Madden NFL 2000
Score: 90% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: EA Games Developer: EA Sports Media: CD/1 Players: 1 - 8 Genre: Sports (Football)/ Online
Graphics & Sound: As usual, leave it to EA Sports and your favorite football funny man to make a bigger and badder football game year after year. Madden NFL 2000 touts some of the best graphics for a PC football game to date. Characters are fairly large and are now more proportionate to the actual size and positions of actual players (something that really had plagued Maddens in the past). Skin tones and muscle definitions are well noticeable, as well as great shading on the uniforms to give them their creases and folds. The stadium models are well done and true to their real world counterparts. Little to no pixelation on hash marks, and great new character animations like knocking off player helmets and seeing that wonderful “Oh, my momma is gonna feel this one” look on the players face. Sound is well done with all the grunts and yells of the big trench game, as well as your usual play by play calling by the man himself, John Madden and Pat Summerall, in Dolby Surround no less.
Gameplay: Madden 2000 is incredibly smooth. I really expected some slowdown with the new modifications, but leave it to EA Sports to prove me wrong (for the few times that I am). The running game is vastly improved thanks to new A.I. on the offensive and defensive lines, which allows for better or rather true to life match-ups. Finally, the holes are where they are supposed to be, and the backs are as tough or as soft as they are in real life. Some other nice added features of Madden 2000 are a cool “situation creator” that can mimic anything your little heart may desire. There are now breakable wrap tackles, nicely animated diving tackles, and new “break it on down” touchdown celebrations. Finally, a new online challenge mode for you internet junkies. (Warning: Online gameplay will only be available through August 31, 2000) Go figure.
Difficulty: Madden NFL 2000 is fairly more realistic than some of the past versions. The run game is greatly improved, and pass coverage lasts its usual five to ten seconds; then, of course, the route is generally run. The bulk of the difficulty still lies in the team match-ups, yet upsets are neither impossible nor improbable. You have the capability of choosing your starting difficulty setting from “Man this is too easy” to “Don’t spit on me while I am down.” The A.I. is improved, and you can’t keep running the same play over and over again because the computer will make adjustments. Overall, this game has a well balanced difficulty level for gamers of all calibers of gaming.
Game Mechanics: It’s football folks. You know? America’s true game. The same game “your daddy paid no attention to you when it was on” game. If I have to explain it to you, then you really should think of buying another game. You take a football, a 100 yard field, and attempt to score a touchdown by moving this ball up the field in 10 yard increments within four possessions of the pigskin. Of course, you do all of this while talking about the other guy’s momma, telling the other guy he looks better in women’s clothing, and hitting him sooo hard that he could count his teeth on one hand. You know football.
-Sabumnim, GameVortex Communications AKA Larry Callier
Minimum System Requirements: P133 MHz (non-accelerated mode), P200 MHz (w/3D card), 30MB HD Space Free, 32 MB RAM, 8X CD-ROM   Test System: AMD K6 400, 128MB Ram, 44x CD, TnT2
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