Although based on American football - never more than a niche sport here in the UK (though the London Monarchs managed to raise awareness of the sport during their first, glorious season in the World League) - and endorsed by someone who’s name was completely unfamiliar, this Mega Drive title is a classic.

The gameplay was the thing. Whether you were a fan of the sport or didn’t know a first-down from a nose guard, once you knew how to play the game you were hooked. Using a pseudo 3D perspective in a way that no-one had before, John Madden Football (he’s an ex-coach by the way and the ‘Mr SuperBowl’ TV commentator) managed to capture the competitiveness of the real sport beautifully – and there were no ad breaks.

Playing involved first the offensive player selecting a play from a vast play book, and then the defensive player selecting a play to counter what they thought the offensive player had chosen. Then it was a case of hitting the button and controlling your selected player in realtime as the play was run. And, just like the real thing, the unexpected usually happened. You were only 2nd down with one yard to go – a natural running play, so decided to throw the ball to the wide receiver controlled by the C button. The defensive player however came on the blitz. You were sacked for a loss of 12 yards. Now it’s third and long and you’ve got to throw the ball. Or do you?

John Madden Football set the benchmark for competitive sport sims and the series is still going. John Madden’s NFL ’99 is currently doing the rounds on PC and will soon be available for PlayStation and N64. Future Gamer salutes the Mega Drive version and the editor in particular remembers the drubbings handed out to his then deputy editor Neil West, now editor of our sister magazine Arcade.