Madden NFL 2003

"No matter how you look at it, it's great football."

Madden 2003 is here. It seems like it was only yesterday that I was sitting in front of an Apple IIe with my buddy passing the days playing John Madden Football II. To use an old cliché, ''we've come a long way, baby.'' Madden 2003 is probably one of the top three games PS2 fans can't get enough of (Final Fantasy and Metal Gear being the other two franchises). While fans remain loyal and sing the praises of EA and Tiburon each year, there is always a demand for more. We were wowed with the first Madden on PS2 (2001), but everyone looked like an alien with those big white eyes. Now in the third incantation on the PS2, just how much better has the game gotten?

Graphics (10/10)

Old guys, like me, who have played dozens of football games over the years, will really admire the visual appearance of this game. In the 70's, there were handheld games with dim and bright leds. Those were fun. Then we went to video games with two generic looking teams in opposing colors (usually red versus blue) and full eleven man sides. Cool! As technology increased, so did video football games. Teams started to get real uniforms, at least in color and helmets. Players started to grow and look different. No longer was the kicker the same size as the offensive line. Wow! Today, we can say, like Sammy Sosa once said, ''It's so reeeeeeal!''

How much further can they go on the game systems of today? The players look very much like their real life counterparts. Detailed faces, height and weight differences that can be seen. You can tell a muscle bound linebacker from a barrel looking offensive tackle. The stadiums look just like the real things. So, anybody walking in the room will know if you are playing in Texas Stadium or the RCA Dome with a quick glance.

Sound (9/10)

Just like the real thing, the team of Madden and Summerall are no longer together. While I am a huge fan of Mr. Summerall's straight forward and understated approach, I understand how many people over the years thought he didn't add much to the game commentary. Al Michaels steps in with John in the virtual booth this season. The results are a very solid and fresh commentary in this years Madden.

Commentary on any sports video game will inevitably become repetitive. Eventually, you will have heard it all a hundred times. So, I think a fair way to evaluate the game commentary is to look at only one game. For one game, the commentary is superb. There is very little repetitiveness. Adding the noise from the crowd, audible calls by the players, Mellisa Stark adding sideline reports, and the usual ''whaps, bams, and booms'' of football gives an overall ''Monday Night'' feel to the game.

The music, while vastly improved from last year, is a matter of taste. There has been a little more emphasis placed on the music this year as can be seen with the occasional popup announcing what song is playing. In the end, it's a matter of choice. Personally, I haven't heard of most of the groups in the game, but I haven't found anything that really annoys me. Which is as good as I can hope for.

Game play (9/10)

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That must be the motto on the walls of EA buildings. The Madden engine has been tweaked to improve performance but, EA has not done a major reconstruction in years. Good news for old gamers because of the instant comfort level you will have. New players will get used to the controls fairly quickly. The learning curve is fairly short and the layout of buttons on the PS2 is quite simple and makes for ease in playing.

One of the things that Madden does very well is the huge amount of customization you can do to make the game play at your skill level. Not only are there four levels of play, but there are many options that you can individual adjust. Such as; AI offense and defense abilities, amount of penalties (even adjusting the frequency of specific penalties), the use of computer assistance for things like passing and running, injuries, substitution levels, and so on. While the debate rages on as to what are the ''perfect slider settings'' to create the most realistic game, the ability to fine tune the game allows every player to make the game play the way they want to.

Playing a game of football is very much like the real thing. Each team has an offensive playbook designed to reflect the real teams philosophy. There are power running, balanced, and west coast offenses to name a few. There have been some additions to the defensive playbook, but there is only one book for every team.

Some of the improvement in this years' game is the increase in the inside rushing game. Usually, running between the tackles was fairly worthless, as you ran into a wall of lineman. Now, the holes start to open up and the running back will turn his shoulders to try and slide through. It also seems that the ability for all running backs to break tackles has been increased, so sometimes trying to make a diving tackle on a back who has broken lose results in your defender bouncing off of him.

Additions have also been made to the audible system. Offensively, you can change to one of three preset plays. Hot routes have been increased with a couple of more options. Defensively, you can audible the entire defense or the line, linebackers, or secondary separately. This creates a lot of versatility on defense, but you can also have a solid defense without making any pre-snap adjustments. This allows you to decide how much depth you put into your defense without penalizing players for not using them. You will notice that the AI makes frequent use of the audible system.

The rest of the game plays solid. Gang tackling has been added as a new feature that many gamers have had on their wish list. It adds more to the realism of the game. There are lots of new tackle animations that increase the look during the game that replace some of those crazy things we saw in Madden 2001.

