andycharger's Full Review: Madden NFL 2002 for PlayStation 2
Without fail, there is one sports simulation that no only changes and improves year to year, but takes gaming to a whole new level.
Im talking, of course about Madden NFL 2002.
For those of you that have been living in a US Sports-less world for the last 10 or so years, EA Sports have been releasing an American Football simulation every year for about 10 years. It hides under the guise of Madden'**(add the year of your choice).
Madden, or John Madden to give him his full title, is a larger than life American Football pundit who had a successful coaching career during the 1970's and even winning the Superbowl with the Oakland Raiders before retiring and entering the commentary booth.
So the game carries his name to give it some selling power. While it may have needed it early on in its release days, today it is the top American Football simulation bar NONE and so needs no extra sales pitch. Still it carries his name though.
The latest version suprised me in many ways.
I have to admit, I downloaded it to "try it out" from a file sharing system called Kazaa. Now this software has not been cracked. It is the typical install that anyone would buy from the shop and distinctly lacks any copy protection. This suprised me after the highly complex CD protection present on other EA titles such as NHL 2002.
Installation takes about 5 minutes to complete and prefers a reboot to function correctly. Follow the onscreen instructions and all should be explained.
ON loading, the complex pregame sequence has gone. Previously, EA Sports had a short animation or film to introduce the game during loading. Now there is just a loading screen and a list sponsors and licencees.
Once the game has loaded, even the menus have been simplified.
There are very few main options which I prefer. Its is very daunting to be faced with many options on the main screen.
Now you can select:-
An exhibition game
A season
Training
Options
Exit game
Much nicer than before.
Once you select any of these options, you are then redirected to more in depth menus. It gives the game a much more crisp appearance and is far easier to navigate. More appealing on the eye with its minimalistic approach.
Whats New.......
There is a great new feature in league play called Fantasy Draft. This allows you to have a Draft as you would in real life and pick players you want. In the fantasy draft, many of the star names are available for selection as "free agents" (no contracts). The teams all take turns in picking a player and you have all the freedom you want to get the guys you need.
This is fully editable to suit your particular requirements. you can set the draft to auto pick, or you can pick for the comuter teams as well.
There is even the inclusion of Salary Capping. This prevents you spending to much money picking up "free agents". Good idea or you could have a team full of all starts and lose the realism.
What I like.......
The accuracy of the game play. One of the most realistic playable American football games ever means you can get right in the heart of the action with some great camera angles and good replays. The movement on and off the ball of players is superb. Fluid movement and the graphics are outstanding.
The sound is realistic. Taking the actual commentary music and snipits from the TV shows, it just adds to the atmosphere. Crunching tackles and individual Players shouting is cool too.
I love the way it records stats too. Its always interesting to know how many interceptions your QB has thrown. Being a stat freak, it helps me out a lot.
What I dont like......
Its slow at loading. The menus seem to lock during clicking on options and this affects the flow of a game.
For those that dont understand the rules, the menus can become slightly confusing ,as can the play selection.
Do you know what a I motion Left, T78 on 2 is?
No, I dont either. I have a good knowledge of the game and understand a playbook but learning all of these plays will take you some time and no doubt you will rely heavily on a couple of plays to start which can become boring.
The action sequences before kick off and after a play has ended are quite cute but after a couple of hours they can become boring and repetitive as can the comentators wording.
I also do not like the joypad controls either. They tend to be unresponsive and late to react to my commands which leads to a lack of enjoyment on my part.
Overall.
The game is superb and a real piece of eye candy. More for the expert with some nice new features, it continues to be a successful flag carrier for the EA Software house.
This item is in Like New condition with all original artwork and materials. This item may never have been used, but does not meet our criteria for Bra...More at Amazon Marketplace
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