Madden NFL 2002

"This series keeps improving every year"

The Madden series has long produced some of the best football games to grace consoles. From the 16 bit Genesis games to the advanced 128 bit PS2 versions, every game has been rock solid. Madden 2002 is no different as it improves over the already great Madden 2001.
I have always liked the gameplay of Madden and it is no different this year. The use of the PS2's pressure sensitive analog controller is great. Most buttons can be pressed with varying degrees of pressure to produce different results. Tapping the pass button will result in a lob pass, while holding it down will result in a rocket. Juke moves can also be controlled using the analog buttons. The system is similar to previous versions where you had to tap the X button to snap the ball and tap it again to bring up the reciever icons. Pressing the corresponding icon will make the QB throw the ball to the particular reciever. On defense, the controls are the same too. You could also customize the controls if they are not to your liking. On defense, you can call for linebacker shifts to the left or right, as well as line shifts. This adds a new element of strategy to the game. The momentum based system is great as it makes the game more realistic. You can't turn on a dime if you are running full speed. your momentum will take you forward a bit, before you can turn, or stop. This makes you think before deciding to abuse the turbo button.
The franchise mode in this years version is excellent. You can pick any NFL team you want, or a created one and take it through a 30 year stay in the NFL. Throughout this time, you will make all the GM moves including signings, trades and even drafting. You will have to deal with the salary cap and be prepared to pay harsh penalties if you release players too soon. You can turn off the salary cap option, but its more fun to leave it on. You can track the statistics of the players throughout their careers. This is probably the deepest franchise mode in any football game ever.
There are a few flaws with the game as well, especially in the gameplay. When you turn the difficulty level up, instead of having the CPU play smarter, the game makes the CPU basically cheat. Computer players play well beyond their capabilities according to their ratings, and your players seem to lose their abilities. Slow footed linemen can catch your speedy recievers from behind and haul them down. Your best tacklers will have a hard time bringing down any runner. when the difficulty is turned up, the CPU should be playing smarter, calling better plays and reacting faster, instead of having magical ratings increases. However, this shortcoming is not too bad and can be overlooked.
You can create a player, team, stadium and coach in this game. All of them are pretty good, except for the create a coach. All you do is pick a generic human and give him a name. Nothing else. I was hoping to at least be able to make your own playbook, using plays from all the existing playbooks. That would give this option some reason. its basically there just for the sake of being there.
Overall, this is a great game and should provide a lot of fun.

Graphics: 9.
Probably the best looking football game ever. Players look very realistic and are very nicely modeled. Stadiums and textures are great. The sidelines have a lot more life to them with coaches and subs and other people. However, the players seem to not realize they are there as they often walk straight up to them and push them down without even realizing it. Its quite funny.

Sound: 8.
The sound effects and the presentation is great. The commentary is improved from previous versions, but still remains a weak point in the series. They get repetitive soon and are not frequent enough.

Gameplay: 9.
Would have recieved a 10 if it wasn't for the difficulty cheating thing. The AI is quite good and it seems that for the first tim defensive backs actually know what they are doing on the field.

Replay Value: 10.
there are a bunch of Madden Cards which you can unlock. These give you temporary stat boosts, cheats and other stuff including secret stadiums, teams and players. there are over 300 of these, which ensures a high replay value.

Overall: 9.
It could probably be the best football game ever made.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/05/01, Updated 09/05/01