The Madden Miracle. Mythological beast that destroys defenses or a creation in the mind of gamers who don't want to admit their lack of skill? What is the Madden Miracle? The miracle is the tendency for the AI to take a beating for two and a half quarters, displaying a totally inept offense, suddenly transform into a juggernaut and systematically destroy your defense. Missed tackles, catches in triple coverage, a QB starting 1 for 14 ending the game 15 for 28. The miracle is real. It has been in existence for many years on the Madden platform. Some years are worse than others, but the miracle exists. The original thought was to incorporate a catch-up feature late in games. A team trailing gets an unseen stat boost to make the game close. However, doing that takes away from the simulation aspect of the game. Bad teams get beat. That's just the way football is. So, how does it look this time? It's there, but it doesn't make the game unplayable. Sure, after a couple of hundred of games, you will probably have one where the computer ''cheated'' you out of a win. But, overall, I wouldn't let all the commentary about it take away from your decision about this game.

Features (10/10)

Looking at all the new features in this years installment of Madden, I am really impressed with what Tiburon and EA have presented this year. This game is designed for every gamer from the most loyal Maddenite to the one who has never played video football. There is so much you can do, that you can spend days before you ever get to playing an actual game.

Football 101 takes you through the basic of running offensive plays. Madden explains the formation and then how to run three different plays from them. Not only is this a good way for new players to get started, you can earn tokens to later use to buy Madden cards. So, even veteran players will want to run the drills.

Mini-camp is a new and exciting feature of Madden. The camps consist of 8 different offensive and defensive skills and take place in each of the 32 NFL cities (4 skill levels for each drill). The drills consist of passing accuracy, pocket passing, running the ball, punting, kicking, tackling, defensive back coverage, and defensive line attacks. Completing the drill in the given time or gain enough points to earn a trophy (bronze, silver, gold). Any trophy unlocks the next phase of the mini-camp; game situation. Winning a gold trophy earns you a Madden card. The game situation gives you a practical use of the skill you just learned. Successful completion of the game situation gives you another Madden card and unlocks the next level of mini-camp. Trying to earn gold in all 32 camps is a challenge that will take even the most skilled player some time to compete.

The two minute drill gives you the opportunity to see how many times you can score in two minutes. The more you score, the more tokens you earn.

As for actual football, the standards exist. Exhibition games between any two teams anywhere in the world. The teams (some hidden) include this year's NFL squads, all-time teams, historic teams (like the 85 Bears), NFL Europe, and fantasy teams. Plus, any created teams you make.

There is a tournament mode that is a nice format for a group of friends to get together and fight for supremacy.

Season mode has been eliminated leaving the Franchise mode as the way to get into the NFL season. It makes sense because if you don't want to get into the franchise, you can stop after one season. Saves a little disc space.

Franchise mode, of course, is what most gamers love. The chance to lead a team through multiple seasons. You can take a strong team and try to keep them on top or take a lower level squad and try to build a Super Bowl contender. You can even add you own created team to the NFL (replacing another team). Going through a season, you have to face most of the problems that confront the real NFL teams: injuries, salary cap, trades. During the off-season, you draft new players (from NCAA 2003 if you have it), sign free agents, make trades, and say goodbye to retiring players. Contract holdouts and rotten attitudes not included.

Something new this time around is the inclusion of a meaningful pre-season schedule. Before the actual season takes place, you can play in four pre-season games and can improve the skills of some of your players. It's also a good way to try out your playbook without it counting in the standings. Also new, you can export your franchise team to be used in exhibition mode.

Extras (9/10)

Create. Create. Create. There are lots of things you can do to customize your version of Madden. We've seen the create a player mode for years. It's now become a requirement and not an extra for most sports games. In addition, you can create your own plays, playbook, and teams. Creating plays allows you to create just about anything you can think of. You can then take that play to practice mode and see just how good it is. The create a team is not quite as deep as the NCAA version, but still allows for a lot of imagination.

Replay (10/10)

There's just so much you can do. The mini-camps alone create hours of play. With Madden being playable online, the search for quality opponents will never end. Well, not until 8/31/03 when EA will stop supporting on-line play (changing to 2004). But, there will probably be a few places that will host 2003 after that.

Buy or rent?

The question really is, Madden 2003 or NFL 2K3? The debate is raging on in cyberspace with no clear winner. Both games are outstanding and it comes down to a matter of personal decision. Both games are very similar in many aspects. The one difference seems to be that Madden is a little more simulation and 2K3 has a bit of an arcade feel. But, it's all about personal opinion. If you are trying to determine which game to get, rent them both first. If you like the old Madden games or have chosen Madden, then buy it. A rental just won't give you enough time to explore all the options.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/20/02, Updated 08/20/02