Madden NFL 2005

"Mmmmmm.....turducken....*drools*...Oh...Madden Rules!"

Welcome to the world of Madden 2005. I've been playing Madden games since 1994 on Sega Genesis. I love this series to death but...NOTHING. THIS GAME RAWKS! *ahem* I'm sorry.

Anyway, down to the nitty gritty. This game makes ESPN look like Unneccesary Roughness '95. (Eh..remember that game? WORST. GAME. EVER.)

Frontend Overview: 7/10
The overall look of the menus is more intimidating than in years past. They opted for an ABCish look with black, yellow, and red. That's about it; not too much here. Let's move on.

New Features: 8/10
This year EA has added a slew of nifty little features. First up is the brand new Hit Stick. Have you ever wanted to lay down the smack on an opposing player? NOW YOOUUUUUU CANNNNN! (Sorry. ;_;) Just get in front of the person you wanna mollywhop, and flick the right analog stick. BAMMO. Nighty-night Keyshawn! Hell, it might even cause a fumble or two!

Next up we have the innovative Storyline Central in the game's Franchise mode. Tony Bruno is the star in this one with his radio show that features breaking news and very opinionated statements. He even get callers to call in and comment on that week's breaking news! Then you have the newspaper. There's the National News Paper, and the Local Newspaper. The local paper will cover all things for your team including when players talk about you benching them and stuff like that. You also have a PDA where you can read e-mails that your coaching personnel and players send you about scouting reports to complaints. It. RULES.

Then there's the brand new kick meter. The kick meter this season features a Power/Accuracy readout where you can see how well you're kicking. It makes you feel good when you see that "Power: 100/Accuracy: 100" on a game-winning field goal. Speaking of game-winning FGs...

...Now this is the ultimate pressure cooker. EA did a very good job with this. When you kick a game-winning/game tying FG, the screen narrows and takes the view of your kicker, your controller vibrates like a heartbeat, and everything is in slow motion (except for the kick meter, what fun would that be?). This feature REALLY makes you feel like you're in the game.

Graphics: 8/10
The player models this year have been upgraded, but not that much. The player's pads are more visible, puffed up and stretching the jersey effect, than in years past. Also, the players seem to have more muscular physique (OOHHH BIG WORD. OH SNAP OH SNAP) It's just a little variety from the outdated graphics engine.

The stadiums have been revamped greatly this season. There are all the little quirks like the see-thru banners in Lincoln Financial Field (Go EAGLES!), and the open archways in Gilette Stadium. PWNAGE.

The standing (as in, not in motion) player models compared to ESPN lack authentic effects like jersey effects and things of that nature. But when the player models in Madden move, it owns ESPN in every way. ESPN models move like they have sticks up their asses.

Sound: 8/10
Blah, blah, blah. Same commentary, blah, blah. I like the soundtrack the year. It fits my eclectic (OHH ANOTHER ONE!) musical tastes. There aren't any terrible songs, just a few...erm...THEY MAKE MY EARS BLEED type songs.

Mostly the same sound effects as last season. The Hit Stick offers some interesting sound effect though; think of them as amplified normal tackle sounds. The linebackers and other players souting out audibles and coverage unit switches are always a nice present to the ears.

Gameplay: 9/10
Offense: FINALLY. The running game is actually hard! Have you ever faced that coward that like to run in circles in the backfield until the cows come home? NO MORE. Tailback cuts are noticeably slower and if you make a mistake against a defender, like spinning at the wrong time, BAM. No more 20/20 sight for j00! Timing is everything in this game. REMEMBER THAT. That passing game is very similar to last season, nothing much has changed.

Defense: The Hit Stick is the main attraction this year alongside revamped defensive AI. Now you can knock the living **** out of your arch nemesis who's on the other side of the ball. Do you hate the Cowboys like I do? Knock the crap outta Eddie George! It's all in good fun!

***MADDEN NFL 2005: COLLECTOR'S EDITION SECTION***: 7/10

OK, if you spent the extra 10 bucks like I did, this section is for you.

The trivia game is nothing special. Have you ever played You Don't KNow Jack? It's basically that except with Madden-related questions, and no satirically funny host (;_;). Bah. Oh well.

The games included are Madden '93, Madden '98 (PSOne edition), and Madden 2001 (PSOne edition). Sadly (but expectedly) there are only the games. No extra features like season mode or anything. Even when you load Madden 2001, it takes you straight to the Team Select screen. EA clearly could have done more with this.

There are also in-depth movies about the Making of the Madden series, including Player Face Mapping, Motion Capture sessions, and a lot of other things that Madden what Madden is.

Well, that's it! Thanks for reading my wonderful, extremely sexy written work.

If you don't have this game, I suggest you get it. NOW. If you can, shell out the extra $10 and get the CE version. If you don't you'll feel empty knowing how much else they could have fit on the regular version disk.

Once again, thanks for readin'! Bye!

BOOM!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/16/04