Sega Genesis
Released in 1997 by EA Sports
Grade: B
Madden Nfl 98 Playstation
This game is like a carbon copy of Madden 97, which isn't necessarily bad because Madden 97 is pretty good.
Where it falls in the series
Start playing by choosing a Madden Emulator game from the list below. All games are available without downloading only at PlayEmulator. We collected some of the best Madden Online Games such as Madden NFL 07, Madden NFL 2003, and Madden NFL 2002. Madden NFL 99 is a fun online Nintendo 64 game that you can play here on Games HAHA. If you enjoyed this game and want to play similar fun games then make sure to play Madden NFL 07, Madden NFL 2004 or Madden NFL 2001 or just go to the Nintendo 64 games page. CoolROM.com's game information and ROM download page for Madden NFL '98 (Sega Genesis).
It's the last Madden on Genesis. The series was already on PS1 and Sega Saturn for the 97 edition, so no wonder we've got a basic 'roster update' game here. My favorite version on Genesis is Madden 95. Goodbye, imacimac g4.
Praises and gripes
I'm tempted to do something snarky like copy/paste my Madden 97 review, but I won't…
The strengths of this game are simple controls, fluid running, a nice playcall interface, and active AI creating lots of action. Making 22 guys collide in a somewhat natural way wasn't a task other game developers could accomplish back in the 16-bit days, so you gotta give it to EA for that.
For Madden 97 and 98, EA fixed up its offensive line play, which was previously a mess. Even so, you'll probably need to drop way back or roll out before passing.
Your receivers often go off their routes and QBs regularly throw behind them, so you have to adjust the receiver's position while the ball is in the air. Often times, you have better luck passing 30 yards into a crowd of guys than you do passing 5 yards to a wide open man, which is stupid. The exception is when you've got a top-notch QB/WR tandem, like Steve Young/Jerry Rice, and suddenly short passes are no problem, which makes this even more aggravating.
The running game is fairly balanced. It's worth using, but you'll have more overall success with the passing game.
Defense is, as usual, simple fun. The players move well in this version, and it's intuitive to tackle and block passes.
The graphics are simple and cute. The sound is inconsistent and crackly.
Overall, this is pretty good for 16-bit football, but I prefer Madden 95 for its more fluid passing game. The thing Madden 97 and 98 has is multiple difficulty settings, so if you're looking for a challenge against the CPU, they're the go-to choices.
| Madden NFL 98 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Tiburon Entertainment[1] Tiertex Design Studios (SNES, Genesis) Stormfront Studios (Windows) |
| Publisher(s) | EA Sports (PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Windows) THQ (SNES, Genesis) |
| Series | Madden NFL |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Windows, Super NES, Genesis |
| Release | PlayStation[2] Windows[3]
Sega Saturn
|
| Genre(s) | Sports |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
Madden NFL 98 is a 1997 footballvideo game. It features John Madden on the cover. It was the last version of the Madden series to be released for the Super NES, Genesis and Sega Saturn platforms, as well as the last Madden game to utilize the 2Dsprites for the players and referee, on 3D playing fields.
The game's development focused on improving the Madden series' artificial intelligence. This aspect earned the game critical acclaim, with some reviewers considering Madden NFL 98 a new landmark for A.I. in football video games.
The Green Bay Packers had the best team overall in the game with a 95. The worst team overall was the Baltimore Ravens with a score of 71. The Dallas Cowboys, the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers were a 3-way tie for the best offense with a perfect score of 100. There is also a 3-way tie for the best defense in the game between the San Francisco 49ers, the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers with a score of 97. The San Diego Chargers had the best special teams in the game with a score of 96.
