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"It's third and four, on the 30 yard line. The Quarterback won a pass interference after the punt, and has made 40 rushing yards". If any of that makes sense to you, you must be a fan of American football, with its complex rules and bulging shoulder pads.

After a successful playing career, John Madden is now one of America's top commentators, and his game includes all the teams of the NFL and AFL leagues. There's also a special "super team", the Madden All-Stars, comprised of the best players from all the other sides.

Play is against the computer or a human opponent, with home and away fixtures if required. It's even possible to have a team play itself - away strips helping to remove any confusion!

Each match is made up of a series of offensive and defensive plays chosen via menus displaying diagrams of where principal players will be running to. Once both players have selected their strategies, the action starts with the offense's quarterback collecting the ball then passing it, running off with it or booting it forward depending on the play selected. If you've on offense, you control whoever is holding the ball, but the defending player can switch to whoever is closest to the ball so he can get in a tackle.

The defending team's overall task is to stop the offense from making the required 10 yards. Field goals, punts, sacks and fouls are all represented and the game is complete with sound effects of men having the wind knocked out of them!

Choosing a team is the most important decision in the game. Some teams will be stronger than others at certain things: Minnesota, for example, has a near-invincible running back, while Miami is great at passing.

Also a choice must be made between a regular season game, a playoff game (in other words, the Superbowl, where the fixtures are decided for you) and a sudden-death game in which the first team to score wins.

To succeed in this game, it's crucial to have a grasp of the offensive and defensive moves available. When it comes to choosing plays, both sides huddle up and the menus at the top of the screen scroll left and right to reveal the different defensive and offensive moves available.

If you're on offense and want to play a pass, use men with good catching ability or the ball will bounce right out of their hands. Likewise, when trying a running play, choose players who are fast on their feet, or the other team will bring the running back to the floor before he's made any distance.

The defense's best tactic is to try to work out his opponent's most logical move, hope he's logical enough to use it then select a play which blocks his progress or perhaps even allows an interception which will turn the game around.

As with any American sport, reams of statistics are heavily featured throughout the game. Together with the scouting report on the teams, which lists their strengths and weaknesses; this helps in the decision for a team, and allows for "spying" on the opposition!

At the end of each half, John Madden appears to give the stats so far; these include the number of first downs made, the rushing yardage (how far each team has carried the ball), the passing yardage (the length of throwing plays), and defensive sacks (how often the defense has knocked down the opposing quarterback in his own half).

John Madden's stunning intro music (by ex-C64 maestro Rob Hubbard) lets you know that this game is something special, and things just get more impressive from then on!

The array of options and statistics gives this the kind of realistic feel that was missing from Megadrive Cyberball. On top of that, the game is packed with little extras further helping to set this apart from other console sports sims; the dances done by the player making the touchdown, for example!

Although the game is quite daunting at first (there are so many decisions to make), a couple of games will teach you all the skills necessary to roundly trounce the computer, and after that you'll be ready to take on a skilled human opponent.

With gorgeous graphics, super sound, and perfect playability, this is a Must-Have game for Megadrive owners.