Cons: awkward animations, cheating AI, dry and repeative commentary, computer blocks too well, memory demands
The Bottom Line: This is the best football game to date and no one has come close to EA sports in developing the most realistic football game that could compare to this
scigamer's Full Review: Madden NFL 2002 for PlayStation 2
Can you hear the roar of the crowd as sports fans anticipate the wait of football season as it quickly approaches in the upcoming week. What better way to start the season off with an upgrade for one of the best selling sports games from EA sports, Madden 2002. Madden 2001 took off as one of the best titles to show what the PS2 was capable of and gave players the ability to capture the realism that as close to the real thing as you can get from a game.
Madden 2002 brings even more to the realism to the table by taking and improving each key feature of the game including brand new game modes, smarter Al, a training mode to explain plays on the offense and defensive side and which to pick during the game as well as better tackling and movement. Even with half of these improvements the game play runs so well that it’s still the best football game on the market today.
GAME PLAY
There are a total of seven different game modes in total, three of them are brand new.
The standard modes are exhibition,playoffs,season and franchise,. The new ones includes a training mode to understand the plays and pick the right ones. Training mode is really a added bonus because there’s so many formations for both offense and defense especially that if you haven’t had any football background or played before most people aren’t aware of what 4-3 thunder or suicide will do and the game explain the each of the plays do.
Situation mode gives you the opportunity to set up certain game situations of your own or from NFL games from the past especially using your own favorite team.Two minute drill is also included and you are awarded points for first downs and certain pass plays. Most of the standard modes are all the same and all have the same levels of difficulty. What’s even great is that the Houston Texans have been added as a team to play with in any mode( even though I think the name is stupid)
OPTIONS
For the most part the options are the same, they just improved what they had from before.
The enhanced create a player is so detailed that you can adjust the size of your pads to the bar on your helmet’s face mask. You can also create your own team with there own colors and decide there own logo from the 50 pre-made ones that come with the game, although most of these really have that generic quality.
It would be ideal if you could design your own and download these to your memory card but gamers will have to wait for that. They have also have expanded the fantasy draft option for your different teams. A new feature that I really haven’t seen in an other football game in the ability to save your progress in the middle of a game so you can go back to the same spot instead of having to restart the game. It’s ideal for the players that love the longer games.
CONTROLS
This area has been standard from the last few series but there a few slight improvement found in Madden 2002. For the most part the players are more responsive and quicker to the actions on the controls. I have noticed that the blocking in the game has increased on both sides of the ball, because of this it’s a lot easier to control running plays and find holes in line. This system is the closest your going to come for the realism factor.
GRAPHICS
Just when you think the look of the game couldn’t get any better, they have actually gone and improved Madden with more details in the materials and textures and added some more polygons for extra realism. The textures of the jersey have been given more of a mesh quality to look like the real thing. The stadiums have been given more of a crisper overall with great shadow maps on the field of the players and objects and is even more realistic to the actual stadiums . There are several new player animations and are even better than before. These new improvements include a much improved tackling animations that are totally different for each play, so the same ones aren’t repeated over and over again.
The tackling has more actual contact with the player now, so your going to see people getting wrapped up more instead of running into someone and the game considers that a tackle. There also more secondary animation of helmets being knocked off as well as figures on the sidelines that are animated such as cheerleaders,coaches and the chain markers.
SOUND
This area has been a problem for the series and one would think that for all of the improvements that they were directing toward the other aspects of the game they would have solved the commentary problem. If I were on the developmental team this would be glaring me in the face as the first thing to fix. Yes, Madden and Summerall’s commentary is new but the problem is that announcing and color are very dry and stale and after playing several games it’s just going to get really repeative.
Another problem is that the play by play they give really doesn’t match up with what happening in the game as well as the recommendations that Madden gives during the actual game. The crowd plays more of a role in this version and they get more into especially when you are away.
IMPROVEMENTS
Well sports games would be the same every year if there weren’t for the additions and upgrades that continue to develop the realism for the game. Nearly every aspect of the game was enhanced upon to a point where you will be suffering from lack of sleep. First off some of the display features have been changed and improved such as the kicking meter. They have replaced the old kicking meter with a new C shaped meter used in several different types of games.
There is a learning curve required for the meter because it can be difficult but think it offers more control over your kicking game, especially useful in field goals were it was nearly impossible to hit them before.There’s also a different replay system shown after each great play. The replay is shown in a wide screen format that centers around the player involved in the play and shows him in several different multiple angles which you would find in a real life game.
The computer AI has become smarter in both sides of the ball and you have to pay more attention to the passes your throw because they required more skill and especially more timing. The computer defense won’t be fooled as easily and you almost have to be able to read it in order to gain any yardage in the passing game because the computer loves to double team your receivers rather frequently.
PROBLEMS
Even with all this improvement there are still some drawbacks and weaknesses to Madden 2002. There are still some awkward animations especially when there involving the tackling of players. The actually movements of the arms and legs don’t move the way they sure from there actions. Another problem I encountered was with the defensive side of the ball.
Most of my defensive line especially my linebackers are blocked almost too well when stopping the run especially if I seemed open before the play. It would also be nice if you could edit your own play book and take out plays you dont like. Since playing this game this is the first time I have considered getting another PS2 memory card. The game does eat a huge chuck of space especially if you play in a franchise mode but then again this game offers quite a bit
CONCLUSIONS
Bottom line is if you like football and you own a PS2 the odds of you not liking this game are the same as winning a state lottery twice in you lifetime. This is one of the best sports titles that I had ever played but while it’s still not perfect, no one else has come close to what EA sports has been able to accomplish in developing the most realistic football game to date.
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