"More Than You'd Expect From A Handheld Football Game."

We all know John Madden. Even if we don't watch football, we know who he is. He has been making football games since the 90's and he still does today. And finally (who would have thought), a somewhat decent football game is finally made for a handheld system. Football fans rejoice.

Gameplay
All of the stuff you'd expect to see from a Madden game is here, like Seasons, Franchises, Quick Play, Madden Challenges, Two-Minute Drills, etc. minus some of the fancier stuff on the next-gen consoles. All of the NFL teams are playable and the rosters are perfectly updated to the real NFL 2005 rosters.

The game plays like a normal football game, with four quarters (you can set the quarter length) and all. You can use the touch screen to call plays and audibles, and during a play, the touch screen shows all of the offensive players on the field as O's and the defence as X's. During kicks, the top screen shows the players and the field and the touch screen is used in it's entirety for the kicking meter.

The passing engine is the same also. Hike the ball and letters appear over your receivers heads. Tap that button to pass to them and hope they make a play. The running game is no different from past Madden's either.

The one thing I am actually upset about is that you cannot call challenges in this game. This was such a cool feature in newer Madden games, because you actually had the chance to turn the play over, but for some reason, it is not included in the DS. Oh well, I'll get over it.

Controls
The controls are actually very nice, simple, and comfortable - definitely not what I expected from this handheld game. I thought it would be hard to incorporate all of the different running moves with limited buttons, but it came out better than I expected. A is for turbo, B + left or right is a spin, Y dives, and L and R juke. All of the basic essentials right at your fingertips.

The only thing sketchy about the controls is the absence of an analog stick. Sure, you will get used to the DS's D-Pad over time, but an analog stick gives you precise 3-D control. Either way, it's not that big of a loss.

Graphics
No, the graphics aren't good compared to X-Box or Playstation 2, but for a tiny handheld system, they are not too shabby. The graphics actually remind me of a Madden game for PSOne. The players are choppy and you can't really see their numbers, but for the first attempt at an actual 3-D football game on a portable system, it's surely not too bad.

The only other concern here is that the writing is very tiny. This is not a problem to me, as I have good eyesight, but I'm sure there are alot of people out there who have trouble reading tiny things, and this is about as tiny as it gets.

Sound
Yikes. My one big gripe about this game. The sound on the main menu actually isn't that bad, but when you start a game, it goes right down the pipes. All you hear for the entire length of your game is a digitalized mimic of a virtual cheering crowd, which, after a half hour of hearing it, begins to sound like nails on a chalkboard. Every now and then, the crowd is punctuated by random three-word phrases from the announcer, which are incredibly hard to make out. I think the sound could have been better, or at least they could have made the crowd less noisy.

Replay Value
I'll make this quick and simple: football games can be played over and over again. As long as you have one football game, you will never need another one (unless you like to have updated rosters). So, yes, the replay value is very high.

Fun Factor
I will also make this quick. The fun factor depends on whether you like football games or not. I, being a huge football fan, love football games and the fun factor would be very high for me. To others, it may not. Basically, if you like football, then you will like this game. If not, then stay away.

Overall: 7/10
After some flaws and downfalls, Madden still proves to be a good, solid football game that will last as long as your DS (and your needs for a new roster). A sure-fire pick up for any football fan who owns a DS.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/22/05