Review by: Fastguy

I bought Madden a day before NFL QB club, and it is a better game by far. While EA took out some of the cool silly stuff in the previous. madden games it is still a great game.

Presentation 4/10

My first impression was, I though it looked sort of like a Genesis game, except it had a polygon Texture mapped stadium. FMV is really Grainy too, psx FMV is a lot better. Not really an eye catcher in my opinion.

Graphics 7/10

The graphics are good enough for a football game. Basically sprites on a 3d background. (Hence you only get 6 angles of the players) It gives a illusion of 3d with mised results. the stadiums are represented nicely. If you have played any of the previous versions of Madden '97, then you will be at home with the graphics, which are basically larger and little more detailed players. Oh yeah, everyone wears the #88. The box states that the animations are motion capture. Uhhh....yeah, the animation is a little bit better then its 16 bit counterparts, with the exceptions of the TD dances which are very smooth. There are 6 cam angles to choose from(I think) plus the option of the classic Madden cam. Graphics aren't spectacular, but are very solid.

Sound 5/10

How come John Madden and the refs speak 50 decibals louder then everybody else?? You can barely hear the crowd, Pat Summerall, or the players. John Madden does speak clear, but the sound effects aren't really loud enough to be intense. Madden does get annoying after a while too... It's better sound the NFL QB club though.

Music 7/10

Same old Football music. Not spectacular, not bad.

Load Time 7/10

Takes a while to boot up, but minimal during the game.

Gameplay 8/10

I like playing this game. It is far from realistic(I got Troy Aikman rushing for 275 yards agains the 95 stealers). The players always seem to be running on ice(why is that with all the madden games?). There are those trademark silly things in this version of Madden also. Things like tackling people after they are already down, and getting flagged for it, and taking of after you are already tacked. But it is a lot of fun. The game can be played by novice players very easily. The plays aren't to plentiful that it takes you 3 years to pick one. One complaint, it is to easy to score. Solid gameplay.

Options 8/10

Lot of options, even a salary cap. This is coool. I always wanted to pick up Jim Kelly and make him play special teams. Even has a player creation, league tournement, etc. I like the 8 player option too.

Overall 7/10

Lot's of options, decent graphics, fun gameplay. If you want a football game get this game, because it'll probably be the best one out till Madden'98 comes out. Espicially after playing NFL QB Club and NFL 97.

_Fast Guy

If you have any questions email me at JCT19458@jetson.uh.edu