Publisher EA Sports licensed the Super NES and Genesis versions of the game to THQ, who published it for those platforms.[5]
Gameplay[edit]
Madden NFL 98 introduced touch passing to the series, which allows players to control the speed of a pass by how hard they push the button.[6] Control can be switched to any football player at any time.[6]
The PC version of Madden NFL 98 allowed players to download the latest NFL rosters from EA's website, thereby keeping the game up-to-date.[7]
Development[edit]
In response to a longstanding criticism of the Madden series, that the AI is too vulnerable, the development team made improving the AI their main emphasis with Madden NFL 98. The AI architects dubbed their new system 'Liquid AI'.[8] A version for the Panasonic M2 was in the works, but never released due to the system's cancellation.[9][10] A version for the Game.com was also planned, with Tiger Electronics as the developer, though Tiger producer Allen Richardson admitted that the game would be difficult to do on the Game.com due to the 16 megabit size of the cartridges.[11]
Reception[edit]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| EGM | 9.25/10 (PS, SAT)[12][13] |
| GameSpot | 8.8/10 (PS)[14] 8.1/10 (PC)[15] |
| Next Generation | (PS)[16] |
| Sega Saturn Magazine | 92% (SAT)[17] |
Madden NFL 98 was positively received, with the overwhelming majority of critics agreeing that the new 'liquid AI' had eliminated the longstanding Madden NFL series problem of 'money plays' that could be used to successfully run the ball in any situation, making the game more challenging and the final scores more comparable to those of real football games.[12][13][14][15][17][18] Kraig Kujawa of Electronic Gaming Monthly called it 'the smartest football game I've played',[13] and Gary Cutlack of Sega Saturn Magazine said the new AI 'Makes the game a lot harder, but a well earned victory is much more satisfying, don't you think?'[17]Next Generation dissented with the majority, contending that while the AI was improved from the previous installment of the series, they had managed to find some 'money plays'.[16] However, other aspects of the game were widely praised as well, particularly the lively audio commentary,[14][17][18][19] realistic animations,[13][14][15][18] and wide selection of options.[12][13][14][15][16][17][19] Several reviewers made particular mention of the new 'fantasy draft' option.[12][13][19]
By far the largest source of criticism was the use of sprite-based rather than polygon-based players. While full polygonal football video games were unexplored territory (the first fully polygonal football game, NFL GameDay 98, was released the same month as Madden NFL 98, and GameSpot acknowledged that polygonal graphics are a much greater drain on processing power in football games than other genres, due to the large number of players[15]), most critics felt that the Madden series, as the leader in the football genre, should have advanced into it by this time.[12][16][17][18]Next Generation in particular felt that the Madden series had unequivocally been dethroned by its failure to beat NFL GameDay to fully polygonal graphics, concluding that 'despite some problems, at least the gameplay is solid – a distinct improvement over last year. However, it's too little too late, and stacked against the jaw-dropping GameDay, good is no longer good enough.'[16]GameSpot countered that 'Although some might scoff at Madden 98 not using polygons like its chief competitor GameDay 98, these player sprites are well animated and detailed.', and pointed out several impressive graphical features accomplished with the sprites.[14] Arguing that the excellent gameplay and AI outweigh the graphical shortcomings, Kujawa deemed Madden NFL 98 'the best PlayStation football game', while his co-reviewer Dean Hager, like Next Generation, held that GameDay 98 had edged it out with its polygonal players.[12]
While most reviewers did not compare versions, GamePro noted that the Saturn version has greater pixelation than the PlayStation version and uses an antiquated 'gliding sprites' method of animation.[19] Despite this, the Saturn's much smaller library of football games (Sega's only answer to Sony's NFL GameDay was the critically panned NFL '97) left critics with few reservations about declaring the Saturn version of Madden NFL '98 the best football game on the system.[13][17][19]
In the same issue in which they reviewed the Saturn version (and just a month after reviewing the PlayStation version), Electronic Gaming Monthly ranked the Saturn and PlayStation versions as the 19th best console video game of all time, saying that the AI was the best of any football game yet.[20]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
Madden Nfl 98 Rom
Sega Genesis
Released in 1997 by EA Sports
Grade: B
Madden Nfl 98 Playstation
This game is like a carbon copy of Madden 97, which isn't necessarily bad because Madden 97 is pretty good.
Where it falls in the series
Start playing by choosing a Madden Emulator game from the list below. All games are available without downloading only at PlayEmulator. We collected some of the best Madden Online Games such as Madden NFL 07, Madden NFL 2003, and Madden NFL 2002. Madden NFL 99 is a fun online Nintendo 64 game that you can play here on Games HAHA. If you enjoyed this game and want to play similar fun games then make sure to play Madden NFL 07, Madden NFL 2004 or Madden NFL 2001 or just go to the Nintendo 64 games page. CoolROM.com's game information and ROM download page for Madden NFL '98 (Sega Genesis).
It's the last Madden on Genesis. The series was already on PS1 and Sega Saturn for the 97 edition, so no wonder we've got a basic 'roster update' game here. My favorite version on Genesis is Madden 95. Goodbye, imacimac g4.
Praises and gripes
I'm tempted to do something snarky like copy/paste my Madden 97 review, but I won't…
The strengths of this game are simple controls, fluid running, a nice playcall interface, and active AI creating lots of action. Making 22 guys collide in a somewhat natural way wasn't a task other game developers could accomplish back in the 16-bit days, so you gotta give it to EA for that.
