Madden NFL 2004

"Good, but not as good as other games in the series..."

Gameplay: 9/10
-It wouldn't be Madden without great gameplay. In-game is as good as always, except it seems more difficult this year than in previous years. But, more challenge generally means a better game, and that applies here. The basics are the same, with the addition of Playmaker Control. You can change the direction of a running play before the snap, change a receiver's route as he's running it, and guide blockers when you're running. On defense you can shift your secondary to one side. The AI seems improved, and it's been updated to better reflect what real NFL players do. For example, Michael Vick is currently the fastest QB in the league. When the defense sees him, they don't wait for him to pass the line of scrimmage to try and tackle him. With slower QBs like Brett Favre, they don't worry as much about him scrambling for yardage.
There are also as many modes as always: Franchise, Tournament, Mini-Camp, Practice, etc. There's Create-A-Team, Create-A-Player, and Create-A-Playbook for maximum customizability. There's also the EA Sports Bio, which I'm sure is just a marketing gimmick. Franchise mode has been improved greatly due to the inclusion of Owner Mode, where you can change the prices of concessions, tickets, parking and anything else you can think of. You can also upgrade, renovate, rebuild, and relocate your stadium. There are a few minor glitches in a few places, but nothing big enough to cause any real problems.

Graphics: 9/10
-About the same as last year. The players mainly look realistic, except their eyes are larger and more visible. I don't like the new look. The uniforms of all the teams look like they do in real life, and everything is generally realistic. The game looks a lot like a real football game. The cheerleaders also have their real uniforms, instead of team-color jumpsuits like last year. They're nothing to drool over, but it adds to the game's realism. One problem I've noticed is that defensive linemen seem to grow and shrink before the play. This also happens to a lesser extent with the linebackers. Other than that, the graphics are excellent. The only reason I didn't give this section a 10 is because there's no improvement over last year. Also I don't like the default camera view.

Sound/Music: 8/10
-The first thing you notice about this is the menu music. It's not terrible, but it's not as good as last year. There are maybe 3 songs I like on this. Fortunately EA included a ''jukebox'' so you can take songs out of the rotation. Commentary is also pretty good compared to previous years. Madden and Michaels still say some stupid things, but they're not terrible.

Controls: 8/10
-Same as last year, except for 2 differences. 1) The C-Stick is now used for Playmaker, and is often hard to use when scrambling. 2) Z is now Pump Fake, and Z+Y is now Throw Ball Away. I rarely throw the ball away, but now it is hard enough to get the QB to throw the ball away that it isn't worth trying. Except for those changes/problems, the controls are the same as last year.

Buy / Rent: Depends
-If you really like football but don't have any football games, or have Madden 2002 or earlier and liked it, this is a solid buy, although you probably want to wait for the price to drop to $40 or below. If you have Madden 2003 and/or only want '04 for the roster updates, rent or don't bother.

Overall: 8/10
-I realize I gave 2 9s and 2 8s which should average to 8.5 which would round up to 9. Well, it is a pretty good game, but it's not as good as past years. After last year's games deserved 9s, I expected better of this one.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/22/03