Madden NFL 2001 is a better football game than NFL GameDay 2001, but only marginally so. It has a better visual polish (especially in the Nintendo 64 version), loads of options and gameplay that's easier to live with, but I still found it every bit as frustrating to play as every 32-bit and 64-bit football game before it. What's the point of all the extra features that 989 Sports and EA Sports have been cramming into their football games if every contest feels like a chore?

No matter how many magazines proclaim how videogames have become "socially acceptable," or that they are now a part of the "mainstream," I'm still not convinced. Take for example the upcoming release of the PlayStation 2 console system. On October 26, 2000, the PlayStation 2 will be unleashed onto the Northern American retail market, and gamers in the region will experience a new era of videogames.

Still, even though their numbers have diminished compared to years past, there are some gamers who actually want the realistic ballplaying experience. It's this audience that 989 Sports is clearly catering to with MLB 2001, but in its effort to provide a sim-like playing experience, it left little in the way of actual enjoyable gameplay.

It's very difficult to think of NFL GameDay 2001 as a new release, because it's just a rehash of last year's NFL GameDay 2000. Actually, it's not even a rehash, because "rehash" implies "revision."

This could have been a solid baseball game in terms of graphics, control and gameplay, but in the end, the game simply lacks polish. On the paper, I'm sure the developers felt the many features included in this year's entry would make it a serious contender, but the final results are so poorly executed that it has the same empty feel of walking a runner home to end the game.

As I haven't played NFL GameDay 2000 or any prior version of GameDay, I cannot honestly compare it to previous efforts. What I can do is agree with everything else Ben has to say about the game, but I'll try to be brief to avoid parroting his every word. The two major points of the game that I have the most problems with are the graphics and gameplay.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Blood & Gore, Animated Violence

My feeling on Dino Crisis 2 is that it's too little, too late. I have a good respect for the original because it tried to do a few things differently then most survival-horror titles, and while it wasn't anything earth-shattering, I still appreciated the effort.