" This game isn't quite Madden in many respects, but in other ways it is superior (i.e. the lack of John Madden). "

      Title: NFL GameDay 2002 by 989 sports

      Format: Football for PS One

      Reviewing Monkey: Simi N.

      The Hype: Get into the game with intense new football game play, break tackles and force fumbles, advanced AI learns your tendencies, new commentary, camera angles, and the new addition of Telestrator make it feel just like a real game!

      What This Monkey Thought...

      Graphics: You know the graphics are really pretty good in this game. The characters all have good polygon counts. The animation is fairly smooth and the textures are well done. There are some clipping errors from time to time, but usually it's really nothing that will bother you too much. My favorite part of the graphics in this game is the, "Telestrator," which starts the replay, circles the important player, and draws a line to indicate the path that the player takes, and then resumes the replay. This really helps to achieve the goal of making the game seem just like television. 4 out of 5.

      Sound: The sound in the game is quite good. My personal favorite part is that you don't have Madden in there stating the obvious over and over again. The announcers in this game aren't nearly as annoying as that. The sound effects are definitely on par with other PS One games. They do a great job of replicating the television experience. 4.5 out of 5.

      Playability: This game is really very fun. The control and play selection isn't as good as it is in Madden, but it's definitely good enough to be fun. The players respond pretty well but the game seems to cheat sometimes, where a ball will mystically fall out of your player's hands for absolutely no reason, or some opposing players will impossibly catch it, but these problems are mostly few and far between. Unfortunately the promise of a really good A.I. really doesn't seem to hold true, my roommate passes down the left side all the time, and he always gets away with it. 3.5 out of 5.

      Multiplayer and Replayability: The most important part of any football game (in my humble opinion) is the multiplayer mode. This game does a great job of making it fun for all of your friends to gather 'round and beat the crap out of each other (there is little so satisfying as hearing that crunch when your best friend's player runs straight into a brilliantly executed stiff-arm). The only problem with the multiplayer is that if you switch players too often you can sometimes get lost and end up botching an important play. 4 out of 5.

      Story/Dramatics: There really isn't any kind of story.

      The Verdict:

This game isn't quite Madden in many respects, but in other ways it is superior (i.e. the lack of John Madden). And I personally can't get enough of the Telestrator. It really is an unhealthy obsession.

      The Good: The graphics are good, the control is decent, the commentary isn't annoying, and the Telestrator rules!

      The Bad: The "advanced A.I." really wasn't impressive, the game seems to cheat sometimes (especially when you are way ahead).

      The Overall Ugly: It isn't quite as refined as Madden, but I personally would take this one instead because the commentary isn't nearly as aggravating, and the game play is good enough for that.

      What it's Worth: Market.