It is hard to believe
that the Madden Franchise is already fifteen years old, and that every year EA
Sports releases an update version upon the gaming world. Each year Tiburon
manages to impress me with all of the new gameplay updates, graphics, and new
features in their newest game. This year it is no different, Madden 2005 has
tons of new features that will keep you up late at night, trying to get that
“last touchdown” before sleep finally consumes you. Needless to say, you should
pick up this latest iteration of Madden 2005 as soon as you can, because your
PlayStation 2 will thank you for it.
I cannot believe it has been a year since Madden 2004 was released upon the
world. I loved every minute of that game, who would have thought that the
playmaker controls would have added so much to a football game; it is hard to
play a football game that doesn’t include this feature. Some people said that
the playmaker controls made the offensive too powerful, and to a certain degree
they were right, it seemed like the defense would be crushed if you properly
knew how to use the playmaker combined with all of the other features available
to the players.
To help balance out the offensive playmaker controls, in Madden 2005, Tiburon
has added the defensive playmaker, which will totally change the way you will
play the game. Now with a quick flick of the analog stick the defense can adjust
to anything the offensive can throw at them. If people called Madden 2004 “more
of an offensive game,” they will call 2005 “more of a defensive game,” and
people wouldn’t have been far from the truth.
I found that trying to get a solid running game against the defense is one of
the hardest things to accomplish. It is easy to get small yardage gains, but to
get some longer yard gains; you will really have to work for it, because the
defense can be relentless.
Another one of the biggest hyped features of Madden 2005 is the “Hit Stick”
feature which allows you to cream the offensive ball carrier, and if you time it
correctly, you might even cause the player to fumble the ball. While it sounds
like a small thing, this feature really helps expand the gameplay and make this
game seem closer to realism. I mean how many times have you played football
games, and just wish you could knock the daylights out of a particular player
because he is making your defensive look pathetic. Well now your wish can come
true, just hit the right analog stick and you can hit him hard, which usually
accompanies a great animation, such as a flip. There is a down side to this
feature that if you don’t time it correctly you could miss the guy completely.
So it is a gamble to either try to tackle him normally or just cream him with
the hit stick and hope for a fumble.
For a couple of years now players have had the ability to create teams and even
individual players to play with, but this year Madden 2005 has added something
new. Now players will be able to create their own wacky fan in Create-A-Fan
mode. This is great to see an outrageous fan that has body painting of your
favorite team all over their face and bodies. Not only that you can give them
the funky foam fingers, and many other items that you see at a live football
game.
Last but certainly not least, I am sure you are all foaming at the mouth wanting
to know what new features, if any, are in the Franchise mode. I know you are
thinking nothing can compare to the Owner’s mode that was instituted last year,
but this year the developers at Tiburon do not disappoint, because the newest
features provide you with many hours of gameplay. The new features are:
Storyline Central, EA Sports Radio, player personalities, and a progression
system.
The Storyline Central really expounds on the Franchise and makes it deeper than
ever. It allows you to check up on what is happening though the entire NFL
through national and local newspapers, which can give you a heads up on player
disputes which might give you a chance to nab that player for your own team.
Also you will receive emails, which contain important information regarding your
team, such as player disputes. The EA Sports Radio was a nice treat added to
this game, and really helps break up repetition that might occur. Tony Bruno
will host a weekly talk show, in which he discusses how things are going all
throughout the league. His commentary on what is going on is really good since a
lot of the things he says are humorous in nature.
The player personalities really help flesh out the game, by remembering that the
team is composed of individuals. Each of the players comes to life with their
own morale, and everything that happens, on or off the field, will affect them
in one way or another. The progression system allows you to see how every player
is doing within a certain time frame. If they don’t match up with the skill set
you need, it is a great way to find out if you need to give them “the boot.”
The online portion of Madden 2005 received a huge boost as well this year. Each
year they continue to optimize the online portion and this year it feels as if
you are playing against someone next to you because lag is not even an issue
anymore. The game plays as smooth as silk if you are playing against a friend
sitting next to you, or a friend on the other end of the
United States. If you sign
up for the premium pass, you will be able to join an online league, which is
what many people have been waiting to do for years. There are special
tournaments for premium members only and it gives you a huge repetition boost.
