Review by: Shawn Quigley

Published: October 1, 1997

Many of us have grown up during a time when football has changed from the grid-iron football of the past to the prime-time football of today. Looking back into those years of the “Immaculate Reception” by Franko Harris, or any other big play, brings back memories of football’s greatest moments. Accolade has attempted to bring back those times with the release of their new football game, Legends Football ’98. Legends Football ’98 was one of the most anticipated football games of the year. The idea of being able to play in football games all the way back to the 1930′s and putting teams on the field from different eras just could not be overlooked. The possibilities were limitless.

Legends ’98 is a Windows 95 game that uses the newest version of DirectX, version 5.0. After an introduction that is modeled after those great NFL films that recap the past history of football, you are greeted with a menu that allows you to choose which era you would like to play in. Each era in Legends ’98 has its own look to it that resembles that time in football. When playing during the 1932 era, you will have to play on a field with no hash marks. Coincidentally, the goal posts are placed at the back of the end zone. There are many different rules in each era. For example, in 1950, offensive blockers where not allowed to extend their arms, really limiting what they could do in the area of pass protection. In 1968, there was no play clock, but the officials calling the game could call a penalty for delay of game at their own discretion. It is these different rules and different eras that give Legends ’98 its strength when compared to all the other football games on the market.

In Legends ’98, you can either play a preseason game or start a season. Preseason games are just like exhibition games and allow you to get right into the action without dealing with all the season aspects of football. When beginning a preseason game, you can choose which two teams you wish to play with and they can be from any of the different eras. To navigate around the different menu screens, you need to use either the keyboard or joystick, because there is no mouse support in Legends ’98. After choosing the teams you want to play with, you can select a user profile that will keep track of your own player records as you play games. From here, you are brought into a screen that tosses the coin to decide who is going to receive the kick.

The second way of playing games is through the season mode. Season mode gives players the chance to set up seasons in different eras. During season play, you have complete control over all the players on your team and have the ability to make trades during the year. A nice part of Legends ’98 is that players will age during the game, and playing seasons will bring upon drafts at the end of each year to allow you to bring younger and healthier players onto your roster. The control of teams during a season takes place by allowing the player to buy and sell teams. Teams you own are under your own control and, if you would prefer the computer take control back, you simply sell that team back to the computer.

Every player in Legends ’98 has a numerical value associated with his player rating. These ratings are everything from age to weight, and from speed to agility. What these ratings do is basically distinguish the great players from the average players. During season play, you can modify the settings of players to give yourself 450 pound offensive lineman if you would like. There are depth charts that can give you a quick glimpse of the players on your roster, and how deep you are at particular positions.