NBA 2000 Dreamcast
NFL 2000 Dreamcast
Ready 2 Rumble

3rd report from Andy

Gremlin
You may not be immediately familiar with the name Gremlin, but you're probably somewhat familiar with their games. In Europe they are known for their Actua series of sports games, and last year the latest Actua Soccer and Actua Golf games were released in the US as Fox Sports Soccer and Fox Sports Golf. Gremlin's association with Fox has ended, but the company has a couple of cool looking sports games slated for US release later this year.

Rallymasters: The Race of Champions '99 Playstation/PC/Nintendo 64
If you've been longing for a greater variety of rally games, there should be plenty to keep you busy this year. Codemasters is finally bringing over their highly successful Colin McRae Rally title, Konami Rally was shown at E3 and now there's Rallymasters.

Rally racing isn't a very prominent sport in the US, so most of us are probably not familiar with this license. The Michelin Race of Champions is a post season rally championship held on Gran Canaria (one of the Canary Islands) that attracts the biggest names in the sport. The Gran Canaria course is reproduced in the game, as well as 50 other tracks (if you count reverse, weather and day/night variations, there are 368 track variations to learn!) where you will compete against over 70 other drivers. There will be over 60 cars available in the game, each with a custom color/sponsor scheme.

I didn't get to see much of Rallymasters, but what I saw was impressive and I can tell you that this title has a lot of potential. The sheer variety of tracks, cars and options available make this a game to look for when it is released sometime in the 4th quarter.

EUROPEAN PGA GOLF Playstation/PC/Nintendo 64/Dreamcast
This golf game will feature six courses and some big names from the European PGA such as Colin Montgomery, Ernie Els and Nick Faldo. Gremlin also promises a much smoother engine than previous efforts, and from what I saw the game looked good with an interesting graphic style and smooth animation (only the PSX version was shown).

EPGA will also have a couple of unique features: the PGA Tour Challenge, where you have to earn the right to play on tour with the big boys, and an actual real-time analog swing option. As you might expect, you pull back on the analog stick for the backswing, and push forward to hit the ball, but the movement of the club is directly linked to the movement of the stick. If you pull the stick back halfway and stop, the club stops immediately. This is the type of innovation that console golf games need. A standard swing meter is available as well. This game still has some development time to go, but so far it looks impressive, and the analog swing feature alone has me looking forward to its release.

2nd report from Matt

WCW Mayhem Playstation
EA's first attempt at a wrestling title looks like an ambitious one. Mayhem offers lots of gameplay modes and fighting options. The fighters are smooth and well-animated, but the version at the show looked very rough and seemed buggy (it was shown as "50% complete"). To be perfectly honest, this game may be fine when it is released, but for now, it looks far from being ready for prime-time. EA has some potential with this game, but it will be an uphill battle matching up with the competition, namely…

WWF Attitude Nintendo 64
Acclaim's upcoming WWF title looks like it has everything a pro wrestling fan could want in a videogame: everything from a career mode that lets you create a wrestler, start him with small fights in local venues and build him up to national prominence, to almost unlimited game modes (triple threat, battle royal, etc.), to a custom "pay-per-view mode," where you set up the fight card for a major PPV event. With incredible graphics, seemingly endless gameplay options, and tons of customizable options, this title may be a must buy for wrestling buffs.

Knockout Kings 2000 Nintendo 64/Playstation
Only the N64 version of EA's hot-selling boxing title was on display at E3, but the game looks to be improved from last year. The N64 version looked pretty spectacular, with much sharper and more detailed fighters than last year's PSX version. The fighters look like spitting images of their real-world counterparts, with detailed muscles and cuts. The action is fast and responsive, much tighter than last year's edition. But to motivate fans of the original to buy a new version and to compete with Midway's Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, EA had better provide an expanded slate of options and a more complex career mode.

