Product description .com Sony's Gameday comes back for '99, improving on last year's critically acclaimed debut of the series. NFL Gameday 99 includes the usual array of features inherent to the genre (season, exhibition, and tournament play) but also offers fantastic team management options (including virtual drafts), over 1,500 players, and a whopping 500 authentic NFL plays. The statistical tracking is also the most comprehensive we've seen so far, even keeping account of quarterback pressures and tipped passes. The original Gameday Total Control Passing System (TCPS) is back as well. A glint of true ingenuity, TCPS allows you to control a pass by leading or underthrowing the receiver. Other gameplay features include stiff arms, one-handed receptions, line shifts, and post-play celebrations. It's the subtle nuances, including the refined passing system, that make the gameplay fluid and engaging. Sporting solid play, slick visuals, and plenty of peripheral options, NFL Gameday 99 is a title well worth adding to your sports games library. --Sajed AhmedPros:New improved Artificial Intelligence (AI) system adds realism to opponent defensesPhil Simms and Dick Enberg call the play-by-playNew 3-D modeling and motion capture create authentic player animationCons:Virtually impossible to cause turnoversOccasional technical glitches such as garbled commentary and polygonal breakup P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); Review Famous - and infamous - rivalries abound in football: the Cowboys and the 49ers, for example. Or the Packers and the Broncos. And now, with the almost simultaneous release of GameDay 99 and Madden 99 - the PlayStation's top football titles - the profound question integral to all excellent rivalries must once again be faced: Who is king of the gridiron (at least for this year)? The answer, my friends, is GameDay. Let's investigate. GameDay 99 has improved over its predecessor in many ways, although no change is as critical and defining as its vastly improved visuals. Gone are the boxy polygonal players, replaced now with substantially smoother and more detailed men. The new 3D player models are composed of over 350 polygons - more than double the polygon count in last year's GameDay. The visuals' glory is augmented by sweeping camera movements and cutaways that give the game a television broadcast look. Plus player motion animations look better than ever, thanks to another trip to the motion capture studio with nine NFL players. The multiple animations appear for just about every kind of move, including tackling, catching, and blocking. Most importantly, the animations no longer get in the way of the gameplay. The previous GameDay had great player animations, but they often forced you to wait for them to finish before you could resume gameplay - so you had to take the animation time into account while planning your next strategic move. This year the game runs so smoothly and so fast that the animations lead easily into the next play. Admittedly, however, the default game speed is a little slow, so you'll likely want to bump it up a bit. But back to the good stuff - the fast animations lead to easy, fast, and precise control. The same total control passing that was in last year's GameDay is in place so you'll drop passes perfectly to receivers. The new and improved AI is quite challenging, even on the rookie difficulty setting. The computer adjusts its defense and offense on the fly like never before. It effectively uses the strengths of its team - and uses them quite aggressively. For instance, if the computer's Green Bay, it will start hard with Levens. Then, just as you start watching out for the run and attempt to counter by taking Levens out at the line, the computer will throw one deep with Farve. On defense, the computer totally takes advantage of an inexperienced passer, making a frustrated novice reach for the instruction book. CBS announcer Dick Enberg calls the play-by-play action with ex-Giant-quarterback-turned-announcer Phil Simms throwing in the color commentary, nice new touches. However, the sound effects are still the same old GameDay grunts. The development team needs to take some new samples of those great hits and crunches from the NFL films. But they probably didn't that because the in-game sounds do, in the grand scheme of things, get the job done. In the end GameDay 99 is the total package. It has everything that the latest football model should have: improved graphics, gameplay, and an overall slick look. And although Madden 99 is a spectacular football game, the best Madden to date in fact, GameDay 99 edges out Madden in graphics with its multiple animations, control with its perfect passing plays, and speed with its smooth transitions - making GameDay 99 the football game to get this year. -- Ryan Mac Donald --Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc. -- GameSpot Review See more
A**R
Solid football.
This is still agreat football game, but there is not really enough new since last year's title. The graphics are really good, but they look all to similar to last year's. The gameplay is the best yet, and it is set aside by some great commentary and rock music clips that keep the action flowing along quite nicely.
K**R
Not bad, but not the best
This is a solid NFL simulation, but it does have several problems. First, the good things. It probably has the best running game ability of any Playstation game (at least the one's I've played, NCAA football, Madden). The passing game is good, though there are several plays that the computer just can't stop, which I guess most games have. The controls are good, and make sense. The graphics are good compared to contemporary games.Now the downsides; after about three games (maybe less), you're going to be praying to Phil Simms to shut his trap. His comments drive you nuts, and there are a couple of players that have mismatched comments programmed to them. If you're a stat freak like I am, you'll be bothered that it doesn't track stats very accurately. There are several categories that the computer can't track for human controlled teams. Also, I played about three seasons, and I think I got one sack by the computer-controlled lineman. Conversely, you can sit back with the free safety and pick off pass after pass. You can play multiple seasons, but there is not draft, lifetime stat tracking, or retirement worked into the game, which doesn't make much sense if you're going to have multiseason capability.Overall, a decent game for being as old as it is, but certainly not perfect.
D**Y
Good in the begining
Gameday was good while it lasted. When I first got it for Christmas two years ago it was a good game. But as you play it a little bit it gets rather old. THe graphics aren't the best in a game. Buy the game if you want a one time game. If you want something that you can play more then once then buy NFL Blitz 2000!
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