polygonal players, more colorful playcall screens, new end-zone celebrations and taunts, and removal of all full motion video clips. Development of the game began in early 1997. The game was originally planned for release in 1998, but EA Sports bumped up the release date to early November 1997. Shortly before this date, the NFL complained that the game included all of the NFL's official team colors; EA Sports slightly delayed the game in order to change the colors. Reception Madden Football 64 met with mostly positive reviews. Critics applauded the detailed player graphics, noting the discernible names on jerseys and black grease under their eyes, and the impressive animations. IGN added, "Surprisingly, making the jump to 3D has had no real downside for Madden 64 in terms of slowdown or glitches. The game moves as smoothly as its predecessors and looks a hell of a lot better." Despite the strong approval of the graphics, some questioned the use of polygons; several critics complained that players cannot wrap-tackle, instead bouncing off of each other as in sprite-based football games, and GameSpot noted that in the elevated camera view which the game is best played with, the graphics appear blocky. Kraig Kujawa of Electronic Gaming Monthly said that while the game is great, giving it a 9 out of 10, the polygonal players did cause slowdown, which together with the controls and lack of NFL licensing made him prefer the game's sprite-based equivalent, Madden NFL 98. Some reviews also noted that while competitor NFL Quarterback Club 98 runs in high resolution, Madden Football 64 does not. However, Kujawa's co-reviewer Kelly Rickards opined that the game's issues with graphics and licensing are easily overridden by its gameplay. As with Madden NFL 98, reviewers were greatly pleased with EA's new "Liquid AI". The game's wide range of options and realism were also praised. GameSpots reviewer ventured to say that "I've been a football fan for a long, long time, and I've never seen anything that resembles the NFL more than this game (and that's amusing, since this game doesn't even have an NFL license)." GamePro called it "Arguably the most fun football game ever created", giving it a 4.5 out of 5 for sound and a perfect 5.0 in every other category (graphics, control, and fun factor). Next Generation was one of the few publications to not recommend the game, saying the lack of