Mike Ditka Ultimate Football is....... not bad actually!!
Being a big fan of the John Madden series I come into this review with a slight bias on my opinion but I have to say it, Mike Ditka doesn't let down the side of underdogs.
Better known in the NFL as 'Iron Mike', Mike Ditka was a hardened football coach that took NOOOOO nonsense. A bit like this game.
It throws you straight into the options, offering you a single exhibition or a whole season, then lets the hard man image down a little by holding your hand through the three handy drills - kickoffs, running and passing and field goals.
These are recognized as the toughest part of the game, so if you're not one tough cookie you better practice these or you'll be dog meat when it comes to playing the game against the computer or a human competitor.
The game offers a slack multitude of options in comparison to Madden but hey, this isn't trying to be Big John this is Ditka and applause goes out to Iron Mike for trying to be different. There are options such as being able to toggle on or off the likes of fumbles, injuries, penalties and fatigue.
Passing difficulty can being played in one of three difficulties - ranging from the screen pausing when you get the ball to pass so you have all the
time on Ditka's watch to pass or operate to pass AND the catch together in real time.
Next step is to organize your team which you can do to your heart's delight and even change the color of their kit and the name and number that displays on their shirts. This is something I really like and isn't featured in Madden - you can actually envision yourself on the football field playing, sweating, working like a hound... all for Mike Ditka's prestige.
The action comes hard and fast - just like Ditka........ the controls are surprisingly very smooth and are mostly controlled with the mouse; this takes out the brain strain out of remembering the plethora of keystrokes required just for one simple move.
I nearly forgot to mention the inclusion of the construction set which lets you create, modify or delete leagues and also create new teams, players and contents in your playbook.
All in all, I enjoyed playing Mike Ditka's Ultimate Football but only scores a pair of field goals compared to John Madden's touchdown. A real football fan will know what that means and download it. Nice Effort.
