Madden NFL 2004

"This football game has it all."

Madden has always been my preferred football game series. Madden 2004 doesn't break the pattern. It has new features such as Owner Mode, Playmaker Control, and EA Sports Bio. The improvement is what makes these games worth buying year after year. Graphics, sound, all tweaked to make the game smoother and more enjoyable.

There's not much to say to describe the game... It's a football simulation with teams and rosters that match the current ones in real life (in presence and skill).

Gameplay: 10

No complaints here, but a lot to talk about. The new Owner Mode is a huge, new edition. You're the manager of your own team. Drafting, what stadium you play at, the prices for admission, what coaches you have, how much beer costs, it's all up to you. You even go through training camp with a specific player (for each event) to earn trophies and points for their attributes. For example, there's own event called ''Precision Passing'' where you choose own of your quarterbacks to try to throw passes through as many rings as you can. There's fantasy draft, where you go through an actual draft, choosing players from any team to be on yours. If that's not what you want to do, turn it off and you'll get the players who were on the team last season. Playmaker Control is smooth and handy. It allows you to change a specific player's route during a play. So if you're rushing, you can help guide your players to block for you. EA Sports Bio keeps track of your accomplishments and lets you unlock special rewards by playing multiple EA Sports games. Earn points by completing certain goals during a game to by a pack of Madden Cards. Depending on what cards you get, you can unlock different things (such as historical teams) or increase certain stats for your players. It’s not a new feature but it’s still great.

The passing is excellent. It’s not confusing even with the different wide receivers, tight ends, etc. to pass to. If you move your QB out of the pocket, the camera will turn at an angle for a better view. Running is fast and smooth with tackles that are hard and realistic. Spin, stiff arm, juke, do anything to get past the defense. Replays were done well (the automatic ones). If it was a passing play, the screen will split to show the QB and the receiver so you don’t have to wait so long to see the exciting part of the play. Once the receiver catches the ball, the screen will freeze and spin around the player for a cool effect. You can control the weather of the game (wind, precipitation, fog, temperature). I put them all to the max and it really made the game more difficult. I like the kicking meter, which hasn’t been changed all that much. It goes up to the highest for power, and down for accuracy. The computer is more difficult with better AI. The Playbooks are realistic and are officially licensed from Head coaches and Assistant coaches. The challenges are realistic because everyone makes mistakes (even if the computer made it on purpose). It’ll show you a replay of what you’re challenging and you’ll see the ref reviewing the play. You can also Ask Madden when you’re picking a play, like previous versions. He’ll pick a play for you and explain why it’s a good choice (this feature is good for beginners).

Sound: 9

The music in this game is catchy and entertaining. There a many songs with a lot of variety. From hip-hop to rock, it’s all here. It’ll keep your foot stamping to the beat, even when your just drafting players or deciding what Madden Card to trade. I also like how there’s music between each play while you’re picking one (just like in the real games).

The commentary still needs minor improvement. Madden, like always, states the obvious. (Al Michaels doesn’t really do that, he just tells you what’s going on, like what down it is, where the tackle was, if a kick was far or not etc.). I doubt that will ever be fixed, since it’s what he does all the time in real life. I own Madden 2001 (the first Madden game for the PS2) and hear him saying things such as “He can’t catch it, if you knock it down.” Then I buy this game and hear him say “This team needs to find a way to get into the end-zone.” So it hasn’t improved much over the years when it comes to quotes like that. Don’t get me wrong though, the commentary has really improved, it’s just still the same old, irritating obvious also. When they’re not obvious, though, they’re great. For example, if I’m playing someone and the game keeps going back and forth (he’s in the lead, I’m in the lead, he’s in the lead, etc.), they’ll comment on it. They sometimes repeat the same thing, but it’s usually things that can’t be said any other way (for the most part). If you challenge, Madden will say in what ways the ref might have made the wrong call and how it would be overturned. If you challenge a good, fair call, he’ll say something like “They must’ve seen something we didn’t.” During a replay, he’ll analyze what was going on and what the players were “thinking.”

Graphics: 10

The graphics are sharp and have tons more animations. The detail is incredible, even in the football. The coaches look almost exactly like their real-life counterparts. The audience is better than before and the stadiums look fantastic. The weather effects are cool, especially the fog. Load times are much quicker (in the older versions, I would usually go to the bathroom while the game was loading, come back, and still wait). Throwing and catching animations are more realistic. You really feel like you’re a part of an actual game.

Replayability: 10

There’s loads of replayability. There are tons of Madden Cards to get, trophies to win, and teams to unlock. The EA Sports Bio adds on replayability to other games as well, in order to unlock stuff in this game. You can play Owner Mode over and over with different teams, increasing your players attributes as you go. You won’t get tired of it, even until 2005 comes out next year.

Buy or Rent?: Buy

Like I said, the replayability will keep you playing this game until the next game hits the shelves. There’s just too much to do to just have it for a few days by renting it. Not to mention it’s an excellent game. If you’ve played the other Madden games, you should already know that this one’s a keeper. Even if you own the games from other years (like 2003), still get this game (there’s enough improvement to make it worth it). It’s more than just my favorite football series, it’s one of my favorite games, period. This game will keep you entertained and occupied for a long time.

I give this game a 10/10. It’s the result of an excellent football game that has been improved over and over and never disappoints me. It’s what I expect from the series, but it still never ceases to amaze me.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/19/03