The actual gameplay takes place in a playoffs system of a fictional American football league. Gameplay involves the usual football fare of choosing a play and attempting to execute it. On offense, when throwing the football, a meter appears which measures the strength of the passer's throw. On defense, the player controls a defensive player and tries to tackle the opposing ball carrier or attempt to break up a pass play. There is an option to either play with or without background music.

A football game from Tehkan.

An American Football game from Williams.

Celebrity endorsed football game with a rather unusual premise - play American-style football back in the Middle Ages. Come again?

I have no useridea who Jerry Glanville is, but I wouldn't blame him for going into hiding after endorsing this sad arcade game. Sorry, Midway, but the premise just doesn't work - and the lame graphics and poor gameplay don't help, either.

Part of Sega's in-house pro football series - a celebrity endorsed series that went with Joe Montana as its spokesman until the 1996 release, when the decision was made to use Deion Sanders instead.

The series got progressively better as time went on, and by the end could rightly be called a decent competitor to the Madden NFL series. Some people find its auto zoom mode quite irritating, but that's a personal pique.

This is the second release in this series of games and Sega's first game to employ its "Sports Talk" feature, which gave you running commentary during the game.

One of Sega's in-house pro football series. The series got progressively better as time went on, and by the end could rightly be called a decent competitor to the Madden NFL series. I find its auto zoom mode quite irritating, but that's a personal pique.

NFL Sportstalk Football 2 has the first use of the zoom feature which focused in on the action immediately around the ball handler during gameplay.

One of Sega's in-house pro football series. The series got progressively better as time went on, and by the end could rightly be called a decent competitor to the Madden NFL series. I find its auto zoom mode quite irritating, but that's a personal pique.

With NFL '94 the series finally starts to play like a decent football sim, featuring an overhauled game engine and making good use of digitized sound samples.

This video game is similar to the previous, NFL Football '94 Starring Joe Montana, except in this version, there is no play by play commentary, the lineups of the football teams are updated to reflect the 1994 NFL season, and there are more plays for the player's football team to perform on offense and defense. Once again, Joe Montana appears on the title screen.

Despite the updated rosters, the game is notable in that it still had Deion Sanders as a member of the Atlanta Falcons instead of the San Francisco 49ers, with whom Sanders signed as a free agent during the offseason. The 49ers went on to win Super Bowl XXIX in Sanders' only season with the team before signing with the rival Dallas Cowboys the following offseason.

The game featured Free Agency, Create-A-Player (which allowed players to create a 21-year-old rookie and adjust his vital statistics), and varied in-game music.

It's a snap! This is your chance to rub shoulder pads with Joe Montana, the man who led the "Team of the Eighties" to four Super Bowl Championships. You provide all the fourth quarter heroics, play-calling brilliance, and pinpoint passing as you hit the field against any of 28 pro teams. Call all your own plays! Each team has a playbook with 17 offensive and six defensive options. Pick the play that you think will work best, or take the advice of Joe Montana himself, as he recommends the play he would call in each situation. You control the action on the field by switching to the key player as the play unfolds. Your strength and speed will vary by position, just like the real sport. Knock helmets with the computer or punch holes in a friend's defense. Can you keep your head cool and your passing arm hot? Pick your team. Choose the plays. Think you have what it takes to be the next Joe Montana?

A football game with Joe Montana's name on it, but with no other real-life NFL football player actually in it, besides Joe himself. You can choose one of 28 teams from actual cities, but these are not the actual teams themselves. All the major rules of major league football are intact, and this game features a playbook that lets you edit and save plays and use them during the game. If only it wasn't so blinking easy, this gridiron sim would keep you playing for ages. The overhead side-view works well.

Part of Sega's in-house pro football series - a celebrity endorsed series that went with Joe Montana as its spokesman until the 1996 release, when the decision was made to use Deion Sanders instead.

The series got progressively better as time went on, and by the end could rightly be called a decent competitor to the Madden NFL series. Some people find its auto zoom mode quite irritating, but that's a personal pique.

Joe Montana Football, the first release, is an obvious port of the 8-bit Master System game - old and forgettable.

Joe Montana Football is a Football Sim game, developed by Blue Sky Software and published by Sega, which was released in 1991.

In John Elway's Quarterback, it's one player vs. the computer or two human players going head-to-head in single-game American football action. Select your team's home city (there is no NFL or NFLPA license, so there are no real teams or players) and then battle the opposing team for four 15-minute (accelerated real-time) quarters. Graphics are simple: one team has blue uniforms, the other team red ones. The human player gets control of the quarterback on offense and the middle linebacker on defense. The play perspective is top-down and vertical-scrolling. Choose from 9 offensive--mostly passing--plays and 6 defensive plays. Teams have 9 players each.

John Elway's Team Quarterback is a Sports game, developed and published by Leland Corporation, which was released in 1988.

John Madden Football kicks off its Super Nintendo debut with 29 teams (including the All-Madden Team), 100 realistic plays, adjustable weather conditions, and a unique passing view that uses three windows to zoom-in on the receivers. Despite the lack of an NFL or NFLPA license, players and teams are modeled after real-life counterparts from the 1990 season. Three play options include Pre-Season, Regular Season (one game only) and Playoffs, which can be continued via password. John Madden Football also features penalties, timeouts, turnovers and audibles to help create an authentic football experience.

All 30 NFL teams, including Jacksonville and Carolina. Hidden codes reveal secret teams and players. Create Player Combine Scouting - Game within the game. All-new 3-D rendered graphics and animations: over-the-top dives, kneeling catches, logos in the end zone, clothesline tackles, left-handed QB/kickers. General Manager feature - trade and sign players. Over 20 new offensive and defensive plays. Full season with Playoffs and Super Bowl.

