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Madden NFL 2001
"Overall, Madden NFL 2001 really shines and delivers a superb football videogame experience."
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Developer  EA Sports Game Type  Sports
Distributor  Electronic Arts Review Date  Sept 2000
 
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Review:
 
For all of you armchair quarterbacks out there, get ready to intercept Madden NFL 2001 for the Playstation.

Arguably the greatest American Football title ever created, Madden NFL 2001 brings this sport into your house with a vengeance. Get ready to line up and tackle the crap out of the opposition.

Of course one of the many things that Madden has become famous for is the realistically rendered players. Now a few years after the switch the polygon models, the 2001 release of Madden presents their best effort to date in the graphical department.

Gone are the slowdown problems and "swishy" players moves. Everything runs along quite nicely at a good clip with players varying in size and textures.

The backgrounds are still a bit grainy but I suppose it's the best we can hope for on the aging console. Still, the stadiums are recreated to mimic their real life counterparts and players should have no problems recognizing something familiar in a stadium of their choice.

To go along with good graphics we should expect good sounds in a football game right? Well the bad news is that Madden 2K1 falls kinda flat in this area. The sound effects for tackles, catches, kicks, etc. are certainly all there but there was just not enough background or ambient sounds to create any real atmosphere. Except for a blaring airhorn that drones on incessantly in the background there is little else to hear other than the washed out sounds of a would be crowd. To make matters worse, even the announcers were boring and repetative.

Anyway, back to the good news... The one place where Madden undeniably always shines is in the area of gameplay and 2001 is no exception. Gamers are going to be treated to a feature rich menu selection chock full of options. There are so many things in there that I often got lost or found something new in a section that I was surprised to find it in. Get ready to spend some quality navigating time here.

Getting onto the field I was immediately comfortable with the control scheme and handling of the players. Running the ball was quite realistic and I often found myself punching some nifty holes in the defense for decent gains in yardage. Passing on the other hand is still quite difficult and takes a real knack for getting it right. Don't expect to rack up unrealistic passing yardage in Madden.

The create a player is nice but still hampered with restrictions unless you decide to turn off the salary cap then the sky is the limit! Madden Card Collecting is fantastic and you are rewarded cards for making significant plays whether it be a long pass or simply utilizing all your players effective during passing and running occurrences. For your efforts you will unlock stuff like stadiums, players and game codes.

Features:
 
· Includes hundreds of the greatest NFL players from the past. Also included are all of the All-Madden teams that John has picked since 1984, including the All-Super Bowl and Millenium teams.

· Collect "Madden Cards" in the game by performing certain tasks. You can also trade or risk Madden Cards with friends via memory cards.

· All new two-minute drill feature let up to 10 gamers compete against each other for the high score.

· All new music soundtrack.

· Create-a-team allows Madden fans to create their own team by modifying existing rosters with new and retired players.

· Player models feature high-resolution graphics and player models proportional to their real life counterparts.

· New player specific touchdown celebration dances and taunts bring the game to life.

Options:
 
• Number of Disks: 1
• Number of blocks used on Memory card per save: 1-9
• Maximum number of Players (without a multi-tap): 2
• Multi-tap compatible (max players): Yes (8)
• Link-cable compatible (max players): No
• Split screen multi-player option (max players): Yes (2-4)
• Other accessories: None
• Dual Shock Pad Digital Button compatible: Yes
• Dual Shock Pad Analog Stick compatible: Yes
• Dual Shock Pad Vibration compatible: Yes
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Summary
Tom R   "Besides the disappointing sound effects and "crap Rap" soundtrack, this is arguably the best PSX Madden to date.

There are a plethora of options, menu selections and gameplay modes that are sure to satisfy even the most hardened armchair quarterback.

Add to that the excellent gameplay that Madden football is known for, the incredible graphics and you have yourself one hell of a sweet football title here.that is until Madden 2001 arrives for the PS2.. "
Graphics  19/20
Playability  48/50
Sound  5/10
Lastability  19/20
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