NFL Blitz 2000 Nintendo 64/Playstation/Dreamcast
Maybe die-hard Blitz fans will flock to this title, but for the rest of us, it is hard to tell exactly what is new in this new version of Blitz. While Blitz was a fun, arcade-style football game, the all-offense, no-defense act has already worn thin after a year, and without any substantial changes in the game, there's not a lot of reason for a typical sports gamer to buy a new version of this game. The Dreamcast version of Blitz looks good, but not notably better than last year's N64 and PSX versions. If you already have Blitz, enjoy it. It doesn't look like you'll need to bother getting the same game again this fall.

NHL 2000 Nintendo 64/Playstation
Hockey has always been a favorite of sports gamers, and EA's NHL series has long been the leader of the pack. The PSX version of NHL 2000 looks great, with improved framerate and animation from last year's version, tighter controls, and an all-new career mode. Combine the advanced gameplay of NHL 99 with the slick, smooth action of NHL 98, and you get NHL 2000 for the PSX. On the PC, NHL 2000 will be even better, thanks to two incredible improvements. First and most importantly, EA Sports reps claim that the PC version will be fully playable online with a 56K modem. EA Sports will offer a "matchup service" that will help players link up for online hockey action. Secondly, the PC version has a "face editor" function that will allow players to import their own faces from a JPG or TIF file, and let NHL render the face onto their 3-D models. This means your face can be actually placed and animated onto a player in NHL 2000. According to an EA rep, "you'll be able to watch yourself on the ice, yelling at the ref on the way to the penalty box. " Talk about getting "in the game"!

2nd report from Andy

Prince Naseem Boxing Playstation
The PSX may finally get a decent boxing game! I'm not a fan of previously-released titles that I won't name, and very happily was I impressed by what I saw of PNB. The graphics are looking sharp with impressive animation, and the controls were responsive. This game doesn't seem to be trying for sim-like reality, but it's not going for Ready 2 Rumble-like arcade-ness, either. This one's still too early to call, but it looks like Codemasters is really focusing on the gameplay, and that's great news for boxing fans everywhere.

Colin McRae Rally Playstation
This is a game you may have heard of, as it's the highly-rated, top-selling rally game in Europe and Australia and recently became a top 5 hit in Japan. This game was released last summer in Europe, but after playing it at E3 I can't wait for the U.S. release. The graphics are good, it has a very smooth framerate, and the control is excellent. Overall, the time I spent with the game wasn't nearly enough, and it's made me want to own it badly. CMR features 48 individual stages in 8 different countries/environments: from the forests of England to the snow and ice of Sweden, to dry and dusty Australia, all the terrain types you could want are featured. Cars can be set-up to suit your tastes, and there's even a Rally School to teach you what you need to know to compete. CMR seems to be the rally game we've all been waiting for.

No Fear Downhill Mountain Biking
Unless mountain biking games become the next rage, like snowboarding titles, Codemasters will have this genre all to themselves (I'm not going to count Rushdown). Just as the title suggests, this game focuses on mountain bike racing across a wide variety of locations and terrains. An interesting feature is that players will have to conserve their energy or they won't have enough to finish the race (there is an energy meter that diminishes as the bike is "pedaled"). This game has a lot of potential, and it certainly doesn't have any competition. Keep an eye on SGN for updates as this game nears completion.

Report from Matt

NFL 2000 Dreamcast
This may have been the most impressive sports game at the entire show. If anyone is wondering whether the Dreamcast will be a good sports console, that question has been answered with a resounding "YES."

Sega Sport's first football title for the Dreamcast already looks likea winner. Visually, the game is incredible.  The action is smooth, sharp, and detailed.  This game makes Quarterback Club for the N64 look choppy and muddy.  The action is fast and fluid, and between plays, cut scenes of players returning to the huddles or walking past the sidelines look almost like video.  From a distance you might mistake it for a real game.  The announcing is top-notch, and the crowd and sound effects are very realistic.  The announcers react intelligently to the action on the field and seem very attentive to game situations.

The Dreamcast controller, incidently, is more comfortable than it looks,and feels good.  Sega must have learned from Sony and designed a comfortable, egronomic controller.

On the downside, NFL 2000 will have no franchise mode, the playcalling interface is somewhat awkward and difficult to use, and the collision detection looks like it needs some work.  NFL 2000 won't be the best football title of all time, but it will be a hell of a good start for the Dreamcast.

