Madden NFL 2002

"A big disappointment......"

I have to say that this year's Madden has been what I consider one of the biggest dissapointing games ever. I rented the game for the weekend expecting big things since the screenshots appeared impressive and it received rave reviews especially citing its gameplay. It was also my first time playing Madden on a 128 bit console (not at a store). Okay so here's the run down:

Graphics: 6/10
This game is really a mixed bag when it comes to graphics. On one hand the stadiums are recreated beautifully and there are some very nice lighting effects used especially for night games. The player models are pretty mediocre. The texture work is decent (except the faces which only the coaches match thier real-life counterparts) although some times a bit drab but the strange way the player models are constucted reminds of a picture thats height had been shortened but its width unchanged. The cheerleader models look like more attention was to paid to them and put the player models to shame even. The crowd is less than spectacular to say the very least. Madden doesn't have bad grahpics but the player models should be looked at and adjusted accordingly.

Sound: 2/10
Whoever headed this part of the game should be shot! The commentary John Madden Pat Summeral is God awful and sparse and when they do talk they almost always say the same things. EA needs to look at NFL 2k2's commentary (an actually everything else) which is always fresh, spot on and even funny. And I don't know what's up with the menu music so I just won't go there cause it just plain sucks.

Gameplay: 4/10
The gameplay itself has a bit to be desired too. The pace of the game is too slow for my liking. Th response to the controller on the screen is just not there. Instead you get that annoying ''delay'' in between button commands. The runnig game is okay but the input delay gets annoying at times. The AI is also poor as it lets you get away with the same bone-head plays over and over again which leads the game to place absolutely no importance of actual football knowledge just a few ''money plays''. The passing game is the redeeming quality of Madden's gameplay. Leading receivers is easy and the feel of the passing is just good.

Features: 10/10
Any feature you can imagine is in Madden. To many to list but to keep it short there's the following:
* A very indepth franchise mode
* A 2 minute drill mode
* Tons of teams from the past as well as NFL Europe teams
* Other stuff I can't remember but there's alot.

Overall Madden 2002 is game that is a definate rent before you buy it. If you like NFL 2k2 then stay very far away from Madden because you will be aggrevated more each time you play it (like myself). If you like the Madden series (or Gameday) then you should buy it but not before you've tried other football games first.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 03/16/02, Updated 03/16/02