NFL Gameday '97

by Sony

Product Details

• ASIN: B00002SVWZ
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,828 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Review

Avid video game sports fans might argue that a platform lives or dies by its football game. When Sega exclusively had John Madden Football (by EA Sports), the Genesis was the system for sports game fans. When a better version came out for the Super Nintendo, armchair quarterbacks took their dollars there. Last year Sony converted many Madden purists with NFL Gameday. And now there's Gameday 97 - a title that should be able to hold its audience while converting any remaining Madden holdouts.

Gameday 97 takes all the great options and features of the original and expands them with new options like season-length injuries, the NFL draft, more accurate statistics, and the ability to create players. More camera control is also included, allowing the player to place the camera at any angle. Every NFL team (resulting in over 1,500 players) and all stadiums are also available, which greatly adds to the game's immersive qualities. The end result is a souped up model of an already incredible game - a game that's sure to have players thinking they're controlling an actual broadcast game versus idly watching one.

The graphics of Gameday haven't been improved much, but its savvy use of motion capture technology heightens the realism, allowing players to react to hits more accurately. The game speed is also adjustable, allowing for up to 50 percent faster action than the original Gameday. The crowd sound effects have been joined by a play-by-play announcer, who is fairly accurate, although his responses sometimes come a little late.

The real focus of Gameday 97, however, is the gameplay. The control is dead on, making hurdling over a diving safety a distinct possibility. Making great one-handed catches, diving over the pile into the end zone, and even running out of bounds and slamming into a coach are all possibilities. The game itself also runs at a fast pace, with more time spent running plays than picking them (despite the fact that the 97 edition features twice as many plays as the original).

Overall, there are enough differences to justify purchasing Gameday 97, even if you already own the original. Even if you don't like some of the new features, there is enough solid gameplay to make this the best football game around, on any system. --Ryan MacDonald
--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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Too Old, Too Bad, October 10, 2001

By 

Michael Arnovitz (Dayton, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: NFL Gameday '97 (Video Game)

When this game first came out it was good for that time and it had reasonobly good graphics for that time. Within the next 2 months or so new games and systems started to come out and those games and systems became a lot better and were more fun. Because people thought this game was good at that time so many people bought it, and now poeple are all stuck with it and are trying to sell it for very cheap. This is why there are so many used ones. Let me give you a piece of advice, don't buy this if you still have a playstation and like it, get a game that is closer to this year. You will like it a lot more

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, May 26, 2002

By 

"charliekkkk" (Boise, Idaho, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: NFL Gameday '97 (Video Game)

Everyone underrates this but it is actually a lot of fun. I enjoy the gameplay and find that the game is generally exciting. The graphics are not the best, but they get the job done. A good buy of you like football.