In Accolade's 4th & Inches, take your opponents deep for the touchdown and then come back and flatten them on defense. Call a variety of offensive and defensive plays and execute them with one control player and ten computer-activated gridiron warriors who are programmed to carry out their assignments on each play. On offense, choose a formation, a play, and a receiver or ball-carrier. When on the defensive side of the ball, choose a formation, a control player, and whether or not to blitz or red-dog. The game also features a complete kicking game, including kickoffs, punts, field goals, and extra points.

The game is presented well, with realistic movements by all the players. After each touchdown, the ball-carrier even performs a dance similar to the Ickey Shuffle. (Note: 4th & Inches was produce long before the Cincinnati running back popularized his TD dance.) The game's only major limitation is the inability to pass the ball to a receiver other than the pre-selected one. On the plus side, the defensive control player does change to the defender closest to the ballplayer to carrier as the offensive player moves down the field. Both teams have rosters with two players available for each offensive and defensive position. Each player on the roster has varying experience and ability.

You must decide what type of game you want to play and then select the players who will best carry out your game plan. Accolade did not include many football sounds with this one- or two-player game. Most of the background noise is limited to cheering and music from an offscreen marching band. The only possible distraction in the game is the switching of screens when the ball-carrier moves downfield, but this becomes less of a problem after you've played the game several times and become accustomed to it. Its regulation 11-on-11 competition and its fast action make 4th & Inches our choice for top gridiron game.

Ratings: 5-excellent, 4-good, 3-average. 2-befew average, 1-very poor

Top Contender
John Elway's Quarterback - Melbourne House/Virgin Mastertronic

My Opinion:
When I first started playing this game it seem like a great game. Then I started to notice that every game was very close and the final score had only a few points difference. So I tried to get a big lead and win the game by a big margain. I could not do it. The computer team would always come back sometimes to win by a few points or I would win by a few points. I thought this very unrealistic and stop playing it. There are many other football games out there better than this game.

@COMPUTE!'s Gazette