Madden NFL 2001 (2000) (VG)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Genre:

Animation | Family

Plot Keywords:

American Football | Video Game

Cast

John Madden	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stefan Marks	...	Voice
Pat Summerall	...	Himself

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:E

Company:

Electronic Arts (EA)

Trivia:

Eddie George of the Tennessee Titans fumbled a pass in a Divisional Playoff loss after appearing on the cover of the game, thus beginning the "Madden Curse".

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Rob Lowe/Eminem (#26.1)" (2000)

Coming close to Video Game Heaven

This game takes full advantage of the PS2's Dual Shock 2 controllers. Because of the pressure sensitive buttons and analog sticks, players have the capability to ease game play by determining the length of a pass by tapping or mashing the button. The controller-to-screen flow is also excellent. As soon as you nudge the stick to one direction, the player immediately moves. This makes the entire game a lot less frustrating. Sure, graphics aren't everything, but something as pretty as this shouldn't be left out. The PS2 engine is almost flawless, and character designs are better than previous NFL games on the Playstation. Be sure to check out the instant replays and try rotating the screen while paused. The Madden Cards are actually a nice touch; it's not overbearing because the cards are actually *gasp* useful. Pretty amazing, huh? Cards can do anything from unlocking new teams to boosting characters. Another aspect of this is just having fun with friends. Combined with the extremely slick game play and the beautiful graphics, having a friend/sibling/relative there playing with you can lead to hours of fun and pointless yelling. Just beware of the Doritos. This part is great, especially for a sport-related game. The game moves you away from strict football playing by rewarding you with Madden points, which are used for buying packs of Madden Cards, mentioned above. The cards can also be traded, or just kept for bragging rights. You can also unlock teams, from the Egyptian Mummies to professional teams from years past. You can relive any Superbowl, play out a season, or just play a quick game with someone else. The play selection screen has just been slightly tweaked in order to give players a user-friendly feel. You can plays by player, formation, or make your play book from other coaches'.