1) Pat and John are back. Anyone who played Madden '99, even the most devoted fan of the series, may have wondered why the famous broadcast duo of John Madden and Pat Summerall seemed so lifeless and quiet in last year's version. At times, Madden would be silent so long, it seemed like maybe he'd left the booth to go fix a snack. Not this year. Pat and John seem recharged in the booth in Madden 2000. Pat especially sounds like he had his coffee and is following the game closely. He notes formations at the line of scrimmage, describes the play as it unfolds, and notes the outcome. This year, a typical Summerall line might be: "The defense comes out in the nickel package… The quarterback takes the snap… throws to the right… it's caught… stopped at the 44-yard line by Eugene Robinson!" Pat's color is so good, in fact, it can help you on the field. On a couple occasions while I was playtesting, Pat noted that the defense had come out in the dime package, something I hadn't notice as my offense broke the huddle. I used that clue to audible from a streak passing play to a halfback draw. In short, say goodbye to lackluster announcing. One of the most immediate and noticeable improvements in Madden 2000 is a rejuvenated announcing team.

2) "Custom Gameplay" This is a feature I never saw mentioned by EA, but it's a great new addition to Madden football. Taking a cue from NFL Gameday, EA's "Custom Gameplay" option allows you to fine-tune the gameplay and AI, determining how aggressive or conservative the computer should play against you, changing the running/passing ratios of computer-controlled teams, and adjusting the speed of the game clock, along with various other aspects of the game. This is a welcome and overdue addition to Madden football. Finally, you can adjust the game settings beyond the basic difficulty level to provide what feels like the right challenge in a computer opponent.

3) Situation Mode. Another great idea EA Sports has borrowed from a competitor, Acclaim's Quarterback Club series, the situation mode lets you play out one of several historic game scenarios, or create one yourself. With this mode, you can, for example, make it 4th quarter, 1:41 to go, down by six, on your own 19-yard line, with only one time out left to burn… then try to pull out the win. Think you can calmly execute that 2-minute drill to win a game in crunch time like Elway or Montana? Here's the test. The situation mode is a great addition to the practice mode, letting you not only work on your gameplay, but execute drives within a certain amount of time. Situations can be saved on a memory card, so you can share them with others or post them online via a Dex Drive.

4) "Hot Routes" This is a great addition to the gameplay that has gone mostly unadvertised. With "hot routes," you can audible a different route to a particular receiver at the line of scrimmage, without changing the entire play. You just hit the triangle button at the line of scrimmage, then the symbol of the receiver, then push the D-button up to send him on a fly pattern, down for a curl, or left/right for an out pattern. This will be great for on-the-fly adjustments to particular defenses without changing the basic play you wanted.

5) Franchise the night away. If you enjoyed Madden's franchise mode last year, this year's version is not only more detailed and involved, but more entertaining. Once again, you can manage your team's roster under the salary cap, sign free agents, cut players, make trades, and draft young talent, but the options are more detailed in Madden 2000. You can have up to eight players in the same franchise season. If you have the time, you can play up to 32 consecutive franchise seasons (that's should hold you until Madden 2001 comes out). You can make or receive multiple player trades, including trading draft picks for players. At any time, you can let the CPU manage some of your management tasks for you… but what's the fun in that? Also, this year, when you negotiate or re-negotiate contracts, you get feedback from the player's agent. The agent's responses are often a riot. Some examples: "Hmmm… that's not a bad offer, if you add another zero to that figure!"; "Stop wasting my client's time! He needs more money or more years!"; or (my favorite so far) "That would be a fair offer if it didn't completely suck!" Finally, the franchise mode gives you a chance to redeem yourself if things don't work out like you hope. If you perform poorly and you are fired as the coach of your team, you can get a second chance with another team that has a coaching vacancy. Yep, that's right, now you can be a cyber-Rich Kotite, bouncing from team to team.

6) Juke left, juke right. Last year's "juke" move was a great addition to the arsenal of player moves at your disposal for shedding defenders. In Madden 2000, you can use a left or right juke (L1, R1), depending on the situation. This gives you just a little more control on a crucial run or play. It might help win a game for you...

7) Momentum-based tackling. At E3, a member of the EA Sports team told me they were working on something called "momentum-based tackling" for Madden 2000, where the impact of hits and tackles took into account the speed, weight, and power of players on the field to determine the impact of the hit. No longer would 170-pound defensive backs level 240-pound fullbacks with ease. At the time, I took a wait-and-see attitude, since this is the kind of thing that is often promised by football developers but rarely delivered. I'm happy to report that "momenting-based tackling" isn't just a catchy marketing phrase for the back of the CD case -- the tackling physics and animations in Madden are the best I've ever seen in the video game. Not only do players at different position have different-size bodies, but their varying size and weights factor how easily they go down, or how devastating their hits are to other players. Improving on Madden 99's solid tackling animations, this year's game engine just looks natural and realistic. Players get knocked sideways, spun backwards, driven into the ground, or temporarily staggered by a solid hit. On occasion, you get wrapped up in a tackle, but not taken down, and can break free for more yardage. This new tackling model is the kind of improvement that isn't the flashiest innovation, but shows the attention to detail and realism that keeps Madden as the game to beat in the videogame world.