Madden NFL 99

"This is THE football game for the playstation"

Ok, I've been a fan of the John Madden football games since the first one came out way back in the days of the genesis. However, I'll be the first to admit that the Gameday series was better than the Madden series in '96-'98. However this is not the case this year. I had reserved a copy of Gameday 99 long before it hit shelves. I brought it home and was not impressed. It was very easy to learn, but it wasn't very realistic as far as i'm concerned. The commentary was just plain annoying. I brought it back that same day, and returned it for a copy of Madden'99. I was expecting something even worse than Gameday. Instead, I was Blown away!

Gameplay:

Ok, if you're looking for realism, this is definately your game. Everything, down to the tackeling looks very good. The graphics are everybit equal to Gameday99. As far as controls, well, it takes awhile. Every button has a function, so it will take awhile to get used to. Once you have the hang of the controls, it's hard to argue that this is the pest Football game for the PSX. As far as sound, what can I say? It sounds like a football game. The crowd gets into the game. It has the helmate smashing helmate sounds that it should. And yes, Madden does give his annoying comments between plays (what else is new). You can create a full length season with all the different all-time teams from the past. This is a cool feature if you're sick of playing the normal 30 teams.

Replay Value

Great!!! That's the best way to describe it. I've found that sports games give the best replay value anyway, but with the Franchise mode that is put in the game, It sets the standard for all football games in the future. In Franchise mode, you play through a season just like you normally would, however at the conclusion of the first season, things get interesting. It starts with contarct negotiations. You gotta resighn your free agents, or get rid of them. Next, you gotta sign bid on released free agents. Then is the draft. This can continue for up to 15 seasons. Players get injured, players retire. It's not easy to keep a dynasty going, but it's a lot of fun to try. This game is excellant. I give it a 9!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99