Madden NFL 2001

Madden NFL 2001 is an American football video game. It is the third in the Madden NFL series to include an NFL player, Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George, on its cover (the first being "Madden NFL '95", which featured Erik Williams and Karl Wilson along with Madden himself). In addition, it is the first game in the series to have a player, instead of John Madden featured prominently on the box art. Madden's picture is shown on a small logo, which would reappear for every following game until "Madden NFL 06". It is also the first game in the "Madden NFL" series to appear on the PlayStation 2 game console. This is the first "Madden" game to feature NFL Europe teams.
Features.
"Madden NFL 2001" includes several customizable modes. Players have the ability to create a play, create a player, run a franchise, and collect Madden Cards, allowing players to perform certain actions during gameplay (for example, adding 5th downs, or limiting the CPU-controlled team to 3rd downs). The cards can also alter individual player ratings, unlock special stadiums, and unlock Hall of Fame and All-Madden teams.
Only the PC and PlayStation versions allow the player to create a team via the rosters menu, and the PlayStation 2 version have Madden Cards (297 total).
The best teams in the game overall were the Jacksonville Jaguars and the St. Louis Rams with a score of 95. The worst team in the game overall was the San Diego Chargers with the score of 70. The best offense in the game belongs to the St. Louis Rams with the score of 95. A 3-way tie for the best defense in the game belongs to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Baltimore Ravens and the Jacksonville Jaguars with scores of 95. The best special teams in the game belong to the Denver Broncos with the score of 95.
The game also contains 35 Great Games that unlocks the additional teams and stadiums on PC, N64, and PS.
Teams and stadiums.
"Madden NFL 2001" comes with over 60 teams and over 40 stadiums. Most of the teams and stadiums are fictional like the Mummies and the Marshalls. Each fictional team has its unique type of player (e.g. mummies players are mummies and the marshall's players are cowboys). Fictional Stadiums are like Hot Stove Stadium for example.
Reception.
The game was met with universal acclaim to a mixed reception. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 90.78% and 91 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version; 88.65% and 90 out of 100 for the PlayStation version; 84.82% and 89 out of 100 for the Nintendo 64 version; 79.36% and 78 out of 100 for the PC version; and 62% for the Game Boy Color version.
"Official UK PlayStation Magazine" gave the PlayStation version a score of nine out of ten and the Starplayer Award and said that it "expertly mixes arcade action with sim-deep stats and playbooks". In Japan, "Famitsu" gave the PS2 version a score of 35 out of 40.
Rob Smolka reviewed the PlayStation 2 version of the game for "Next Generation", rating it five stars out of five, and stated that "If you were looking for a reason to buy a PlayStation 2, this is it – superb gameplay, even better graphics, and enough substance to make you forget about all those other, weak launch titles."
It was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Best PlayStation 2 Game", "Best Nintendo 64 Game", "Best PlayStation Game" and, among console games, "Best Sports Game (Traditional)" and "Best Graphics, Technical" awards. Game Informer placed the game 27th on their top 100 video game of all time in 2001.