ABC Monday Night Football

""Whoa Nellie!" a decent Non-Madden football game."

Introduction: Monday Night Football is a game developed by Data East that has some voice samples from former MNF commentator Frank Gifford in it. The game doesn't have a NFL license, but it manages to get the cities and the colors of the teams of 1993 correct. Monday Night Football has a neat Regular Season feature, in which you can play 16 teams.

Game play: 6. Despite the fact that MNF only varies the same field slightly and randomly, this is fun game to play. You play for five minutes a quarter (which you cannot change) for four quarters. The game also has a neat Power Play feature that you can use once each half for both Run and Pass. Using that is a lot of fun, but the only way to beat the CPU in that is to use a controller with Turbo. Occasionally, you will gain a lot of yardage on a play, and if you don't make it for a touchdown,Frank will say it's a great play, and you get to see a replay.

Audio: 3. The sounds are not that varied. You can hear the small crowd cheer or boo, and Gifford only supplies a small amount of sound bytes, such as ''Whoa, Nellie'' when the player runs the ball for a long touchdown. The opening music is the only music worth talking about here.

Graphics: 5. Most of the game is done like the SNES John Madden Football games, with an overhead view. Only in the
Power Play sequences do you see how great SNES graphics can be. However, the coloration of the different teams is done excellantly, and only a few times do you feel that you cannot distinguish between your team and the other team. I do admit that I like how the red ABC helmet clashes with the blue Data East helmet. That is a nice touch from the television version. There are also nice little graphics of when teams clinch their divisions.

Control: 6. It is very easy to figure out how to pass, and how to follow a particular play, which gives this game an advantage over other football games on the SNES. Kicking and punting are also easy to figure out, which I loved about this game. And even if you don't follow the exact play, you can still gain yardage, which is always a good thing.

Final Recommendation: If you like football, you will be pleased with how well this game lets you play it. The computer AI is not too smart, so you can be a Sports newbie and enjoy this game.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 03/03/03, Updated 03/03/03