Madden NFL 2005

"An improvement over previous iterations of Madden for the GBA"

Two days after it came out, I decided to pick up Madden 2005 for the GBA because of the hyped up new features and engine, and I was happily pleased with the game I got.

Gameplay - 8/10

The gameplay for Madden 2005 is solid, not amazing, but probably as good as a person could reasonably expect it to be on a GBA. All of the teams in the NFL are represented, and there are many more game modes than in previous features of Madden. Practice, Situation, and the 2 Minute Drill have been added to your choices, in addition to Play Now (exhibition mode) and an improved Season mode. Difficulty modes now include Pro and All-Pro, in addition to Rookie and Madden. The game's AI has been improved from previous additions, it's not quite as easy to score bucketloads of points on lax defenses, and the additional degrees of difficulty is great.

Practice is just that, it allows you to play in a nongame situtation, with or without defense. Here you can practice your defensive skills, offensive skills, or special teams plays. Situation allows you to set up a game situation, as the name suggests. It's entirely customizable, the time remaining, teams, scores, down, even the yardline the ball starts at and the yards remaining. 2 Minute Drill is akin to a minigame, in which you try to score as many points as you can under 2 minutes, by completing passes, scoring, and getting out of bounds. These new modes are nice additions, but the meat of the game is still the season mode.

The season mode is the meat of the game, and probably the best gameplay option. It allows you to take a team through an entire NFL season in an attempt to win a championship. Trading, signing, and releasing players is a snap, but the computer doesn't check against unreasonable trades, except for the fact that there is a salary cap. One of my favorite features is the retention of many statistics, team, individual, and more during the season, so you can see how your team or players are doing compared to each other or other teams.

There are hundreds of various plays, but most of the time is spent passing, because for both the computer and player, running the ball in this game is too difficult if only because of the view (it's easy to get caught on an OL when trying to run up the middle, and running to the outside rarely works in any version of Madden). One qualm I have about the defensive playbook is a lack of quarter defenses. I'd trade the 3-4 for quarter in an instant :).

Graphics 7/10

The graphics are above average, but I still have some minor qualms. The players on the field look fairly nice, but occasionally slowdown will occur right after hiking the ball, but it's very minor. The menus look very crisp, and the play selection screen is also, though the appearance of plays could be significantly improved. The topdown view works very effectively on the GBA, as no other view would really work, but it does affect gameplay somewhat, as you can't what the ball may have hit, as it bounces around much larger than any football could ever be. However, overall, it's an improvement over previous Maddens graphics-wise, the new engine does it's job well.

Audio 6/10

The audio for Madden on the GBA has never been spectacular, and this year is no exception. Real music with lyrics again appears on the menus, which can be turned off thankfully, since it isn't my kind of music. The ingame sounds are alright, the crowd noise is reasonable, and sound effects add a nice touch to the game. The occasionally "commentary," by Madden and Michaels is limited to a few general phrases such as, "What a play, first down," and "Now that's football." The audio is merely adequate in this game.

Replay Value 10/10

This is where the game truly shines. Because it's a sports game, by default it has massive replay value, because as long as you want to play the game, you can quickly and easily. However, Madden has been improved with the addition of Madden Challenges and Madden Card. Madden Challenges are little goals that you try to achieve during the game (such as complete a 30 yard pass or longer), that give you a certain amount of tokens depending on your difficulty. From the main menu, you can see how many challenges you have completed (you are allowed to complete challenges an unlimited number of times however), and view your tokens. With 40 tokens, you are allowed to buy Madden Cards. For the GBA, there are no pictures for the cards unfortunately, but you can view your cards in a little scrapbook. They come in various degrees of quality, standard cards come either as bronze, silver, or gold. This matters if you want to sell a card back, or activate a card for a game. That's right, these cards can affect your gameplay, if you wish. For instance, a gold Ray Lewis card, when used, would give a player a 15% general attribute boost for that game. It adds significant replay value because going for all the Madden cards and trying to complete all the Madden Challenges is a fun task.

Quick Wrapup

Pros:
- New gameplay engine
- Improved gameplay (new options, improved season mode)
- Madden Challenge and Madden Cards
- Comprehensive statistics

Cons:
- Merely adequate sound
- Occasional slowdowns
- Unrealistic running

Overall: 9/10 (obviously not an average)

If you were interested enough in handheld football to look at this review, than maybe Madden is right for you. It's the best, albeit only serious football game for the GBA, and is a good purchase.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/12/04