For Madden 97 and 98, EA fixed up its offensive line play, which was previously a mess. Even so, you'll probably need to drop way back or roll out before passing.
Your receivers often go off their routes and QBs regularly throw behind them, so you have to adjust the receiver's position while the ball is in the air. Often times, you have better luck passing 30 yards into a crowd of guys than you do passing 5 yards to a wide open man, which is stupid. The exception is when you've got a top-notch QB/WR tandem, like Steve Young/Jerry Rice, and suddenly short passes are no problem, which makes this even more aggravating.
The running game is fairly balanced. It's worth using, but you'll have more overall success with the passing game.
Defense is, as usual, simple fun. The players move well in this version, and it's intuitive to tackle and block passes.
The graphics are simple and cute. The sound is inconsistent and crackly.
Overall, this is pretty good for 16-bit football, but I prefer Madden 95 for its more fluid passing game. The thing Madden 97 and 98 has is multiple difficulty settings, so if you're looking for a challenge against the CPU, they're the go-to choices.
| Madden NFL 98 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Tiburon Entertainment[1] Tiertex Design Studios (SNES, Genesis) Stormfront Studios (Windows) |
| Publisher(s) | EA Sports (PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Windows) THQ (SNES, Genesis) |
| Series | Madden NFL |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Windows, Super NES, Genesis |
| Release | PlayStation[2] Windows[3]
Sega Saturn
|
| Genre(s) | Sports |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
Madden NFL 98 is a 1997 footballvideo game. It features John Madden on the cover. It was the last version of the Madden series to be released for the Super NES, Genesis and Sega Saturn platforms, as well as the last Madden game to utilize the 2Dsprites for the players and referee, on 3D playing fields.
The game's development focused on improving the Madden series' artificial intelligence. This aspect earned the game critical acclaim, with some reviewers considering Madden NFL 98 a new landmark for A.I. in football video games.
The Green Bay Packers had the best team overall in the game with a 95. The worst team overall was the Baltimore Ravens with a score of 71. The Dallas Cowboys, the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers were a 3-way tie for the best offense with a perfect score of 100. There is also a 3-way tie for the best defense in the game between the San Francisco 49ers, the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers with a score of 97. The San Diego Chargers had the best special teams in the game with a score of 96.
Publisher EA Sports licensed the Super NES and Genesis versions of the game to THQ, who published it for those platforms.[5]
Gameplay[edit]
Madden NFL 98 introduced touch passing to the series, which allows players to control the speed of a pass by how hard they push the button.[6] Control can be switched to any football player at any time.[6]
The PC version of Madden NFL 98 allowed players to download the latest NFL rosters from EA's website, thereby keeping the game up-to-date.[7]
Development[edit]
In response to a longstanding criticism of the Madden series, that the AI is too vulnerable, the development team made improving the AI their main emphasis with Madden NFL 98. The AI architects dubbed their new system 'Liquid AI'.[8] A version for the Panasonic M2 was in the works, but never released due to the system's cancellation.[9][10] A version for the Game.com was also planned, with Tiger Electronics as the developer, though Tiger producer Allen Richardson admitted that the game would be difficult to do on the Game.com due to the 16 megabit size of the cartridges.[11]
Reception[edit]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| EGM | 9.25/10 (PS, SAT)[12][13] |
| GameSpot | 8.8/10 (PS)[14] 8.1/10 (PC)[15] |
| Next Generation | (PS)[16] |
| Sega Saturn Magazine | 92% (SAT)[17] |
Madden NFL 98 was positively received, with the overwhelming majority of critics agreeing that the new 'liquid AI' had eliminated the longstanding Madden NFL series problem of 'money plays' that could be used to successfully run the ball in any situation, making the game more challenging and the final scores more comparable to those of real football games.[12][13][14][15][17][18] Kraig Kujawa of Electronic Gaming Monthly called it 'the smartest football game I've played',[13] and Gary Cutlack of Sega Saturn Magazine said the new AI 'Makes the game a lot harder, but a well earned victory is much more satisfying, don't you think?'[17]Next Generation dissented with the majority, contending that while the AI was improved from the previous installment of the series, they had managed to find some 'money plays'.[16] However, other aspects of the game were widely praised as well, particularly the lively audio commentary,[14][17][18][19] realistic animations,[13][14][15][18] and wide selection of options.[12][13][14][15][16][17][19] Several reviewers made particular mention of the new 'fantasy draft' option.[12][13][19]
