Pros: Accurate physics modeling, easy to control players, the comeback of the Madden series?
Cons: Confusing control scheme, extremely wide leaps and bounds, inexcusable factual errors, no penalties aside from offsides ever given, poor clock management by the computer
strykerbc's Full Review: Madden NFL 2000 for Game Boy Color
I went to the store looking for a new football sim for my Game Boy; you see, the Jaguars are going to the Superbowl this year, and I need to play through it myself first.
I was hoping to find a Madden, even though the series has been faltering in recent years. It still remains the only good football sim for use on the Game Boy Color system.
First, let's look back a few years. The last Madden which we can truly say was a good game was Madden 95. 96 and 97 were beginning to show serious flaws, and 98 and 99 made the franchise look like it was about to go the way of the Pittsburgh Steelers. A long way down.
Well, the Steelers continue to go down, but with Madden 2000, at least one of the two franchises is beginning to rebound.
Gameplay in Madden 2000 is at its most complex of any GBC football sim I've seen. All this adds to the realism of the game, but makes for a very hard time learning it, and several annoyances when the reciever who's right under the ball blatantly misses it. Also, complex button arrangements can really screw up a game- i.e., i accidentally audibled from a fourth down punt and wound up playing my punter as QB on a Hail Mary. Failure, needless to say.
There are several factual errors in Madden 2000, namely completely screwing up the divisions (putting the Jaguars in the NFC and the 49ers in the AFC???), and giving the Broncos a huge QB rating- Brian Greasy (yes, that's mean to be a joke) was rated higher than Mark Brunell, Peyton Manning, and Dan Marino just to name a few, and the Jaguars excellent wide reciever duo was placed bloody near last in the league.
Also confusing as heck- when in the playoffs and season play, actually playing a game is beyond confusing. If you press start, you just skip that week entirely. You have to select the game, then press start, then play.
But it does come out of these serious flaws to an extent. Firstly, in the teams not defiled with screwed up ratings, realism is excellent. I have yet to get a penalty other than offisides, but I've heard from others with the game that they are out there. Funny, as I have a penchant for nailing the opponent's QB after the play is clearly over, and I haven't been flagged yet.
The game's main strength is in its realistic simulation of winds and other factors. Players are easy to control, and there's not much more satisfying than taking out your aggression on an opposing playing. Leap distances when you jump for yardage seem a bit unrealistic (namely a 10 yard dive with a person standing about 2 yards tall).
Overall, the Madden franchise is still in the pits right now. I'd still spend the extra cash on a PlayStation GameDay2000 version, but this franchise has, like the St. Louis Rams, taken a turn for the better. Madden should be back up near Superbowl level by the time 2002 comes out, and I'm confident, considering the leaps and bounds made between the horror that was Madden 99 and the bundle of potential that is Madden 2000.
all 31 NFL teams variety of gameplay modes more than 150 offensive and defensive plays substitutions; revrse plays; diving catches, Platforms: Game Bo...More at Amazon Marketplace
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