Mike Ditka Power Football
System: Genesis
Release Date: September 1991
Developer: Ballistic
Publisher: Accolade
Genre: Sports
Polish sausage, Ditka, Ditka, sausage, Bears… Mike Ditka Power Football! Because Joe Montana and John Madden aren’t enough to satiate America’s love of the gridiron, Accolade is coming in with their take on the sport and they’ve brought the coach of the nearly undefeated 85 Bears with them. This is the tale end of Ditka’s storied career, though… we’ll ignore his comeback with the Saints… Anyway, pick your favorite city and take them to the championship!
There is no NFL or NFLPA license here. The cities are all split up based on their real life conferences and divisions as of 1991 with Tampa Bay still inexplicably lumped with the midwest teams. You can play a single game, final drive of a game, or take part in the playoffs. The final drive is for when you only have a few minutes and want to lead a comeback against an opponent of your choice. I switched things up and took San Francisco to the playoffs instead of Detroit. My quarterback is not Joe Montana, but someone named States. The top receiver is not Jerry Rice, but a fella named Wise. At least when you hook them up with the Shotgun and Fly it’s good for big yards.
Unfortunately, the passing game is designed horribly. After the snap, you press Button A to shift the camera to the receivers. You can then lead a pass with Button B or gun it to them with Button C. Unfortunately, you can’t see your QB while this is happening, so expect to be sacked if you don’t go with the first or second choice. And don’t accidentally press Button A again if you mean to throw. A target appears on the field and your receiver has to be perfectly positioned on the target to hopefully make the catch. If you’re off a hair, it’ll be incomplete. The jerkiness and cuts of the camera motion are practically unplayable. There are four different passing modes, two that stop time while you cycle through receivers and two that don’t.
Okay, passing sucks, maybe they got the running game down. Ha, nope! Running is practically useless. After snapping, you press Button B to hand off to the back. But be careful, if you have a fullback on the field, too, you might give it to him instead of using him as a blocker. I don’t think I gained any yard with the running game at any point in my playing. Not even the computer could break the line of scrimmage with the run.
Will defense save the day? Not today. You begin by choosing what package of players you want on the field, then choose from 3 zones, 2 blitzes, or man to man coverage. You can cycle through the players to find who you want to control. Unless you want to control the defensive line. You’re not allowed to do that. I like controlling a defensive tackle, so this sucks. The computer also gets their pass off immediately and they won’t catch everything. But in the end, it really doesn’t matter what defense you choose because the computer will outrun your defensive backs and catch any pass if it needs to. Computer Detroit must have predicted Dan Campbell, because here they are going for it on 4th! Rules also mean nothing, as I ran the clock out on 4th down, but the other team was given the ball and a play, which they decided to score a long touchdown on. Stupid.
Graphics: 1.5
There are a bunch of identical guys running around a field. The stripes on the field are from end to end instead of side to side, which is wrong.
Sound: 1.0
The music that plays just repeats over and over again in a short loop and it’s not good. It overpowers the sound effects on the field, which are better.
Gameplay: 1.0
Passing technically works. The run game is worthless. Defense is barely usable.
Difficulty: 1.5
Getting receivers in just the right position is mindbogglingly frustrating and the computer will score if it wants to no matter your defense.
Fun Factor: 1.0
It’s football, but it’s bad football, so not great.
Overall Rating: 1.2
Mike Ditka Power Football earns a D+. Why would I bother playing this when I have Joe Montana and John Madden, which are objectively better.