I first witnessed Madden 2001 prominently displayed at a store on launch day on some freakishly big television. Obviously, someone didn't realize that every PS2 in the store was going to be sold in a mad rush of insane gamers, because they thought the system's power needed to be displayed. Madden 2001 was their idea of a "system-seller." It is, without a doubt, fantastic looking, and it even plays good... but, believe it or not, it's still not the best football game on the market.
The menus and presentation are polished. EA, with its seemingly infinite budget, doesn't seem to care if it wastes money just making the menus look good. Everything is clear and concise, and the game's modes are easy to navigate through. In no time, you'll be up and running a franchise mode with your NFL team of choice.
The pure amount of teams and options available are impressive. You get many historic teams from the past (although sadly some of the numbers of famous players are downright wrong... Joe Montana was NOT number 19 on the 89 Niners), all time teams, madden teams, and even some lowly World League teams (which are fun to play all the same). The game also features the fun and unique Madden Challenge, which has the player collecting football cards by purchasing them with points. Points are awarded through achieving in-game goals, such as throwing a certain number of touchdowns or gaining a certain amount of yards in a game. These points buy you the Madden cards, and these in turn can open locked teams, stadiums, cheats, and historic players. It's a fantastic idea to allow the gamer to sign John Elway or Steve Largent to their rosters. This aspect of the game alone is fun to mess around with, and you can trade them with other players or even gamble them away in two-player games.
Once you get on your way into the game, you'll notice the very shiny, state of the art graphics. The lighting effects and reflections off player's helmets are the absolute best ever in a sports game. The game's models also move very realistically, and they interact with each other very realistically, high-fiving each other and interacting convincingly. Sadly, some players don't take hits convincingly, and you're sometimes a witness to freakish episodes where players will actually go through each other. We've seen this before, but with the power of the PS2, I thought this would be taken care of. The fields and stadiums look better than any other football game available, and the sidelines, including players, officials, and coaches are all three-dimensional. It's obvious when you see the small details in Madden that the PS2 is a powerful machine.
The sound and music are very nice as well. The crowds are smart and seem to know what's going on in the game. They cheer and boo accordingly. The player's collisions and other sounds are also realistic.
The game, though, is pure Madden. Love it or hate it, at least they've stayed true to form over the years (some more than others). This year, the action is slowed down a notch. While this isn't a major gripe (some might find it refreshing), I certainly like my football games a little faster.
The running game is actually extremely well done. I'd rate the running game in Madden right on par with the excellent NFL 2K1. Blockers react perfectly to incoming tacklers, and your running backs will read and react blitzing linebackers. The physics also give the game a sense of realism, as big backs will almost certainly fall forward, especially when being tackled by wimpy cornerbacks.
The passing game is a disappointment. Madden fanatics won't mind, but you still can't lead your receivers enough, and the incredible passing game of NFL 2K1 literally blows this game's passing game away. The passing game is also still too easy. Cornerbacks seem to get out of position too much, and if you drop back with three receivers, you'll almost certainly find one of them with single coverage, and you merely toss it to that guy.
Franchise mode is very good... better than the one found in Sega's NFL game. Career stats are tracked for everyone, which means that you'll have a chance to break real NFL career individual records. Want to break Jerry Rice's all-time NFL receiving record? Then draft an awesome rookie and play LOTS of football. It's rewarding and satisfying when you see a player take over a franchise and become the teams go-to man... all because you had the wits to draft him first overall.
The two-player games are fun, although once again NFL 2K1 has online gaming. If you play with the same friends over and over again, you might not care about online gaming, but if you really want to prove how good you are... get NFL 2K1 and find out.
For the most part, though, Madden is still fun to play... it's just that NFL2K1 does things better. If you have a PS2 and love Madden, then go ahead and pick it up. If you're only in it as a single player football game, then Madden's robust franchise and Madden Challenge mode are bound to make you happy. Quite simply, though, if you want the best football game on the planet, get a Dreamcast and NFL2K1.
-Jerred
Editors Note (Scott): I added 2 points to Jerred's Score because I love this game. If I had to pick one football game though, I have to go with NFL 2K1. This is the first time I have ever truly loved more than one football game in the same season. I am very happy with both of them. Still lots of room for improvement though EA Sports and Visual Concepts, so keep working hard!!!
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