Hey Madden Faithful,

Brothers... we have waited patiently and loyally (ok, ok, I bought GameDay
last year... only out of desperation I swear) and now the king is here.
Yes brothers... this morning... at 9:30 am... UPS delivered "the package"
to my front door.

For those of you who didn't know... if you order games direct from them
(usually saving $10-$15 in the process), you'll get the game a day or two
before your local retailer. Why? Cuz EA sends the games to the retailer's
warehouse. The retailer in turn ships the game to individual stores. When
you order direct, you shave at least a day off delivery cuz it goes
directly to you.

Anyway... after getting my A** whopped three games in a row, here's what I
have to report:

PRESENTATION
Phenomenal... EA's always been known for the presentation of their sports
games and they've upped-the-ante again with Playstation Madden97. From the
opening CG intro to pre-game reports from James Brown in the FOX booth to
set-up screens... this is one helluva package.

GRAPHICS
Somebody asked a couple of weeks ago why you would need all 30 actual
stadiums when your field of vision in the game is limited to the field
itself. Well... EA has the answer! Before the coin toss at each game, a
camera pans and moves to give the player(s) a 360 degree view of "the
battlefield." God that's impressive! I'm telling ya... Gameday's team
emblems pasted onto the same field every game pales in comparison to the
granduer of the Superdome, the rich tradition of Soldier field and Lambeu
field, the splendor of Texas Stadium, etc... etc...

As for the player sprites, they move VERY fluidly and are less pixelated
than Gameday... but still not as crisp as I expected. Without question
however, they are a step above GameDay and leave NFL QuarterBack Club far
behind.

SOUND
In general excellent. I was expecting more commentary and "Maddenisms" but
there's definitely more than that in GameDay or NFL QuarterBack Club
(neither of which had any commentary). The crowd gets thoroughly into the
game chanting, screaming in unison, etc... I was particularly impressed
with calls made by the Referee over the PA. They sounded just like the
real thing with that slight echo effect.

GAMEPLAY/CHALLENGE
Well... it's premature to comment on gameplay while still officially a
"rookie" with the game. So far though, on the PRO difficulty setting
(easiest setting in season mode), I've been getting my A** kicked by
everybody including the lowly Giants. Oh... by the way, as a Texas
native... I've been playing with the Cowboys. God help those of you who
want to play with Tampa Bay, Phoenix, the Jets, and other lower tier
teams.

One thing that seems incredibly difficult is passing. The AI defenders
cover VERY well... Just like in the NFL! While my completion percentage
with Aikman is still in the low 40s... you'll see that a catch is made 90%
of the time when a good receiver is open. While I haven't seen Michael
Irvin or Jay Novecek drop a ball while open, my second string TE and Moose
Johnson have (pretty realistic I'd say). The problem is spotting the open
receiver... this game moves much faster than GameDay so you have to spot
your guy quick or you'll go down with a sack or throw after a safety has
moved to your open man.

I still can't run consistently either. Yeah... I've had two or three 15-20
yard runs with Emmit, but I haven't found a play that works well
consistently. Nope... running in this game will require you to cut back
after spotting an open hole... none of this speed burst to the outside and
leave linebackers in your wake play after play.

I love the penalties in this game... I've seen holding... false starts...
offsides... pass interference... even roughing the passer. There are ten
penalties and you can set the referee's vigilance for each type of penalty
individually if you like.

Well... sorry to make this so brief... I'd like to say a bit more but I
hear that faint echo calling... yes, YES... there it is again... it's
Madden97 calling saying "Play me... Play me." Ya know... I just know I'm
not going to get any sleep tonight... It'll be worth it if I can take a
wildcard playoff spot though... right now... after being thrashed
repeatedly... I'm just gonna take my season one day at a time.

Regards All, ARMANI