Madden 2001

Wheeled out again for another season, John Madden, erstwhile American football commentator, again lends his name and voice to another EA Sports title, where the words foot and ball are about as well suited together as piss and chips.

As you would expect, EA has again done just enough to make the game worthwhile for gridiron fans. The graphics are better, all the teams, players - and this time coaches - are all in, and for anyone wanting to play online, there is massive playability in this new version.

Unfortunately, with little else to choose from, Madden 2001 suffers from a pretty poor physics engine and the ball often takes strange flightpaths. Added to that the game isn't very forgiving and, unless you already know the rules, you can expect a hard time -the manual is little more than a Keyboard reference guide. Worst of all, Mr Madden's anecdotal interjections are getting less each year and his delivery ever more stilted.