NFL Football--MADDEN STYLE!
Full NFL SEASON, playoffs, Super Bowl, and Pro Bowl
TV-STYLE PRESENTATION -- Live commentary with Madden and Summerall, plus James Brown in the studio
Over 100 NFL TEAMS
NFL PLAYER rosters
CREATE and TRADE players
Over 500 MADDEN designed plays 31 3-D rendered NFL STADIUMS
Multiple CAMERA ANGLES
10 real NFL PENALTIES
Player and team season STATS tracked in over 60 catergories

One of the excellent celebrity endorsed football games by one of the true legends of the sport. For those of you unfamiliar with American pro football, John Madden started out as a player, then moved on to become a coach, then after retiring became one of the game's most popular television sportscasters. The basic game engine and outstanding gameplay remained the same throughout, with all the usual tweaking and fiddling with the graphics, sound, and user options. It really doesn't matter which one in the series you play - they're all worth the trouble. The series spawned many imitators over the years, but few came close to matching this football gaming classic.

The first game from this legendary series of American football games. John Madden Football ('91) features over 100 of Coach Madden's own plays and has team stats coming out of the wazoo. Impressive in itself and set the benchmark for other football games, but the sequels are far superior.

One of the excellent celebrity endorsed football games by one of the true legends of the sport. For those of you unfamiliar with American pro football, John Madden started out as a player, then moved on to become a coach, then after retiring became one of the game's most popular television sportscasters. The basic game engine and outstanding gameplay remained the same throughout, with all the usual tweaking and fiddling with the graphics, sound, and user options. It really doesn't matter which one in the series you play - they're all worth the trouble. The series spawned many imitators over the years, but few came close to matching this football gaming classic.

The most notable feature of this second game in the series is the crude attempt at digital animation during Coach Madden's lectures.

One of the excellent celebrity endorsed football games by one of the true legends of the sport. For those of you unfamiliar with American pro football, John Madden started out as a player, then moved on to become a coach, then after retiring became one of the game's most popular television sportscasters. The basic game engine and outstanding gameplay remained the same throughout, with all the usual tweaking and fiddling with the graphics, sound, and user options. It really doesn't matter which one in the series you play - they're all worth the trouble. The series spawned many imitators over the years, but few came close to matching this football gaming classic.

In John Madden Football '93 the graphics as a whole have improved considerably, along with the digital animation - now Coach Madden looks like he's dancing the rhumba, but at least he's recognizable. Also adds split-screen play calling, quarterback "stop clock" gameplay, and no-huddle offenses.

One of the excellent celebrity endorsed football games by one of the true legends of the sport. For those of you unfamiliar with American pro football, John Madden started out as a player, then moved on to become a coach, then after retiring became one of the game's most popular television sportscasters. The basic game engine and outstanding gameplay remained the same throughout, with all the usual tweaking and fiddling with the graphics, sound, and user options. It really doesn't matter which one in the series you play - they're all worth the trouble. The series spawned many imitators over the years, but few came close to matching this football gaming classic.

John Madden Football 93 - Championship Edition is useridentical to its precursor (John Madden Football 93) in almost every feature save one - it also includes the eight greatest NFL teams up to that time, so now you can relive classic matchups or try out your favorite what-if scenarios - this was a Blockbuster videogame rental exclusive.

One of the excellent celebrity endorsed football games by one of the true legends of the sport. For those of you unfamiliar with American pro football, John Madden started out as a player, then moved on to become a coach, then after retiring became one of the game's most popular television sportscasters. The basic game engine and outstanding gameplay remained the same throughout, with all the usual tweaking and fiddling with the graphics, sound, and user options. It really doesn't matter which one in the series you play - they're all worth the trouble. The series spawned many imitators over the years, but few came close to matching this football gaming classic.

With Madden NFL 96 somebody must have complained about the lack of digitized graphics in the previous game, because this installment includes way too many digitized graphics and sound for its own good.

One of the excellent celebrity endorsed football games by one of the true legends of the sport. For those of you unfamiliar with American pro football, John Madden started out as a player, then moved on to become a coach, then after retiring became one of the game's most popular television sportscasters. The basic game engine and outstanding gameplay remained the same throughout, with all the usual tweaking and fiddling with the graphics, sound, and user options. It really doesn't matter which one in the series you play - they're all worth the trouble. The series spawned many imitators over the years, but few came close to matching this football gaming classic.

Madden NFL 97 is the most balanced game of the series in terms of flash vs. substance.

One of the excellent celebrity endorsed football games by one of the true legends of the sport. For those of you unfamiliar with American pro football, John Madden started out as a player, then moved on to become a coach, then after retiring became one of the game's most popular television sportscasters. The basic game engine and outstanding gameplay remained the same throughout, with all the usual tweaking and fiddling with the graphics, sound, and user options. It really doesn't matter which one in the series you play - they're all worth the trouble. The series spawned many imitators over the years, but few came close to matching this football gaming classic.

Madden NFL 98, the last in the series, is way too flashy for its own good, featuring a slick but confusing side-slide menu system.

All 31 teams from the 1999 season are available to play as or against in four different modes: Exhibition, Season, Playoffs, and Overtime. More than 150 offensive and defensive plays are included to help players lead their team to the Super Bowl.

Madden NFL 2001 features 31 NFL teams from the 2000 season, an All-Madden team, over 150 offensive and defensive plays, and three modes of play: Exhibition, Season, and Playoffs.