Madden NFL 2005

"Madden vs. NFL 2K5: Who is better?"

Oh, man this is too close to call. The question on every sports gamer's mind was: "Can ESPN NFL 2K5 dethrone Madden as the best football game out there?" I took it to another level byt buying both games and playing them each in equal amounts. Now the comparisons begin, scored like a football game!

Graphics/Presentation: 8/10
This is not close at all. Madden has the tried-and-true style of presentation, and all of the Monday Night Football commentary crew is present in this game. 2K5 used the entire Sunday Night Football crew, including Chris Berman. Commentary is equal, but that's the only thing that makes it close. The players in 2K5 look like their real-life counterparts, while Madden's look almost the same. However, the coaches look much older than they really do in Madden, and the players all look like they're on steroids and the uniforms look skin-tight. However, the stadiums look like they do in real life, and that's a good thing. In sports games, it's all about the realism, and the players don't look as good as they do in 2K5.

Score: Corey Dillon blasts around right end...Touchdown! ESPN 7, Madden, 0

Music/Sounds/Commentary: 10/10
If they cut out all the rap and replaced it with stadium tunes, this score would be perfect, but it's OK. ESPN had their SportsCenter tunes and NFL PrimeTime music because that whole game was licensed by ESPN. I see no difference between the two because music really doesn't play a big role in sports games.

Sounds in this game are exactly what you would expect from a football game. You got the grunts, the quarterback signals, everything. Nothing to really get all bent out of shape over.

Now this is where Madden makes a comeback: in commentary. ESPN's commentary got too repetitive to fast, while John Madden and Al Micheals do the commentary the right way: they keep it fresh. Nothing is repeated more than twice in a game, and it works like a charm. Another thing is that I have never heard of the guys in the booth on ESPN, and everyone who has seen Monday Night Football or NFL on Fox should know who John Madden is. Advantage in sounds goes to Madden.

Brooks fires long downfield to Owens and he reels it in for the score! Score is tied at 7-7!

Gameplay: 10/10
The most important part of the game is really a strength for Madden. Instead of putting emphasis on offense like the guys at EA normally do, they turned the page and decided to put more emphasis on defense. This I like, because even though I'm an offensive mastermind, I like to stuff people with the big hits and make it so I can score easily. The Hit Stick is very useful, and it gives you a chance to really turn the game around, especially if you need that touchdown to tie the game in the fourth quarter.

Another useful defensive feature that makes playing the other side of the ball fun is the addition of more defensive Playmaker pre-snap adjustments. You can send a man on the blitz, drop your secondary into coverage, have them cheat up, anything. The best part is that all of the Playmaker controls from Madden 2004 are back, and they work much better.

Going into the fourth quarter, the teams are tied, 13-all!

Extras: 10/10
I have a ton of extras because I got the Collector's Edition, and the game is definitely more fun to play in that installment, as you can play with current rosters, but have graphics from older games like Madden '94. Also, you have trivia challenges and situation modes from calssic games like the ESPN25 option in ESPN. Madden Cards are not as fun as ESPN's "The Crib", but neither are used much. The only Madden Cards that are used a lot are the cheat cards. The Crib is just fun because you can deck out your mansion with stuff from your favorite team (for me New England). If it's the Collector's Edition, then extras goes to Madden, but in the regular game, it goes to ESPN. But since I own the CE, I give the points to Madden!

Vinatieri goes for the 48-yarder for the win. Snap is down kick is up, it is GOOD! Madden leads 16-13 with 3 minutes to go!

Fun Factor: 10/10
The trivia is good for me since I'm already a football brainiac, and the calssic games are great for ne because I like to change history (or repeat it if it's a Patriots moment). Also, the older Madden editions are a sight to behold for me, having played Madden since I was 6.

And here's Manning with the Hail Mary and it is...intercepted by Ty Law! Law takes the knee and the game is over! Madden wins, 16-13!

Final Scores
Graphics: 8
Sounds/Music/Commentary: 10
Gameplay:10
Extras: 10
Fun Factor:10

Final Score: 10 out of 10

The Last Word: Madden beats ESPN NFL 2K5, but just barely. Now that Madden knows that ESPN is on it's heels, Madden will have to step it up a couple of notches. I hope Madden 2006 is even better.

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