NFL GameDay '99

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Review: NFL GameDay '99

That's the kind of disappointment clouding my view of NFL GameDay '99. When 989 Studios (formerly Sony Interactive Studios) announced it was porting the franchise from PlayStation to PC, it hyped GD's TCP/IP play and matching service, 989studios.net.

Whoa! No more coaching-mode only stuff-they were talking head-to-head, action gameplay over the Internet and a Battle.net-type service with a good interface. Given that sports games rely so heavily on split-second button presses and the Internet remains an unpredictable, laggy beast, I tried to contain my excitement and evince an air of skepticism. The developers assured me that since GD was using the time-tested Tanarus networking code, it'd work over a modem.

It doesn't-though in a backpedal, the manual calls for a high-speed Internet connection. I doubt it would make a difference, as there was lag even on LAN and ISDN games. Via a 56K modem, it's unplayable. Players flit in and out, there are frequent "Waiting for Server" messages, and controlling players is more guesswork than skill. Whoever creates the game acts as the server (and experiences less lag), and thus has a clear advantage.

The single-player game handles the basics fairly well. Every team, stadium, and player is represented; there are tons of formations and plays to choose from; the controls are good; the action's fast; the motion-captured animations add a touch of realism; and Dick Enberg and Phil Simms handle the (somewhat repetitive) commentary just fine.

GameDay doesn't fully harness PC power to create a full-fledged sim. There's no play editor; and while you can create, draft, and trade players, there's no financial model or other real-world constraints-you could trade your back-up guard for John Elway. Signing free agents is a matter of highlighting the guy you want and a player you're willing to part with, then clicking Sign. You're essentially trading with the free-agent pool.

But GameDay never staked its claim as a full-fledged sim; its forte is arcade-style football. If it existed in a vacuum, I'd say it's pretty fun. But I've played an early version of EA's Madden 99, and it not only looks and plays better than GameDay, but it's starting to add sim features that were previously the sole domain of Sierra's long-running franchise.

GameDay's numerous shortcomings become more apparent and annoying the more you play: the players are blocky, there are no special teams (I cringed watching Jerry Rice break up the wedge on a kickoff), the crowd's too quiet, and there's no quick key for a time-out, so you'll lose at least five seconds when calling one. There are more juke-type moves than keys on a standard 10-button gamepad; and the most frequent tackle animation-the defender riding on the ball-carrier's back, dragging him down-is often inappropriate. When my 300-pound lineman slams into your 180-pound back at the line of the scrimmage, he shouldn't be towed along like a sack of potatoes.

Still, console players may like the familiar feel of this port, and 989 does get some credit for trying to implement TCP/IP multiplay in such an Internet-unfriendly genre. Maybe they can get id to do a GameDayWorld version.-- Willem Knibbe / GamePro