Madden 2002 ( EA Sports, PC )

By PETER ELEY

(Herald rating: * * * * )

Sports games tend to tell you what they're about in the title — Rugby 2001, World Cup Soccer, Tiger Woods Golf, and so on. Not so with Madden 2002. Give yourself five brownie points if you know what sport this game involves. And another five if you know who or what Madden is. (Without looking at the picture first.)

The sport is American football, aka gridiron. EA named the game after John Madden, US TV's best-known sports commentator. Perhaps EA might call Rugby 2002 "Murray Mexted's Rugby".

Few Kiwis have any real interest in American football, which at best is just a Lycra version of the real thing we play down-under. But gridiron is ideal for a computer, probably because it's the nearest thing to gladatorial combat you'll find in the free world.

Play the ball? Not if there's a human being to crunch instead. No wonder they wear metre-wide shoulder pads and crash helmets. Luckily, you won't break anything playing gridiron with a mouse.

Madden 2002 is the annual update of the game, but represents quite a leap forward graphically over the 2001 version. Be warned that EA recommends a Pentium 3 600 with 128mb ram and a 32mb graphics card for top performance.

The gameplay is smooth and realistic, although getting to grips with the complexities of gridiron takes some getting used to. Rugby's rules seem simple by comparison.

There are some cheat options which automate play, and these are useful while players learn the game. At first it's just a blur of huge men knocking each other over, but you'll the idea after an hour or two.

Madden 2002 is a quality simulation, with all 32 NFL teams and the usual fruit that comes with team sport games, such as trades, rosters, and customising players.

John Madden's voiceovers give the game a real TV flavour, although he does become irritating after a while.

A strong point of the 2002 version is improved internet play, which lets you pit your skills against other armchair players.

EA says this version is much faster and more stable than the 2001 game, which was known for a tendency to freeze.

peter_eley@nzherald.co.nz