations - pump fakes, TD celebrations, sideline grabs. New franchise
mode - performance determines if you keep your job or get sacked! New Team-specific
and custom playbooks. More Madden - new commentary and enhanced AI. Draft,
trade, create, sign and release players. Over 120 NFL teams - past and
present! 31 Rendered NFL stadiums in 3D."
Graphics
Madden 99 sees the introduction of polygon graphics
for the first time in the series. Past Maddens have used sprite based engines,
and the upgrade to 3D is most welcome, as not only the look of the players
has been improved, but also the level of motion captured animation looks
far superior to it's many predecessors. While the overall look of Madden
is now much more detailed and sharper, the default camera angle appears
to have been set too close to the action (almost as if EA are trying to
show off the new cosmetics), thankfully however the camera angles can be
changed via the options menu to suit whichever view the player may prefer.
The new tackle animations this year are varied from head spears to around
the ankle tackles, and sometimes the tackled player will put in an effort
to struggle forward for extra yardage, which shows the attention to detail
EA put into the game.
Sounds
As with many sports games of late (not including soccer
games) the commentary in Madden 99 leaves much to be desired. Pat
Summerall shows no excitement at good plays, and John Madden, while more
interesting overall, just doesn't say that much, and both tend to get very
repetitve after a small while. The sound effects on the other hand are
superb, sampled from real tackles and events. There were occasions I actually
cringed when a heavy tackle was made, the crunch sounding both realistic
and damaging. The crowd sound is the normal noise we have come to associate
with in sporting titles, but disappointingly it doesn't seem to react to
big plays, only increasing in tempo on a third down or when the offensive
team is close to the opposition's endzone.
Gameplay
To date, I would say that Madden 99 has by far
the best defensive AI of any sports game. The CPU appears to learn your
strategies, and there are no money plays with the pre-set playbooks. Players
can create their own playbooks however, which is a great feature if you
can't find an existing one to suit your style of play. The game itself
plays wonderfully, using the classic Madden passing system, although I
did find rushing plays to be more effective overall, and the experience
is now fully dual shocked. The main menus and play calling menus are easy
to use and make excellent use of the buttons on the PlayStation controller,
and a good learning curve and three varying difficulty levels ensure the
game is easy to learn but difficult to master.
I feel a verdict coming on
At first I felt it difficult to get into Madden 99,
but some perseverence and practice (with the excellent training feature)
and this game becomes very addictive. There are plenty of features to keep
you busy, with Season, Franchise, and even Fantasy Draft modes. What I
found great as a former football player was the fact that all the plays
and strategies work as they should, and the defensive AI forces the player
to vary tactics and ideas. Madden 99 is less arcade-like than some
games out there, but if it is a football simulation that you are after,
then look no further. There is still room for improvement (isn't there
always?) but at this stage EA appear to have regained the quality of workmanship
that was missing in their games last year. One, two, three, break!
Review by D.R.T.Barrett
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