PLAYMAKER FOOTBALL

 PLAYMAKER FOOTBALL by Broderbund is a football simulation that concentrates on
the strategic elements of coaching a football team. From drafting players to the
creation of specific plays, PLAYMAKER FOOTBALL gives the would-be coach complete
control over practically every aspect of the game. The result is perhaps the
most thorough and enjoyable simulation of the sport available on any
microcomputer. (This review is based on the Macintosh version.)

 PLAYMAKER presents players with an overhead perspective of the playing field.
Individual team members are represented by nicely animated figures. The entire
field is not visible at once, so the screen scrolls to cover the action when
necessary. The automatic scrolling, like most other features of the game, may be
circumvented.

 Coaches pit their teams either against those included with PLAYMAKER, or those
created by other players. Similarly, either the computer or a another player can
coach the opposing team. Gameplay proceeds as each coach selects a play from his
or her playbook. In the event that two people go head-to-head, the offense
should determine which play to employ first, while the defensive coach looks
away. After the offense has made its choice, the defense may then choose its own
strategy. Once each side has selected its play, the action takes place as the
animated players run, block, pass, kick, and tackle. When the computer is
coaching the opponent, players may manually control exactly when and where the
quarterback passes, or where the offense ball carrier and defense middle
linebacker run. If two humans are coaching the opposing teams, they should
probably forego manual control in the interest of fairness.

 After each play, a dialog box explains precisely what has transpired, including
who caught a pass, who made the tackle, and how many yards were gained or lost.
This play-by-play option may be toggled off, but most players probably won't do
so because it's a great help in understanding the results of the sometimes
confusing action onscreen. In addition to the play-by-play, you can save or
print a text-file transcript of each play's results for the entire game.

 However, the real heart of PLAYMAKER -- and what distinguishes it from other
computer football games -- is its ability to customize each team member's
abilities and actions. Every team is composed of 30 players (including
alternates) to whom 7,500 ability points are distributed. The ability points
(allocable to each team member) affect his speed, strength, intelligence,
discipline, and agility. Because of the limited number of ability points, care
must be taken to distribute them effectively. This is where PLAYMAKER really
shines, as the strategies are limited only by the player's imagination. For
instance, will a team excel in passing and receiving and be blessed with a
wonderful quarterback and receivers, or will it have an exceptionally strong
defense and great runners? It's up to the coach to decide.

 Once the team has been drafted and the abilities apportioned, the coach can
begin to train the recruits, taking advantage of their abilities by writing
plays that capitalize on the team's strengths. This occurs in PLAYMAKER's
Chalkboard editor mode, where individual team members are represented by
standard football symbols. Double-clicking on a symbol reveals the player's
name, position, and abilities. You can place team members in specific formations
simply by dragging their symbols. Next, you may specify each player's actions
(to a high degree of accuracy and detail) by choosing from an iconic palette.
Just click on an icon, and actions will be assigned to each team member. The
range of choices is great, and includes such complex instructions as the pump
fake, push block, and scan pass. After the instructions have been assigned to
each player, coaches can hone their plays on the practice field before saving
them as a playbook. Playbooks may be password-protected in order to keep
opponents from snooping; they may also be printed for reference.

 In addition to the detailed Chalkboard editor mode, PLAYMAKER includes an
option that describes the artificial intelligence (AI) the computer uses for
each play when you let it coach your team. This feature is also helpful whenever
a friend wants to challenge your team to a game, but you can't coach your team
in person. By customizing the AI options, you determine which play will be
called when, allowing the computer to emulate your own personal coaching style.
The AI governs such factors as the frequency of a certain play, where on the
field the play should be called, specific situations in which a certain play
should be called, and how to evaluate whether a given play is a success or
failure against particular adversaries. The AI editor is a powerful and integral
feature of successful coaching strategies in PLAYMAKER, and one of the most
unique and exciting aspects of the game. Together with the ability points and
Chalkboard editor, the AI editor gives coaches an unprecedented degree of team
customization -- which is why PLAYMAKER FOOTBALL is such a satisfying game.

 Unlike some games (including some sports simulations) that eventually become
boring and predictable, PLAYMAKER encourages constant tinkering. Whether it's
re-allocating ability points, writing new plays, or changing your style of
coaching, there's always the question "what if...?"

 The Macintosh version comes on two 800K diskettes, is MultiFinder compatible,
and runs on all Macs; the documentation is excellent. Good animation,
informative play-by-play, and digitized sounds all combine to make PLAYMAKER a
successful and entertaining simulation of TV's Saturday afternoon games.
Broderbund has a real winner in PLAYMAKER FOOTBALL!

 PLAYMAKER FOOTBALL is published and distributed by Broderbund.

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