m.s.heart's Full Review: Madden NFL 2002 for PlayStation 2
I remember back in the early 90's when EA Sports brought us Madden football. It was groundbreaking 3-D football with tiny little team characters and side-splitting (or annoying...depending on your demeanor) sound-bytes from John Madden himself. It was truly great for the time. MADDEN 2002 lives up to the same standard.
MADDEN 2002 opens up with a montage of the game's graphics (which is nearly as good as the actual NFL footage they normally insert in this spot) as well as a new style of music: rap. Gone is the traditional MADDEN theme from the past 5 or 6 years. It's a nice change of pace and really hits the spot.
GAME MODES: There are so many types of game modes to choose from I don't even know where to begin. There's an EASY mode with the one-button type of play. A 2-MINUTE DRILL mode lets you try to score as much as possible (in order to acrue tokens to buy MADDEN CARDS...get to this later). There are also 2 types of PRACTICE modes where you can bone up on your particular team's plays. Then there are the normal game modes: EXHIBITION, SEASON, FRANCHISE & CREATE-A-TEAM.
MADDEN 2002 let's you release, trade and create players (as well as teams). The CREATE mode is very detailed, from hair color to helmet type (including the # of stripes and/or team logo) to tape on the character's hands (or not). It's mind-blowing.
Now for the GAME PLAY: WOW!
Games start up with a grand 3-D viewing of the home team's stadium and introduction of the home team's players running out onto the field one at a time. Truly amazing. Even the crowd looks better. There's a great coin toss with the teams' captains and you're off. Teams operate according to their weaknesses and strengths. Play as the RAMS and score 30-40 points, but play against the RAVENS and be prepared to get sacked 30-40 times. The play is so realistic that my roommate (who was reading a paper on the couch) thought I was watching a real game. After each play (although you can turn this option off) there is usually a re-cap of a nice offensive/defensive play. The transitions are so beautiful, too. They fade into the replay (some with MATRIX-style motions) and fade to close-ups of the indicated player (whether it was a TD reception or a penalty called for holding. And watch for the COACH's reactions when the opposing team converts a third-and-long or when his offense scores a TD. It's fabulous...I should mention that players all have distinct offensive or defensive celebrations. Very nice.
What is also great about MADDEN 2002 is the different settings you can adjust: time of quarters, camera angle, difficulty/penalty levels. The nicest addition is the A.I. adjustability. Can't stand losing to the San Diego Charger 100-3? Well, turn the A.I. down until you get a handle on how to play.
Calling plays has never been so great either. The playbooks for each team are very different, and there are SO many plays. Swing your TE over to help block. Pick a HOT ROUTE for your fastest WR. Not only can you reverse a play but you can pick a GO-TO-GUY on your team which brings up plays revolving around that particular guy. Also, ask Madden what to do in certain cases...his advice is pretty obvious though. Even CHALLENGE a call by the referee...just make sure it goes your way or you'll lose a TIME OUT. There are also MADDEN player cards you can buy with tokens you get from achieving specific goals (sacking the QB, 100 yards rushing, etc.). Play these Madden cards during a game to build up your players for one play or for a quarter. It's different and a little strange, but really fun.
Everything in this game is SO amazing...EXCEPT for one thing: the commentary. Madden and Summerall talk it up quite a bit, and the generic play-by-play stuff isn't so bad. BUT the player-specific comments are annoying, especially when you hear the same line about Kurt Warner 4 times in one game. I wish they had spent a couple more days in the recording studio to come up with some better and more-indepth material. The commentary is also pretty comical at times. Have your RB bust through the line for 20 yards, and Madden says something like, "This guy's having a career day." The very next play your RB gets dropped for a loss, and Madden exclaims, "This guy's having the worst day of his career." It doesn't quite add up. However, the pizzazz of the rest of the game really makes this gripe quite trivial.
You will spend hours with your friends (or by yourself) with MADDEN 2002.
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