Madden NFL 2002

"EA, You've done it again..."

Introduction

Since 1992 there have been a lot of Madden titles but this one by far beats them all.

Gameplay 9/10

This edition has as good gameplay as any other NFL title, even better. The controls are perfectly designed to pass or run, you can just pick up the game and start playing. The game modes include Exhibition, Season, Tournament, Franchise and Training. In this last one you get Tips by John Madden himself on how to read a play. You can create players, create a Team, customize your audibles and the always welcome Madden Cards. To get Madden Cards you have to create a Profile, then play and get Tokens doing things like gain 20 yards in a run to Return a Kick off for a Touchdown. The greater the more tokens. Madden Cards give your players a Stats boost or give you an advantage like Higher chances to get Interceptions. In the Create-a-Player feature you can customize your player’s College, his build, his gear and of course, his stats.

Story 9/10

Story? A sports game can’t have a story or can it? Well Madden 2002 does. It’s called Franchise Mode, where you can control every aspect of your team for 30 seasons, from Drafting a Rookie in the NFL Draft to seeing them retire. There’s even an Expansion Draft where you can have the Houston Texans or a created Team. If your team isn’t winning you can fire your coach and hire another one. With all this you can create a great Franchise, although this sometimes can seem unreal because winning the Super Bowl 30 years in a row will probably never happen. This is one of the best Features in the game.

Graphics/Sound 10/10

The graphics are great up to every detail. The player’s faces are greatly detailed. The weather effects are very real, if a player gets tackled when he gets up he will get dirty. You can see the player’s muscles very detailed. The sound is great. Every play you hear the sounds of the helmets crushing, and the players scream out things like “Oh man” when they drop the ball. They even call out “Reverse” when a reverse play is used.

Play Time/Re-playability 9/10

Like any other sports game, this has a lot of replay, play back to back Exhibition games or complete a tournament. If you have someone to play with it has even more replay.

Final Recommendation

If you have played other Madden games and enjoyed them this is a buy, if you’re new to the Madden series, rent first. All and all, this game won’t disappoint you.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/28/02, Updated 12/28/02