Madden 2000

Copyright: KBkids.com

Madden 2000 is the latest update in the EA Sports football line-up. While not a tremendous upgrade over previous versions, it remains one of the better football games available. It has the most advanced features, such as statistics, trading, GM control etc. Testers found it more difficult than NFL Fever 2000, and balked at it's harder to use interface. It is still a very good choice for more experience football fans who do not own the new Dreamcast console system.

PC football games have been overrun by the new Dreamcast system because the graphics are so much better. Many folks must still find their football kicks on the PC, however. The graphics in Madden 2000 are very good, but a bit choppier than NFL Fever 2000. One nice feature here is that you can run this game with or without 3D acceleration. A good choice for those without fancier 3D accelerators. Remember that the graphics in this mode will not be nearly as impressive.

Madden 2000 includes a new enhanced franchise mode, which lets you track your team over 30 seasons. If you are looking for a lot of behind the scenes involvement, this program is superior to NFL Fever. You will pay for that extra involvement, however, with some clumsy controls, and overwhelming computer screens. This is not the best program for a football novice, or someone who has not used the computer much. Novices will do better with the Microsoft product, even with its lack of depth.

Testers also found it more difficult to track players on the field. As in most sports games, the player you are controlling at the moment is highlighted in some way. Here a dull gold star surrounds the player. This star did not stand out enough on the field, leaving testers scanning for their player more often than not.

While this program has a lot of features such as replay of famous games, good behind the scenes management and more, this program does not shine as it should. Clumsy controls need to be fixed, and it is time for a major upgrade of this title.

Bottom Line: Not much of an upgrade, and more difficult to use than NFL Fever 2000.

Ratings: (based on KBkids.com's 4 star rating system)

Overall: 3

BrainGain: 2 1/2

FunFactor: 3

EasePlease: 2 1/2

Buy Madden NFL 2000 at Amazon!