By far the largest source of criticism was the use of sprite-based rather than polygon-based players. While full polygonal football video games were unexplored territory (the first fully polygonal football game, NFL GameDay 98, was released the same month as Madden NFL 98, and GameSpot acknowledged that polygonal graphics are a much greater drain on processing power in football games than other genres, due to the large number of players[15]), most critics felt that the Madden series, as the leader in the football genre, should have advanced into it by this time.[12][16][17][18]Next Generation in particular felt that the Madden series had unequivocally been dethroned by its failure to beat NFL GameDay to fully polygonal graphics, concluding that 'despite some problems, at least the gameplay is solid – a distinct improvement over last year. However, it's too little too late, and stacked against the jaw-dropping GameDay, good is no longer good enough.'[16]GameSpot countered that 'Although some might scoff at Madden 98 not using polygons like its chief competitor GameDay 98, these player sprites are well animated and detailed.', and pointed out several impressive graphical features accomplished with the sprites.[14] Arguing that the excellent gameplay and AI outweigh the graphical shortcomings, Kujawa deemed Madden NFL 98 'the best PlayStation football game', while his co-reviewer Dean Hager, like Next Generation, held that GameDay 98 had edged it out with its polygonal players.[12]
While most reviewers did not compare versions, GamePro noted that the Saturn version has greater pixelation than the PlayStation version and uses an antiquated 'gliding sprites' method of animation.[19] Despite this, the Saturn's much smaller library of football games (Sega's only answer to Sony's NFL GameDay was the critically panned NFL '97) left critics with few reservations about declaring the Saturn version of Madden NFL '98 the best football game on the system.[13][17][19]
In the same issue in which they reviewed the Saturn version (and just a month after reviewing the PlayStation version), Electronic Gaming Monthly ranked the Saturn and PlayStation versions as the 19th best console video game of all time, saying that the AI was the best of any football game yet.[20]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
Madden Nfl 98 Rom
- ^'E3 Showstoppers!'. GamePro. No. 108. IDG. September 1997. p. 39.
- ^'Madden NFL 98 Release Information for PlayStation'. Gamefaqs.
- ^'Madden NFL 98 Release Information for PC'. Gamefaqs.
- ^'Madden NFL 98 Release Information for Super Nintendo'. Gamefaqs.
- ^'16-Bit Sports: Alive & Kicking?'. GamePro. No. 106. IDG. July 1997. p. 67.
- ^ abAir Hendrix (September 1997). 'Madden NFL '98'. GamePro. No. 108. IDG. p. 110.
- ^Kaiafas, Tasos; Hsu, Dan (January 1998). '2 Ways to Play'. Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 102. Ziff Davis. p. 141.
- ^'Madden NFL 98: An Early Look at the Latest Edition of the Longest-Running Football Game Series Ever'. Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 97. Ziff Davis. August 1997. p. 110.
- ^'Cutting Edge - 3DO buoyant as M2 picks up speed'. Edge. No. 23. Future Publishing. September 1995. pp. 6–7.
- ^'News - E3 '96: 3DO? - M2 Dream List'. 3DO Magazine. No. 12. Paragon Publishing. July 1996. p. 4.
- ^'Game.com: Will it Beat Game Boy?'. Next Generation. No. 31. Imagine Media. July 1997. pp. 26–27.
- ^ abcdef'Team EGM Sports: Madden NFL 98'. Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 99. Ziff Davis. October 1997. p. 192.
- ^ abcdefg'Review Crew: Madden 98'. Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 100. Ziff Davis. November 1997. p. 192. Archived from the original on 1998-01-21. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
- ^ abcdef'Madden NFL 98 Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
- ^ abcdePoole, Stephen. 'Madden NFL 98 Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
- ^ abcde'Finals'. Next Generation. No. 35. Imagine Media. November 1997. p. 195.
- ^ abcdefgGutlack, Gary (November 1997). 'Review: John Madden Football '98'. Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 25. Emap International Limited. pp. 76–77.
- ^ abcdScary Larry (October 1997). 'All Madden - All Day'. GamePro. No. 109. IDG. p. 150.
- ^ abcdeScary Larry (November 1997). 'Madden Wins the Toss'. GamePro. No. 110. IDG. p. 158.
- ^'100 Best Games of All Time'. Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 100. Ziff Davis. November 1997. p. 147. Note: Contrary to the title, the intro to the article (on page 100) explicitly states that the list covers console video games only, meaning PC games and arcade games were not eligible.
