Game Gear - Joe Montana Football

Format
Game Gear
Publisher
Sega
Developer
Blue Sky
Country of origin
US
Release date
1992
Genre
Sports

Joe Montana Football

By David Rasmussen
21st Mar 08

Once again we’re back to Game Gear reviews, this week’s theme being entirely set on sports or gambling related things (I.e. everything you can do or bet on during your next trip to Vegas or some other gambling mecca which believes in betting on American sports (like Baseball or Sports Trivia Football). This week’s shout out goes to Doug (which is often as he supplies 19 out of the first 25 reviews we’re going through these first weeks of Game Gear reviews!)

Do you remember back, way back when, when professional NFL Football wasn’t a Madden only affair? When every company with a capable sports development team could work and release their own sports related games? You remember way back then, right?

Yeah, it’s when the 2K5 rival edition of Sports came out, that’s the way Madden finally felt threatened enough to steal the show and make it exclusively their franchise to murder (slowly with so-so games that don’t thrive much to evolve since it has no natural “enemies” to feel the need to evolve against post the exclusivity agreement that made Madden the “only show in town”).

But let’s forget about all that, and harken back to the early days… when sports stars could have their own license franchise games… back to 1991, and Joe Montana Football for the SEGA Game Gear.

Then remember why it was Madden wasn’t threatened until 2005.
Joe Montana Football should have been called Joe Montana No Frills Football, because that is just what you get in this game… a game of football. Pick your team, pick the computer AI team, and play. No dynasty mode, no season play, no run for the super bowl (that I can see though I could be wrong). Just pick up the game and play.

OK. It’s the SEGA Game Gear so maybe that’s par for the course…
If I haven’t played World Series Baseball (with it’s Pennant race season mode) that is.
But maybe it does offer a good solid game of football… which it doesn’t.
Instead of the usual top down running up or down mode your better familiar with in termss of games like Madden (for the GameBoy Advance for instance) this is side scrolling football, and it’s not well packed either. The move list offered is abit shallow to say the least, which is kinda odd since this is supposed to be a game associated with a well known football player (Joe Montana), hence it should be a game that is versed in football since it’s nakesake is supposed to be well versed in football.

There’s some sort of lock on for throwing the ball, but it’s hit or miss whether to person you throw it to will actually catch it (and this game is being shilled by a Quarterback?!?). Everyone shuffles about when the ball is snapped yet somehow they can always tackle you (no Tecmo Bowl cheat of running diagonally to “trick” the AI in this game). Oh, and the overall game presentation as you play couldn’t be more yawn inducing even if the game tried to be so.

Also for a game that is tied by name to a well known star of the sport it seems rather mediocre in presentation and delivery. Heck, I’d have better things to say (no doubt) about old school Gretsky hockey games over this (though I could be wrong). It seems to me for all the name rep of the person this game is tied to this game doesn’t live up to the pedigree that is shilling the game (unless your not a Montana fan then you’d probably think this game is right up his alley). Anyway what was the last thing Montana shilled? I forgot… sausages, cologne, something edible or non-edible?

Well in anycase this is one of the many reasons why Madden didn’t feel threatened by the “competition” until 2005 (when the competition started to really prove to be competition).
Joe Montana Football is a lackluster time passer that is not much of a football game (hmm… I wonder if Madden was ever ported to the Game Gear)…
So, with that in mind, I give Joe Montana 2 sausage shills (great party, Joe, sucky game) out of 5.

-- David Rasmussen 21st Mar 08

Game Gear Joe Montana Football Images