football

This is what a sequel should be like. Gameday 2001 cannot touch Madden 2001 in temrs of gameplay, replay value, graphic, sound, and the overall football experience.

This game is awesome. From little things that you notice, such as wrist bands and elbow pads, to the Create-A-Player feature, to the awesome Franchise mode, this game has it all. This game is packed tight with features and other bells and whistles.

The Franchise mode rocks this year, allowing you to pick an existing coach and their coaching style, or create your own. You can also pick your team's uniforms! Play with the Eagles' 1980 uniforms (if you believe that'll make your guys better players, but oh well). The draft is 7 rounds now instead of 4 a year ago. You can also play pre-season games to get your players in shape for the grueling regular season! Not to mention player awards, and you can keep track of Pro-Bowl voting (kinda unnecessary, but a cool feature nonetheless).

The gameplay rules, as the options and front end menus are done so much better than last year. The sound and graphics also rule, making it the most realistic PRO football title on PS-X (I still think that NCAA Football 2001 is the best football title on the PS-X TODAY).

Should you pick this up if you've never played Madden? Definately! It's the best NFL football game on PS-X. If you had Madden 2000, should you pick this up? Without a doubt! This version blows away what the previous Madden had to offer, and will keep you playing for hours on end. It's deep, the options are amazing, and you will see the days fade away as you try to bring the Browns back to their glory days. If you're getting a PS2, you might wanna hold off, unless you gotta have a football game before then.

Madden 2001 can be described, basically, as a cleaner, fresher version of Madden 2000 for Playstation. There have been no real big changes as far as graphics: the game is still amazing considering it's only 32-bit. But there have been several small upgrades--from the variable equipment, armpads, etc. that the players actually wear, to the all-around slightly better look of the player movements and the fields.
As far as the intangibles, there have been many improvements over 2000. The addition of Madden Cards is a definite plus, as is the 2-minute drill. The Hot and Cold feature is very interesting, and adds a more realistic feel. Do you start a cold Marshall Faulk, or a hot Trung Canidate? A cold Drew Bledsoe, or a hot Michael Bishop?
The Franchise mode has seen improvement as well: the salary cap seems to be more realistic now when signing free agents, and the NFL Draft is now 7 rounds instead of just 4. But maybe the best new feature is the addition of the Preseason mode, which allows you to pick your opponents for 4 or 5 games, to sharpen the skills of your rookies and get a feel for your new acquisitions. Then once the preseason ends, young players who performed well will see added points to their attributes. Really helps to develop rookies, and just to try new plays which you aren't accustomed to using.
All that being said, this is still not the perfect football game. There are statistical errors you will encounter at various times, most notably the tracking of kick-off and punt returns during a season. You see, it only tracks 2 players' stats for kick-off returns, and just 1 for punt returns. Thus, if only 1 of your kick returners got the ball during the first week, and at the end of the game the opposing team attempts an onside kick recovered by one of your linemen, the return stats for that lineman will be tracked for the rest of the season. And your second return man is left statless. Same thing with punt returns. If your returner is performing badly and you choose to bench him, his replacement will see zero stat-tracking. Pretty frustrating if that player returns one 80 yards for a touchdown.
Another minus is the commentary, which tends to induce sleepiness. Summerall has no enthusiasm in his voice, and Madden repeats the same stuff when he does choose to say something (he can go a full game on here and only speak 3 or 4 times). You'd think he'd know he made his point when he says "Randy Moss is one of the best receivers in the league today." But then, two plays later when Moss makes another catch, you hear him repeat the same thing yet again.
Still, this is an all-around solid game, which succeeds in most areas. It is much better than Gameday 2001, so if you're looking for a football game for Playstation, this is the one you want.

It's ok but way too hard too figure out all of the details without the book.