JOHN MADDEN FOOTBALL

 JOHN MADDEN FOOTBALL (JMF), a strategic arcade simulation from Electronic Arts,
is the best computer football game I've ever played. It beats NFL CHALLENGE in
play-calling realism because there are more formations, audible options, and the
ability to change individual and/or group assignments. There isn't an arcade- or
strategy-only mode in JMF; you can, at any time, take control of the players and
then return to calling plays. (This review is based on the IBM-PC version.)

 There _are_ two different modes of play, however, and these determine the
degree of complexity. In the "Quick Game" mode, you have nine offensive and nine
defensive plays from which to choose, and stats are not kept. In the "Standard
Game" mode, you have 81 offensive and 81 defensive plays, which are nicely
described and diagrammed in playbooks included with the documentation. You can
also edit existing plays, and create entirely new plays using a "Chalkboard"
feature. At first, I was extremely intimidated by 81 plays to choose from, but
after reading and using the playbooks during the actual game, I started to feel
less like a rookie, and soon became comfortable with the various formations,
blocking schemes, blitzes, and zone and man coverages.

 John Madden's influence is most obvious in the documentation, which is in the
"above-average" category. You can usually find a topic quickly, although
sometimes you'll need to flip through more than a few pages to find out
something like how to try a coffin-corner punt. On the whole, though, the
documentation (which includes the main instructions, offensive and defensive
playbooks, computer specific supplement, and code-wheel), serves its purpose
without detracting from the play. You'll find that keeping the playbooks nearby
is essential when using the optional 30-second clock feature; otherwise, you'll
constantly receive delay-of-game penalties as you fumble around for that perfect
play. It would have been nice if they'd included a laminated, folding playsheet,
but Madden's commentaries give the impression that if you don't memorize the
plays, you deserve to lose.

 JMF has so many features that it's impossible to discuss all of them here, but
here are a few I found particularly interesting:

 Player Ratings

 The ratings used by JMF are tangible categories that affect game play, such as:
quickness vs. speed; man-to-man vs. zone coverage; finding daylight vs. gaining
tough yards; run vs. pass blocking; reading coverages vs. reacting under
pressure; pass catching vs. interceptions; and on and on. There are special team
ratings, as well as punting and kicking ratings.

 Editing Teams

 JMF comes with ten fictitious teams, most of which are based upon some great
team from the past or present -- the 1970s' Pittsburgh Steelers, John Madden's
Oakland Raiders, the 1980s' San Francisco 49ers, Mike Ditka's Chicago Bears, et
al. The individual names of the players have also been modified to obviously
resemble the actual names, so you don't even feel as if your playing with
anonymous teams. You're not stuck with these teams, however, because there's a
"blank" team that serves as a template for creating your own teams. Also, you
have the ability to edit existing teams.

 Matchups

 A feature called "The Madden Report" allows you to graphically compare the
individual ratings of two teams at related positions. The advantage is that you
can design a game plan to attempt to exploit your opponent's weaknesses while
utilizing your team's strengths. I found this to be quite helpful during the
game, especially for certain types of plays. For example, if my halfback has a
quickness rating of nine (the best), I use more pitch-outs and screen passes
because he can turn the corner and dodge would-be tacklers very well. He
probably isn't a great up-the-middle-type runner, in any event.

 Player Control

 There are many variations through which you actually become involved with
player control. You _can_ be quite satisfied just sitting back, calling the
plays, and letting the computer do all the blocking, tackling, and throwing of
passes. In fact, it'd probably be a good idea to use this method of strategy
until you're comfortable controlling the players via the mouse or joystick.
Sounds logical, right? Naahhh. You don't want to be just a sideline decision
maker; you do that every Saturday and Sunday afternoon in front of the tube! You
want to get out there and blitz the quarterback, and hear the computer scream
when you get the sack. You want to drop back, spot the open receiver, and lay in
a perfect pass. That's _real_ football, and JMF allows you the flexibility to do
either, without forcing you to remain a joystick jockey for the entire game.

 Statistics

 So how does the game handle stats? Not as well as it could, but it does seem
that the program could accomodate future commissioner's disks, should they
become available. During and immediately following the game, you can view every
desirable offensive statistic. The key word is _view_, because the program only
allows saving (and thus, accumulating) the basic team offensive statistics, such
as those found in the newspaper; no individual stats can be saved or
accumulated. A filing feature allows you to merge game statistics with a team's
accumulated statistics, without losing the individual game statistics. Sound
confusing? It took me a while to figure this system out after wiping a few games
from the disk. If you're looking for customized league options, there aren't
any, but I wouldn't let this detract from your decision to purchase the game. If
you're really enthusiastic about using it for a league, you can write down
(horrors!) the team standings, and keep them on disk elsewhere.

 There are all sorts of other features that give you the feeling that it's
Sunday afternoon and your team's in a tight playoff race -- things like home
field advantage, artificial or natural turf, outdoor or indoor stadiums, and
weather conditions (rain, snow, mud, clear, hot, or cold). You can even make the
computer-coached opponent (John Madden) play conservatively, normally
(balanced), or with an aggressive offensive and defensive strategy. Other
features that can be toggled on or off are: player fatigue, injuries, penalties,
play announcer, cross-hair passing, and a 30-second clock.

 The IBM-PC/compatibles version comes on either 3-1/2" or 5-1/4" diskettes, and
utilizes the preferred method of off-disk copy protection, allowing you to make
backups without requiring a master diskette for game play. Only 256K of RAM is
required, and I found JMF to be easily playable from either a hard disk or
floppy disk system, since disk access is kept to a minimum. You can use a
joystick, mouse, or keyboard, but I strongly recommend that you use either the
mouse or joystick; it's hard to experience all the facets of this game without
becoming totally frustrated by the limited movement control of the keyboard. The
graphical user interface was definitely designed with the mouse in mind, and
it's clear that the programmer's orientation is toward Atari ST and Amiga
machines: The documentation for the IBM/Tandy version includes a "supplement" to
adjust for the differences in the IBM-style interface.

 As for visual quality, the color graphics are acceptable, but certainly not
remarkable. In any case, I found myself too involved in making decisions to care
about the hue of the grass.

 One word of caution not mentioned on the game box: A color graphics display is
not only recommended, but I found it next to impossible to distinguish my team
from the opponent when playing on a monochrome monitor. Regardless of whether I
used black-and-white, amber, or green, I could not functionally play the game,
because the players' uniforms only come in two colors: red and blue. I think the
designers made a big mistake in effectively restricting this product to color
systems. I suppose you could play mono games from a purely strategic standpoint,
but that's not why anyone would purchase JMF.

 Nevertheless, cumbersome stats management, difficult keyboard control, and the
near-impossibility of monographics gameplay are minor flaws in an otherwise
feature-packed game. The extreme flexibility of strategy and arcade modes makes
JOHN MADDEN FOOTBALL a versatile and realistic simulation. The excitement of
calling a play and seeing it work, or the anxiety when faced with a 3rd and goal
at the 5-yard line, are my ideas of a good football game. If your primary
interest is league play and management, the current version is not for you. But
I highly recommend JOHN MADDEN FOOTBALL to all who want to play and/or coach a
_real_ game of computer football.

 JOHN MADDEN FOOTBALL is published and distributed by Electronic Arts.

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