Madden NFL 2004

"Everything A Madden Gamer Expects...And More!"

Intro –
This game is everything I had expected…and more. EA Sports has brought us Madden NFL 2004, the latest and greatest in the football series. With it they brought along 2 new modes, Playmaker Mode and the Owner Mode. I’ll touch on all of that in a moment, but first, lets talk about the technical side of the game.

Story Line –
Basically, you can create your team through the Create-A-Team mode and then take them through 30 seasons in Franchise Mode. However, you cannot play Owner Mode with your created team (a slight disappointment but nonetheless dissatisfying). The other part of the game (Owner Mode), is where you take a professional NFL Team and guide them through 30 seasons but with much more features to control. I’ll touch on all that in the Gameplay section.

Graphics 8/10 –
These graphics are superb. Its almost as if you are on the actual field watching your team pass, run, and tackle. This aint your stick with a number on it. Every detail in this game is stepped up from last years. The lighting reflects off your helmet amazingly. Dirt, grass stains, and damage marks appear all over your uniform and helmet. Sadly, however, the animations (other than catching and blocking) are basically the same from last years Madden NFL 2003. Catching and blocking have been detailed a bit further. When a receiver catches the ball, it slides perfectly into his hands. When you view the replay at close up, slow mo, you wont be able to tell when the ball has switched from a moving animation to the player animation it is so smooth. Also, the clipping has been greatly improved. You will hardly ever see an arm or leg (or any part of a player) go through anything. Instead of an arm going straight through another helmet, it’ll bounce off. Very realistic. Why not a 9 or 10 then? Well, despite how cool these graphics are, its hardly a step up from last years Madden NFL 2003.

Controls 8/10 –
Some of the buttons seem to be in the wrong places especially Juke, Spin, and Stiff Arm. There isn’t an option to change them either, but once you get used to them they no longer feel that awkward. What I do like is the Playmaker and Hot Route buttons. Not only are they placed perfectly on the controller, but they simple to use so that even the most inexperienced played can change the outcome of the play on the fly.

Sound 9/10 –
The sound is excellent. Easily the most amazing part is the field effects. Players will encourage and pump up their team, opponents will taunt you, helmets clash, and pads crash. No delays, no skips…perfect. At times, the commentary will seem a little awkward or out of place. John Madden will just get through talking about how the QB and WR aren’t getting much done tonight and then after the very next completed pass you might hear “There’s just no stopping these guys!” But, you can always turn off commentary on the settings menu. I really enjoy the sideline reports from Melissa Starks who informs everyone on coaching strategies, injuries, and morale.

Finally, the Madden series brings the ability to play your own MP3’s via the Madden Jukebox. Your songs will only be heard while browsing the menus and during the Mini-Camp; the default songs will be heard in game (after touchdowns, big plays, etc.) Most of the original songs are edited and remixed rap songs. It doesn’t set the mood for football (with the exception of Joe Budden’s “Pump It Up”), but more of a marketing scheme between EA and the artists. But, with the Jukebox feature, you can easily turn on/off with songs you want/don’t want to hear.

Gameplay 10/10 –
I was just watching Michael Vick break his leg the other day, so I decided to do a little rundown of the madden curse.

“The Madden Curse”

Here’s a brief little rundown of the so called Madden Curse.

Madden 2001- Eddie George becomes cover boy for Madden 2001. The same season he receives numerous injuries the entire season and his team (The Titans) miss the playoffs.

Madden 2002- Daunte Culpepper becomes cover boy for Madden 2002. The same season, the Vikings fell to the bottom of the charts with a 5-11 record.

Madden 2003- Marshall Faulk becomes cover boy for Madden 2003. After the previous Super-Bowl winning season, the Rams lose Marshall to injuries. They fail to make it to the playoffs.

Madden 2004- In only the 2nd game of the pre-season, Michael Vick sustains a leg breaking injury that puts him out 6 to 8 weeks.

Madden 2005- I can only guess whether the Madden Curse will strike again. Hopefully the team just puts the big Madden Logo and refrains from adding a picture of anyone or anything to avoid yet another horrible Curse.

