Madden NFL 2001 for Nintendo 64

Madden NFL 2001 [E]

Considering its humble beginnings on the Sega Genesis, the Madden series has come a long way (and even more yardage has been covered by the PlayStation2's inaugural scrimmage). Even with expectations high, Madden NFL 2001 for the Nintendo 64 is very, very good. This game looks better than the original NFL Quarterback Club--an early standard in football visuals--and plays like the previous year's version of Madden on the PlayStation. EA Sports has added some new playability features, such as collectable Madden Cards for fulfilling certain tasks in the game. The Madden Cards can be traded with friends, using the Nintendo 64 memory card, and can be used to unlock secret game codes, players, stadiums, and legendary NFL teams. The new two-minute drill feature allows up to 10 players to compete for the highest score. But Madden NFL 2001does have some trouble in a couple of areas. The CPU has a problem with clock management when it is behind with time running out; sometimes it will fail to call a time-out and let the clock expire at the half or at the end of the game. Madden himself sounds a little run down in this game as he only has a few phrases and he says them over and over and over. The crowd noise and the cheers are not very well done and can get annoying. Despite its few flaws, pound for pound this is the best NFL football title ever made for the Nintendo 64. --Todd Mowatt Pros: Best football game yet made for the Nintendo 64 Collectable Madden Cards can be used to unlock secret game codes, players, stadiums, and teams New 2-minute drill feature Cons: Clock-management bug sometimes lets time expire at the half Repetitive Madden phrases