Maddden 2000 PSX
Madden 2000 looks once again to be the football leader on the PSX console. The game is much smoother and more fluid than Madden 99.  According to EA, the game's framerate has been increased by 50%, and the controls will be much tighter and more responsive.  From a brief hands-on playtest, this seems right.  The game feels tighter than last year, and the choppiness of Madden 99 is gone.

The game features many new tackle and hit animations.  During a playtest, a defender hit my running back and knocked his helmet off. A new aspect of the game, according to EA, will be "momentum-based tackling." This new model will factor the height and weight of players involved in a hit or tackle, plus the speed, direction, and angle of the hit. The version at the show demonstrated this with ballcarriers being knocked sideways or staggering backwards with varying impact depending on the size of the player doing the hitting.  Players look proportionally sized in Madden2000, and seem to move accordingly.  There are a lot more endzone celebrations, gestures, and player reaction animations throughout the game.

The audio seems to be one of the clear areas of improvement.  Although difficult to hear totally clearly over the din of the show, there seemed to be much more sound in Madden 2000:  louder crowds, more commentary,and more atmospheric noise.  The instant replays have sound this year, instead of the eerie silent instant replays from Madden 99.  Accordingto the EA reps, the game will have 60% more speech, and many more stadium-specific chants and cheers.  (He promised trhat the "J-E-T-S, JETS! JETS! JETS!" cheer will be in the game)

Madden 2000 looks very good, but it isn't perfect.  The players, while smoother and more fluid, are not dramatically sharper or more defined than Madden 99.  They still look a bit grainy compared to other sports titles.  In addition, the game speed still doesn't seem quite right. When a player is sprinting to the endzone, he still looks like he's running at a 90% sprint.  Also, replays once again get cut off and don't show the entire play.  Perhaps these aspects will be improved in the coming months. Time will tell.

The PC version of Madden looks like the PSX version, only sharper and with more defined graphics.  The N64 version was not on display at E3, but is scheduled for a fall release along with the other versions of Madden.

NCAA 2000 PSX
This follow-up to one of the best sports titles from last year also looks very promising.  The gameplay is faster, tighter, and smoother. The game has a lot of new animations and tackles.  NCAA 2000 seemsto play very much like NCAA 99, but with a better framerate, smoother players,and with an overall faster gamespeed.  Fans of NCAA99 will not be disappointed.  The game looks to have built onto the best of last year's title without changing what wasn't broken.

EA has added two more conferences to the game, bringing the number of schools up to 141.

If that's not enough for you, there is a create-a-school option where you can create your own university, team name, uniform, and mascot, and let them take on the big boys.

If you like the dynasty mode in NCAA 99, it looks like you'll love NCAA2000.  According to EA, this year's dynasty mode will build on last year's model with individual player recruiting, regional recruiting, and redshirting options.

NCAA 2000 looks like it should be a must-buy for college gridiron fans.

NBA 2000 Dreamcast
NBA action is off to a fast start on the Dreamcast.  Sega Sport's NBA title looks and plays great, with NBA player faces and expressions that look remarkably like the real players (Kobe Bryant's hair and goatee were perfect).  The action is fast and smooth, with incredible-looking in-game replays.  While not as photo-realistic as Sega's football title, NBA 2000 looks and plays great.  Coaches pace on the sidelines. Crowds move and wave signs at you when you shoot freethrows. The defensive AI was a bit weak, however (you can drive and score on almost anyone),and the crowd cheers for every play, home team or visiting, so Sega needs to work on the brains of the game if it will play as good as it looks.

Fox Sports Basketball 2000 PC,PSX
Backed with the look and feel of the Fox Sports network, Fox Interactive is entering the basketball wars this fall with its own hoops title, developed by Radical.  According to Fox, they want a game that is easy to "pickup and play," but offers challenging gameplay to experienced players.

The game looks and plays well.  It looks like worthy competition to Live 99 and In the Zone 99.  In addition to having the look and feel of a Fox broadcast, it has impressive player animations and moves. Anyone worrying that this game has any relationship to Fox's woeful College Hoops title shouldn't -- it's a totally different game, built with an entirely distinct game engine.   The game is partially based on the ESPN NBA Tonight game, which was never released, but received some favorable previews.

