NFL Prime Time

Deion Sanders is one of the greatest defensive backs ever. Known for his excellent coverage and lightning speed, he's leaving his tread marks all over the Genesis!

Must Be the Money

Struggling to compete with EA Sports' Madden series, Sega Sports has gone Prime Time with a bunch of new options, a tougher CPU opponent, and faster action to improve on last year's NFL '95. Custom features allow you to sign, release, and create your own superstars, or play GM and make trades with real NFL players and teams.

Play an Exhibition game or begin a Season filled with scouting charts and injury reports, and compile team and league stats in hundreds of categories. You can even swap playbooks with another team or relocate your team to a new city.

With Prime Time's responsive controls and quick players, you won't get the slowdown you feel with Madden's players. Snatching the handoff, powering past a linebacker, and putting a spin move on the free safety are all a smooth ride.

Neon Deion

Graphically, new player photos are a nice touch. Prime Time's view changes, however, can be annoying. You'll feel like you're trying to execute passing plays from the Goodyear blimp, but running plays and kick returns give you overhead close-ups of the action with large, clear sprites.

PT's sounds will keep your attention during a long game. Voice-overs, bone-crushing hits, and fierce player taunts add to the excitement. While Prime Time still isn't the total NFL package that Madden is, it provides a solid NFL experience. Players looking for an in-depth gridiron sim won't be disappointed.

Just last year Sega Sports put out NFL '95, which was the best one-player football game of the year, while Madden '95 remained the best two-player game. This time Sega Sports has added Deion Sanders' nickname to the title, updated the players, and left the rest alone. The result is another excellent football game.

The graphics are exactly the same as last year's, as are the plays and gameplay. While improvements from year to year are always nice, they often result in a worse game than the previous year's entry. If there's nothing a company can do to make a sports game better than the year before, then I'd just assume that they leave it alone. Which is exactly what Sega did.

Prime Time is easily the most accurate football sim for the consoles, although it does lack some of the flash that Madden games have. It's the two or three yard gains and defensive battles that separate Prime Time from the others. The superior computer Al makes the season mode entirely enjoyable.

If you're looking for an update of NFL '95 or just one of the best football aims around, then Prime Time is your pick.