NFL Gameday 2000 (PlayStation)

Reviewed by Ryan Donald
Review date: 08/13/99
Release date: 07/31/99

The Gameday series has improved upon itself nearly every year, and this year is no exception. Tons of new features, animations, and game modes make Gameday 2000 the best Gameday ever. All the usual options from last year are back, like all the NFL teams, season mode, create-a-player mode, and all that stuff. Let's get to what a new version of Gameday means - its new options, features, and so on.

The two biggest additions to the Gameday series this year are the play editor and general manager mode. The play editor lets you select patterns for your receivers and running backs as if you were the offensive coordinator. The general manager mode lets you do tons of stuff like play through multiple seasons with one team, cut players, sign free agents, make trades, and even draft players. You can also import players from NCAA Gamebreaker 2000 using a memory card. Both modes actually have quite a bit of meat to them and will keep hard-core fans busy for quite some time.

Also new this year is a feature that will let you play an entire game as one man at one position. For instance, say you're a really big Jerry Rice fan and you want to see just how good of a receiver you could make him. Just play as Jerry and find out. Other small extras added to the game include instant replays with actual telestrator action by Phil Simms, training camp mode, post-play player celebrations, and every Super Bowl team.

The gameplay and control is mostly the same as last year's title's, which is great since the total control passing and running game of Gameday 2000 is still the best in the business, even after a year. With more than twice as many plays, the game has tons of new stuff to learn. But with all the new plays it seems as though it's a little easier to find holes in the computer's defense. Bumping up the difficulty setting closes up a lot of these holes, but there are still a few money plays here and there.

Graphically, Gameday 2000 looks and moves incredibly smooth. There's a lot of new animation this year, the most noteworthy of which are the tackling animations. The game now has multiple-player tackles, high-and-low wrap tackles, drag tackles, and upended tackles. In addition, all the player models have been scaled to better represent their real-life counterparts - this gives the players on the field a more diverse and, in turn, more realistic look.

The sound effects and music in Gameday 2000 are quite good. One of the most pleasant surprises about the sound in Gameday 2000 is the real music that kicks in after touchdowns and during kickoffs. Song excerpts include Taking Care of Business and That's the Way, to name a couple. Dick Enberg provides the play-by-play calls while Phil Simms delivers the color commentary. Most of the chatter between the two is mixed up well, although there are a few phrases that you hear a few too many times during a game.

Gameday 2000, while not radically different, is a step up from last year's version. All the new animations, plays, and GM features really make Gameday 2000 the best Gameday yet.