With smooth, tight gameplay and the stront marketing power of Fox Sports, look for NBA 2000 to be a serious contender for the PSX hoops crown this fall.

QB Club 2000 N64
Acclaim is back, once again making a strong push for having the best football title on the N64.  The new edition of QBC features a lot of new customization options, including a create-a-team function where you can build a franchise from scratch, design a uniform, pick a logo,and throw the team into an NFL division.  Teams also now have custom playbooks and profiles, that set everything from playcalling tendencies and ratios, to special formations and plays specific to each NFL team.

Acclaim's already impressive graphical engine has been revamped again and looks to be even more impressive than last year.  But what about the AI, which has long been QBC's weakness?  Reps from Acclaim promise that their #1 goal this year is to vastly improve the game's AI and provide the best overall football experience on the N64.  We'll see.

QBC2000 is also scheduled for a Dreamcast release, but that version was not running when I visited Acclaim's booth.  With tough competition from Sega's incredible Football 2000, QBC has its work cut out for it on the Dreamcast.

Finally, Acclaim reps hinted that a PlayStation II version of QBC is already under development, so the race for football dominance on the PSXII seems to have already begun.

NBA Jam 2000 N64
Acclaim suprised many with a good NBA simulation with its Jam 99 for the N64.  But for some old-style NBA Jam fans, the game lacked the simple fun of its classic namesake.  Expect Jam 2000 to satisfy old and new Jam fans.  The simulation mode will be back with some improvements, especially an expanded franchise mode that will include walk-ons, training camps, "loyalty factors," free agent bidding, and other enhancements. But Acclaim has developed the arcade mode for the upcoming version with a totally separate engine that looks and plays much more like the classic, cartoony NBA Jam. The players hit each other, trip other players, pushoff, and do somersaults...

NBA Jam 2000 should please both arcade and sim basketball fans. This one could be a sleeper hit.

NFL Gameday 2000
So how does Gameday look this year?  No way to tell, since 989 Sports didn't even have a video of its NFL franchise at the show. NFL Gameday was nowhere to be seen at this year's E3.  The same was true last year, and the actual release played like it should have stayed behind closed doors for a few more months.  But with nothing to see, Gameday 2000 is a total question mark.

That's it for now, but check back soon with SGN for more E3 sports news,including impressions of Microsoft's NFL Fever (PC), Acclaim's WWF Attitude, EA's WCW Mayhem, and other sports titles shown at E3...

Report from Andy

NFL 2000 (Working Title) - Dreamcast
This game looks slick! The players have incredible detail (muscles, wrinkles in uniforms, breath clouds from the cold), the fields look great, and Sega has included so many little things, such as players on the sidelines, that it creates a terrific atmosphere. The play-calling screen is very cool - it serves the same purpose as every other play-calling screen in other football games, but they've given it a style that's a bit different. While playing the game, little details become noticeable: players slip on wet turf, players struggle for extra yards, momentum can carry tacklers beyond the play, and tackles look natural. Definitely a step above any football game you've ever seen. It's impossible to judge things like AI in such a short time, but so far this one's looking hot!

NBA 2000 (Working Title) - Dreamcast
Equally impressive is the sharpest looking basketball game you've ever seen. The detail in the player models is incredible, and it's difficult to describe how cool this game looks. The controls were tight and responsive, and picking up the basics of the game was fairly simple. Player animations are smooth and natural, and overall this game (and NFL 2000) will sell systems on their own.

Ready 2 Rumble - Dreamcast
This one drew constant large crowds, and after giving it a go for a few rounds, it's a winner. The characters are interesting, large, detailed, and have a good variety. The controls utililize every button on the DC controller, but are simple enough that anyone can get into the game very quickly.

Basically, this is pure arcade fun, but it's not a lightweight in the gameplay department. The trigger buttons allow you to guard, bob and weave, and beyond the basic punches, there are hidden combos to discover. Keep an eye out for this one, folks, it looks like a winner!

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