Madden NFL 2004

""What a catch! What a play! What a game!""

Looking for a challenge? You'll find it here in Madden 2004. No longer is the CPU just a stupid, walking zombie ready to hand you the win without putting up a fight. Not to mention just about every ccustomizable feature you can think of in the game, this one is a keeper!

Graphics: (9.5/10) Glitches? If there any, they are few and far between. When you hit someone, you hit them. When you miss, you miss. And there are no magical catches that the replay can't explain. It's wonderful. Only one complaint. The African-American players seem to be just a darker shade of white, very strange.

Sound: (9/10) There are so many actual songs in this game, from Blink 182 to Adema to Outkast just to name a few. Of course, there is rap as some of the songs, so it's not perfect. Hey, at least no m&m crud. Unfortunately, no Metallica or Disturbed either, but hey, good stuff. Oh yeah, the announcers.... well, they keep getting better every year. But as always, after about a week of playing, you will be listening to your favorite CDs during the game instead of listening to Madden and Micheals rant.

Controls: (7.5/10) Okay, the playmaker idea is great. But, it is very complicated. Sure, if you want to change the direction of the run before the play, that's easy. Or the route of the receiver before the play changing isn't too tough. But during the play? Good luck. You will get the hang of it, or break the controller trying.

Challenge: (10/10) As I said in the intro, the defense will pick up on your strategy, if it is one dimensional. In my first game, I figured I'd do what I always did in the old games, pass for 400 yards and run for 40. Well, after being picked off 5 or 6 times and never getting in the endzone, I had to check to see if the game was on All-Madden. It was on Pro. I jumped for joy because I finally had a challenge on my hands. You actually have to establish the run (just like real life, WOAH!) and be creative from time to time, like going for a pass on 3rd and 2. It's a nice change, though at first you want to start on rookie so you don't get the urge to throw the game across the room.

Fun Factor/Replay Value: FRANCHISE MODE!! You will want to play forever! If you have NCAA 2004, you can pull the rosters off of that and put them into this game for the next year, but it will still generate random players with names in the draft even if you don't. The owner's box options is amazing: you can set prices on food, parking, decide on advertising spending. You can change your team's jersey, create your on team, player, and both off and def playbooks. 2 minute drill, training camp, practice, the list goes on. Many past great teams, so you can remake some of the best games in history if you wish. You may never put this game down, it is that much fun!

Overall: (10/10) Unless you really hate the fact that parts of playmaker are hard to do, this game is the best football game of all time. There are so many great features and so much fun, you will lose hours of sleep playing this game. Go buy this game. Any price. There is no substitute.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/03/03