(Nintendo 64) A bridge between two eras of sports gaming.

I've mentioned on here before my fondness for the simpler days of sports games. As impressive and in-depth as sports games have become over the years, I can't help but feel they also have a barrier to entry. You don't hear a lot of non sports fans playing sports games anymore. But back in the earlier years of games, sports games were shared by all! This game is a good middle ground. It took the simple gameplay of your 16-bit Madden games and brought it into the 3D world. I don't watch football besides the occasional Super Bowl party and I still find enjoyment in this game almost 30 years later!!

Visually, it is what you would expect from a Nintendo 64 game, the polygons are a little clunky but there is good attention to detail with the player models and jerseys. The game sound is decent as well bringing some player and crowd noise as well as live commentary. The game also features the entire 1999 season roster as well as an impressive line of historic teams which for any fan, can be fun to explore.

Madden is obviously the industry standard for football games but this game is a solid entry into NFL's gaming history. It's very easy to pickup and run with it. The playbooks are easy to understand and it's super satisfyingly to complete a Hail Mary pass! So if you're looking to revisit the old days of Jerry Rice (one of the few players I know) and the 49ers, this is a fun pickup!