Well, on to the rest of my review.

Madden NFL 2004 flows very smoothly and is the most solid football game to date. There is so much more to this game than just hiking a ball and throwing it to guys. You’ll find yourself doing amazingly fun things you’d never thought you’d be doing in a Madden game. Here we go

The basic features are back, Create-A-Playbook, Create-A-Player, and Create-A-Team. Create-A-Team boasts the new Stadium Builder in which you design key aspects for the outcome of your stadium. Semi-new modes include the Practice Mode, Football 101, Mini-Camp, and Situation. The newest to the bunch, however, is Owner Mode where you take your team and hire staff and players, proceed to build or renovate your stadium, set prices for Parking, Merchandise, Concessions, and Tickets, then go on to work your way into building your own NFL Dynasty.

On the field, not much has changed besides the new Playmaker control. What this basically is, is the ability to change plays on the fly. If your running a sweep right and you notice the ROLB creeping up to the line, you’ll probably read blitz. To avoid having your runner get popped hard, simply press the R-Stick in the opposite direction the play is going, in this case you'd press the stick to the left. You runner will now go left and the ROLB wont know what happened. You can also use the Playmaker during plays and have your runner/receiver/quarterback point out which opponents he needs blocked.

The skill level may be a little too easy for veterans, and probably impossible for beginners, but you can easily change the settings for both you and the CPU through a great array of sliders which allows you to customize QB Accuracy, RB Abilities, Catching, and many more.

Another nice addition to the Franchise mode is Career stats, so you’re able to view the stats for all your players from the beginning of their career, to the current week in your game.

Also making a return this year is the Madden Cards. Like previous years, complete special plays (Interception, 30 Yard Run) and gain Madden Points. Depending on the skill level you play, (the higher the more points), you’ll be awarded with Madden Points. Every 100 points will buy you a pack of 15 Madden Cards. The cards unlock secret teams, new stadiums, and special cheats. However, most players don’t prefer to cheat and would rather just collect the cards. There are a total of 280 something cards for you to collect, so you’ll be busy with that for sure.

This game is filled with things to do, but they all relate to football. So, unless you dislike football, you wont be bored with this game very soon.

Replay Ability 9/10 –
There is just such a vast amount of things to do in this game, you’ll never get bored unless you completely destroy the game (say by winning 10 Super Bowls in a row, in which case you need to move on to All-Madden). The Madden Cards really bring a complete value to the game, forcing you to collect all of them. Sadly, EA didn’t sign the Xbox Live contract so there is no online play (for the Xbox anyway). But, if you have a few friends over (and possibly even a system link) you’ll be having tons of fun in no time.

Buy or Rent? –
First off, if you have Madden NFL 2003, you may want to rent this game. A lot of this game is straight from 2003 only with a roster update, beefed up graphics, and more commentary. However, I own 2003 and I didn’t hesitate to buy this game. If you haven’t played a Madden game in a while, get this game now and enjoy it while you can. If you don’t like football, heck, try this game anyway and you’ll probably end up liking football more than you’d ever thought. All in all this game is very enjoyable and will last a great amount of time you completely finish. Do yourself a favor and buy this game today. NOTE: if you are thinking of using the feature to import college players from your NCAA 2004, be warned that there is a bug and you will get an error! EA is in the process of fixing up this problem right now. If you have the game already, contact EA and ask them about how you can receive your free fixed disc. If you are going to buy this game and want to use the Import Draft Class feature, then please contact EA and ask when they will be selling the fixed discs.

Overall – 9/10
This game deserves this 9 out of 10 due to only a few minor glitches and errors (I bet if I don’t tell you, you’ll never notice them). I would have easily given this game a 10+ if only it had received the Xbox Live support. But, that’s why we’re all getting Fever 2004, right? Once you get this game you’ll never want to put it down. Its everything a Madden gamer expects…and more.

A brief rundown:

Graphics – 8/10
Controls – 8/10
Sound – 9/10
Gameplay – 10/10
Replay Ability – 9/10
OVERALL – 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/19/03