Full Review: Everything is in this game except for a can of whoop-ass!
No console system is complete without an incarnation of the John Madden football series from Electronic Arts. Well, the PS2 was inaugurated quickly when Madden 2001 was available last fall. Some people might worry about an award winning franchise being released alongside a new piece of hardware; perhaps concerned with the development team not being acclimated to the architecture of the new system. Well, with Madden 2001 there is nothing to worry about.
The first thing that you notice about Madden 2001 is just how sharp the game looks. The attention to detail paid to the graphics, models, and animation is simply astounding. At first glance, the game might even be able to pass itself off as Monday Night Football. If you look a little closer though, you will notice that things are looking just a little bit too crisp. Other than looking too crisp, this game leaves little to be visually desired. Other than the occasional incredible catch (ball leaping six inches to the left to meet the player's hand), the animation and collision are right on target, with every cut and spin looking just like it was Jerry Rice himself on the screen.
If the visuals aren't enough for you, everything that happens on screen is perfectly complemented aurally. Every hit sounds like it actually included a little bit of real bone crunching, and can actually cause the squeamish to squirm. To help flesh out the gaming experience, play-by-play commentary has been added in, featuring the voice of the great John Madden himself. While, in general, the commentary is well done, its constant repetition keeps the game's audio score from being perfect.
Even though this game looks and sounds great, everyone knows that a game is really built upon how it plays. Madden 2001 doesn't disappoint in this department either, in fact, this is where the game really shines. The controls are tight, intuitive, and offer an extraordinary number of options to the player. You are able to make your player juke, spin, straight-arm, jump, and dive, all in the name of forward yardage. In addition to controlling well, the game has dozens of features and options to satisfy even the most die-hard football fan. Each team has their own customized playbook, with the option available to design your own. You have several play modes to choose between, from exhibition to franchise, in which the game keeps running statistics all season long. Perhaps the one thing you can't do that you'd want to do is be able to print out statistical reports, which is a PS2 limitation, not a game problem. I suppose though, that every rose must have its thorn, and in Madden's case, it is in the lack of on-line play. That is the only thing that Sega's masterpiece NFL2K1 has on this title.