The EA Sports Bio is back in this new “2005” branded games, and it still is a
great addition to it. Incase you are unfamiliar with it, the idea behind it is
that the higher points and the better that you do in the game, players will be
rewarded with new stadiums, teams, and other goodies that makes the game even
better. Not only this but if you own other EA branded sports games and play
them, you will unlock special things in some of the other games.
Madden 2005 is rated E for Everyone.
Gameplay: 9.4
With the Madden
franchise, you know that you will have one of the best gameplay experiences, and
Madden 2005 continues this tradition. The defensive playmaker stick adds so much
depth to this game, just like the offensive playmaker did last year. The new
defensive mechanism makes you play a whole lot more strategic like they do in
real life. One flick of the stick on either side can make the “play of the
game”. The new Hit Stick also adds a whole new functionality to the game. It
takes a while to get the hang of but once you do you will not know how you ever
played without it.
Graphics: 9.3
As with each new version of Madden, this year there is slightly more details
on everything, from the stadiums, coaches, and the football players. The most
apparent details are on the football players; this year you can see the muscle
definition on players which is just amazing. All of the animations are great as
well. The best animations to watch are the ones you can pull off with the new
Hit Stick, I’ve gotten the opposing players to be actually flipped around with
this new hit stick. Besides the great game play features the Hit Stick added to
the game, it is a blast to see what new things my players will do to the
opposing players and watch the result of this. Another great thing is that the
weather is constantly changing, and it looks really good while it is going
though this transition.
Sound: 8.5
The game makes full use of Dolby Digital surround sound, so if you have a
setup that allows it, it is well worth it! What is really disappointing is that
the commentary in this game really needs some work. While commentary is not
supposed to be exciting all the time, it just seems like I am listing to the
exact same commentary year after year. While it is not horrific it just needs to
have some more polish. One step in the right direction is the new Tony Bruno’s
radio show in the franchise mode. It was very humorous to listen to and helped
break up some of the repetition that sports games are known for.
The soundtrack for this game was really good. There are also a variety of
different songs ranging from rock to rap, so there is something for everyone to
like in this game. If you don’t like a certain song you can even prevent it from
ever playing. All of the stadium sounds are present in this newest Madden game,
such as the bodies pounding on each other, crowds yelling, and many other things
define the football experience.
Difficulty: Medium
This is one of the hardest categories to put a definitive difficulty level
on. The difficulty level really depends on how skilled you are at playing this
game. If you are a hardcore Madden fan, obviously the Rookie or Pro setting is a
walk in the park for you. If you are a newbie in the Madden world, than the AI
in Madden will be all over you like ants on a picnic. The good thing about
Madden is no matter what your skill level you will be able to find a setting
that makes the game feel “right” to you, and once your skill set increases, you
can increase the difficulty as well.
Concept: 9.2
There are a few new additions that Madden fans will appreciate and welcome
with open arms. The first thing is the new Defensive Playmaker controls. This
helps balance out the Offensive Playmaker controls, and makes the game feel more
realistic and strategic. The Hit Stick is another great feature, and once you
get accustom to using it you will wonder how you ever played a football game
without it. The create-a-fan was really interesting. While there is not a ton of
different options to choose from it was nice to see some of your creations
cheering you on during a football game.
Multiplayer: 9.5
The developers at
Tiburon really know what they are doing with the PlayStation 2, because playing
an online game was exactly like playing an offline game. I love that there is
never any lag every time I log in and play. They have even expanded this year’s
online section. If you decided to get a Premium Pass, you will be able to create
leagues and have a rating next to your name so players will know you will not
just quit the game when the going gets tough for you.
Overall: 9.3
There is a reason why so many people look forward every year to each
iteration of Madden. It is because they make one of the best football games
available on the market. Every year they add something new to their football
games, which make you wonder how you ever played the game without it all these
years. The only thing that is sad is that we have to wait another year to find
out what new gameplay innovation they will cook up for next years game. The good
thing is that wait will seem short because when you play Madden 2005 time flies.
