John Madden Football
System: Genesis
Release Date: November 1990
Developer: Park Place Productions
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Genre: Sports
Head to the gridiron in 16-bits in John Madden Football! There are sixteen teams representing different cities, but the NFL license isn’t here. Regular Season is an exhibition game where you can choose anyone you want and pit them against anyone else you want. Sudden Death is a rush to be the first to score. The playoffs put all 16 teams against each other in a set bracket. The only yardstick for success our society has is being a champion. No one remembers anything else. Prove your worth on the field by winning four games in a row.
They’ll score if they can just get into the endzone. You need to be able to put up points. There are a few different packages you can choose from on offense, but they all offer similar plays. Yellow coded plays are running plays, while the brownish coded plays are pass plays. You can see the routes being run by your receivers and the button they correspond to. When dropping back to pass, the C Button brings up the passing window and then you choose who you’re going to throw it to. When in control of the ball handler, the A Button will dive for an extra shot at yardage. The B Button will perform a spin move in an attempt to avoid tackles. The C Button drops the shoulder and allows you to give a little extra oomph. He would have scored a touchdown if he hadn’t been tackled right there. Passing is easier to succeed with than running, but if you have a good running back, finding the hole is possible.
The defense should be expecting a run or a pass here. There are four different formations that change the type of players on the field. The defensive formations typically offer you three sets, read, cover, and contain. I typically used read when I wasn’t totally sure what the offense was planning, cover to stop sure passing downs, and contain to have them stick to the middle on run plays. I don’t understand people that choose to play positions not on the defensive line, but I guess there must be fans of controlling a safety out there. You got one guy going boom, one guy going whack, and one guy not getting in the end zone.
Give something that wasn’t expected. If you get to the line of scrimmage and don’t like what you called, you can call an audible by pressing the A Button and then A, B, or C Button. He got up looking out of his ear hole! If you want to put some hurt on your opposition, go for a diving tackle with the A Button. If a pass gets off and you can get in the way, the C Button allows you to bat it down. Sometimes the offense can burn by you, causing great sadness, but don’t give up because a tap of the B Button will change control to the nearest defensive player giving you another shot.
Usually, the team that turns the ball over less will hold on to the ball more. Fumbles and interceptions are a part of the game and if you’re good, you can cause them. Mashing the B Button as you attempt a tackle will occasionally cause a fumble. If you can get it, enjoy four new downs. Interceptions are less easy to come by, they’re defensive backs, not wide receivers, after all. If you make it to 4th down and aren’t confident you can convert, you always have the ability to punt or kick a field goal. There is a power and direction meter that you need to hit correctly to put the ball where you want it. Remember, at the end of the game, the team with the most points on the board is going to win.
Graphics: 2.5
Everything is pretty pixelated as opposed to looking smooth. The player models are identical with no differentiation to set people apart.
Sound: 2.5
Sounds are good. During the game, expect to hear the QB, whistles, and people smashing into each other.
Gameplay: 3.5
There are a lot of options to move the ball down the field or squash your opposition. And it all works properly.
Difficulty: 2.5
I was San Francisco and wasn’t presented with much of a challenge. I’m sure playing as other teams would have made my life more difficult.
Fun Factor: 3.0
I played four games in a row and enjoyed myself. I’d probably play another game here or there.
Overall Rating: 2.8
John Madden Football earns a B. There’s a reason the Madden series is one of the longest running, highest grossing game series of all time. This is a great start and there’s plenty of room for improvement.