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I can remember when there was just "Madden Football" for the Sega Genesis. Well, all games have advanced hundreds of times over in terms of quality since then. On top of that, we get to see the series take it's first leap into the 128-bit era, on the recently released Play Station 2 console. I don't buy every football game that comes out. For me, getting the latest sports game on a new console that has new features and graphics are more important than getting an updated schedule. Seeing Madden 2001 at E3 for a few minutes didn't convince me that it was any better than Sega's NFL2k1, but, a few minutes is not nearly enough time to evaluate any game. Since I don't get every Madden game that is ever released, I can only compare it to Madden 98 on the PS1, and NFL2K on the Dreamcast. The buttons and controls are practically identical to previous Madden games on the original PS1 console (the controller is the same). So for those of you that have played older Madden games, you will be able to pick up the game right away and play like a veteran. The controls are only a slight variation of the Dreamcast game, with a few functions residing on different buttons. Either way, the game is easy to pick up. It's all in the details. While at E3, I didn't really see too much of a difference between this game and NFL2k. I actually thought the football players looked a little funny because the Madden players were too "round" looking. Looking back, it is rather funny, because now I realize I was used to seeing football players with square legs and arms. It is only after you play Madden 2001 for a bit that you realize it has a much higher polygon count than the Sega counterpart. The animations of the players spinning, tackling, falling, pushing are all far superior than anything any other game has to offer. I was blown away when NFL2k first came out. The difference is not as big when comparing older games with NFL2k, as NFL2K is to Madden 2001 but it is notably better. Some of my criticism is with the way the filed and stadium look. Physically they are fine, but they are not anti-alaised (like the Dreamcast), and the filed looks jaggy 60 yards down field. With the power the PS2 has, I was hoping everything would be smooth. This is a subtle complaint mind you. The game is fairly challenging. I like to play with strong teams, and play against strong teams on normal difficulty. I usually win, on average by around 10 points, but the game does put up a fair fight. There are many times where my offense doesn't click and I'll go 3 and out. Defense is very important too. Knowing when to Blitz, cover deep, stop the run, etc is very handy, and can often be the reason you win games. On occasion, the game will lay down the cheddar, and catch miracle balls when two defenders cover their receiver tightly. I have been tempted to throw my controller through my window at times because of late comebacks by the computer, complete with successful onside kicks (near impossible for me to pull off), but, overall, the game is pretty rock solid and fair. Extra goodies like Madden challenges during the game make things more interesting. Running 100+ yards in a game, throwing to 7 different receivers, sacking the QB, etc all give you "Madden Challenge points" which can be used to trade players, buy player cards and get special plays. The one feature this game lacks that the Sega fans can be proud of is that there is no modem support. This will be obvious to most of you because the modem isn't available yet for the PS2, but the Dreamcast owners are playing their NFL2K1 right now over their modems, so this could be seen as a weakness in Madden 2001. Minus the modem support, Madden 2001 is superior in every way. This may have happened because they used NFL2K as the basis for designing Madden 2001. There are many similarities, but perhaps because of better hardware and longer development time, Madden 2001 is the better game, and for the record books, the best football game of all time. It's hard to go wrong with such great competition out there, but if you like football, you'll be in gaming heaven with Madden 2001! reviewed by Todd Alexander |
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Madden 2001 for the Play Station 2 system |
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1 or 2 Players, supports the dual shock control and analog capable |
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Up to 8 players can play via multitap |
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memory card saves = 143k - 1MB. Save preferences, season, and "Madden challenges" cards |
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Madden 2001 Screen Shots |
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