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Madden NFL 2005
Score: 97%
ESRB: Everyone
Publisher: EA Sports
Developer: Tiburon
Media: DVD/1
Players: 1 - 2
Genre: Sports (Football)

Graphics & Sound:
New season, new Madden. Entering what seems like its 100th year in existence (okay, so it's more like 25) Madden is back to once again to show why it’s the king.

At first glance, the graphical leap between Madden 2004 and 2005 isn't all that apparent. Much of the game remains unchanged, but a few more minor details have been reworked to give the game a much more refined look. Though their appearance pales in comparison to the ones in ESPN 2K5, players still look very good and feature new details like shoulder pads visible under mesh jerseys. Animations are where Madden really shines. Players show more variety in their motions and even feature their own specific quirks and personalized touchdown celebrations. Environmental effects like weather and stadium lighting are also handled well and help to sell the experience. Overall, the package is very good, with the only flaws being some of the sideline sights -- namely the cheerleaders. Coaches pace the sidelines during games and look like their real-life personas, but at the same time they carry this creepy feel that is hard to shake. The same goes for the cheerleaders, who are pretty scary to watch.

In the sound department, the only real changes seem to be in the music department. As with previous years, EA has managed to put together a great soundtrack for the game that features artists like New Found Glory, Faith No More, and Hoobastank. This year's edition also happens to feature the debut of the song "American Idiot" from Green Day. Commentary follows the same general pattern as previous games. In fact, the words of wisdom from Al and John sound just the same as last year's. This has been one of the problems I've had with the series from the start -- the commentators just don't seem to care or even like each other. Comments are kept very general and never seem to flow from one another. There's never any type of flow, comments just happen, sometimes two minutes after the action their talking about happens.


Gameplay:
The general concept found in previous editions of Madden remains largely unchanged, but this is to be expected without changing the fundamental rules of football. All of the modes found in previous Madden games are found here, some of which have received additions and upgrades with Franchise mode benefiting from the two biggest additions. Player Morale adds a bit of a Sims-like twist to the game. As G.M., you have to keep track of your players' morale, which directly affects their play on the field. If a player is down in the dumps, you have to figure out a way to get his spirits up. Some gamers, who are more interested in playing football then pandering to players' needs, may not like this mode, but I found that I grew to like it since it gave me more of a personal investment in my team. Plus, the problems are pretty realistic, giving some substance to the digital players. The mode still has a way to go before it can deliver what it's trying to, but it's a nice start.

Player Morale plays directly into the other big addition to Franchise mode, Storyline Central. Let's face it, half the fun of being an NFL fan is watching the off-the-field antics of players. Whether its Terrell Owens running his mouth or Randy Moss demanding the ball more, watching the over inflated egos of the “Kings of Bling” is more entertaining that the games they play in. Storyline Central is EA's attempt at getting this drama into Madden. Storylines are handled by three different sources, newspaper articles (both national and local), email, and the Tony Bruno radio show. Reading national papers will give you an idea of what other teams are going through, while local papers will give you an idea about what your team is going through. Issues can range from just about anything, but usually involve your starting players complaining about a lack of playing time (or money issues). Like the Sports Illustrated covers in the NCAA games, the newspapers aren't all that insightful or interesting, but they do a great job of letting you know what's going on.

If a player is having issues, you'll hear about it via emails. Most of the time the emails aren't all that helpful, but they can give you an idea about the mentality of your players. This is a good way to monitor which of your players will have production problems, indicating you need to change up your playing style to better suit them or start looking to make a trade. The Tony Bruno show is one of the more interesting ways of getting info. Its pretty obvious that all of the segments were prerecorded and are about as general as they can get, but it's totally worth it to hear some of the player interviews, play the trivia games and listen to the callers.

Also among the new features are two new mini-games: Two-Minute Drill and Rushing Attack. In Two-Minute Drill, you're given two minutes to do whatever you can with your offense before switching sides and letting your opponent have a shot. Pulling off big plays on both sides of the ball nets big points. Whoever has the most points at the end wins. Rushing attack works in a similar manner, only here the game is centered on a running back and three defensive players. Like Two-Minute Drill, big plays get big points.

The Online mode remains unchanged, which is great since it was never a problem. The most notable feature in this mode will come in a few weeks (if it isn't already available) with the EA Sports Premium pass. Costing $20 a year, this pass will grant players premium perks not available to everyone (don't worry, online play is still free). Perks include personalized career pages, league play, and early registration for the Madden Challenge (a 32-city Madden tournament).


Difficulty:
Solid. I really had few problems with Madden NFL 2005 from a difficulty standpoint. With the new additions of the defensive gameplay (which I'll get to in the next section), the entire game feels about as balanced as it ever has. There are still noticeable hiccups at times, and some times where the A.I. will blatantly cheat, but I found myself getting frustrated with the way the game was going less frequently than I have in the past. Both the running and passing games work well, giving players a nice challenge regardless of which difficulty you choose to play on.

Game Mechanics:
Last year, offense got all the love for EA. This year, it’s the defense's turn. In their quest to find even more uses for the right analog stick, EA is introducing the "hit stick" option. Now, instead of just running towards a player and hoping something happens, you now have a little control. Basically, this just gives you the option to get hard hits in on players, and try to knock the ball loose. This isn't that big of an addition, but it’s still wicked fun. The more useful changes are the ability to strafe, giving you a better chance to pick-off or swat down the ball, as well as being able to command your LBs to blitz on hot routes or back off. You can also assign your corners to certain receivers or to adjust their coverage.

Madden 2004 was a hard act to follow, but it seems like Madden NFL 2005 has done a great job of picking up where the last game left off. The game remains largely unchanged, except for the addition of new features and modes, but this is really not much of an issue. If it's not broken, don't fix it. However, EA has gone and made a number of changes to the formula and added a few new features that should make Madden fans very, very happy.


-Starscream, GameVortex Communications
AKA Ricky Tucker

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