Pros: Great Control & Gameplay, Franchise Mode
Cons: Madden's In-Game Comments, As Usual

I can probably sum up my opinion on Madden 2000 by simply saying this: I see no need to go out and buy a Playstation 2 to play Madden 2001, and even if I did, I would probably still play Madden 2000 anyway. I can hear many jaws hitting the ground as I type this, but Madden 2000 is simply that good. The Madden series of football games have always been way ahead of the competition for years, with the notable exception of Gameday, but in my mind, Madden is still light years ahead of Gameday.

I remember being a freshman in college in 1995, we would have all-night tournaments on Madden 96 for the Genesis. We would spend our free time creating free agents, making roster moves, anything to gain an edge over each other. Okay, quit laughing hysterically at my lack of a life in college; we would also drink lots of beer while doing this. There, happy?
My point is that even during the dawn of great football games, Madden was already the front-runner, as has been ever since. Madden 2000 simply makes sure that the crown does not fall into the wrong hands.

First of all, when you first pop the game into your Playstation, you will notice that the rosters are all fairly accurate (accurate for the 1999 season, that is). This is because they would typically hold off filling out the final rosters until the last minute to insure more accuracy. There are definitely a few flaws that couldn't be helped, like Daunte Culpepper being #12, and Brian Griese being God-awful, and Bubby Brister being the starter for the Broncos (God forbid). These were things that the Madden team simply could not have envisioned in time when they were producing this game, and they are forgiven.

Let me get the low points of the game out of the way - Madden's voice. I must admit, I actually like John Madden as a commentator, and I have no problem watching him on TV. However, when you play this game for any amount of time, you will get the same canned responses from Madden over and over and over. Let me give you a few shining examples:

- "Whoa! He got nailed!"

- "The quarterback is having trouble completing his passes. If this keeps up, it's going to be a long day for him."

- "Now that's the way you're supposed to punt!"

- "He got hit so hard, his tongue was slapping his brain." (what this one means, I have no idea)

...and so on, and so on. These may seem like fairly pedestrian insights into a football game, but once you've heard Madden say any one of these for the 1,000th time, you want to shove his fat head up his fat rear end. Madden also has some stock things he will say about particular players. I pity the poor soul who has to listen to Madden go on about Rae Carruth and his award for several seasons. Luckily, there is an option to turn of the "Maddenisms".

If there are any other negatives to this game, I can not really think of one at this moment, so I will run down a list of the many positives to this game.


- Franchise Mode - This is why I keep buying Madden titles. In Franchise Mode, you control a team for up to 15 seasons. During that time, you sign free agents, release players, watch them get old and retire, and draft college rookies, oh, and you get to play the games, as well. You also get to negotiate contracts with players. While this may sound a little too in-depth for some, it is actually really fun to tell Deion Sanders that you will not pay him $5 million a year. He can have $4.2 million, or go to another team.

- Two-Player Mode - This is an extremely addictive feature to this game. Like all other Madden games before it, 2000 offers a great way to work off some aggression by beating the snot out of your friends.

- Tournament Mode - If you ever get bored with savagely beating your soon-to-be-ex-friends with regular teams, try tournament mode. This allows up to 8 players to draft their own custom teams, and then you all play a tournament to declare a winner. The only downside to this is that if you want to manually select your teams, it takes FOREVER. You get to the point that you just don't care who your 2nd string Right Tackle is, and you just randomly choose somebody to speed things up. Factor in 7 other players, and you better have a lot of beer on tap to pass the time. Once you get going, though, it is more high-speed Madden fun.

- Graphics - Yes, Madden has always been a front-runner in this department as well, and 2000 is no exception. The graphics are a major step above '99; the players look smooth, with hardly any jagged edges, and they move realistically. After playing the game for a little while, it becomes obvious that the player movements were based off of actual player models, and not just programmed to look like football players.

- Instant Replay - As dorky as it sounds, I love the instant replay feature. Not only can you keep looking at your sweet touchdown run over and over as your friends threaten to punch you in the neck, but you can change camera angles, zoom in, and rotate the camera. For those plays that you just HAVE to see again, this gives you lots of fun options to play with.

I'm honestly just scratching the surface of what makes this a great game, but I highly recommend that people check out this title for themselves, on the slim chance that they haven't already. I will admit that I have not yet had the honor to play 2001 on the PS2, and I am positive that it has de-throned 2000 as the king of all NFL games, but believe me, Madden 2000 will stand as the best football game ever for the almost defunct Playstation console.