Madden NFL 2005, the most anticipated pre-November release according to the poll found in my profile, is finally here. The most successful franchise in video game history, having sold upwards of 37 million copies, has hit the shelves once again an entire month before the NFL players play a meaningful game. With Ray Lewis on the cover (will the Madden cover curse hit him too?), the defensive aspect of the series was sure to be upgraded in order to enhance the gameplay. This year Madden has one fierce competitor to fight off, ESPN NFL 2K5 that retails at a mere $20. After much deliberation, I was finally convinced to rent this game by a friend. Will Madden still reign champion? Does the 2005 installment warrant a $50 purchase? Read on to find out.

After popping in the disk, the first thing that I noticed was that Madden lacked ESPN’s appealing presentation. However, presentation really isn’t a very important aspect in my opinion, so I started up a quick game with my Redskins going toe-to-toe with the New York Giants. That game taught me a lot about the gameplay in Madden, as well as some of the most touted new features in this year’s version such as the Hit Stick and Defensive Playmaker Control. What I learned was that Madden is now all about strategy.

When you are on offense, your playbook consists of quite a number of plays, some of which pertain to only specific teams. After having selected your play and prior to the snap, you have a lot of options. You can call audibles to switch to a different play if you dislike the defensive formation that you see ahead of you. Or you can simply adjust the positions of the linemen while keeping the same play (i.e. by making your weak side become your strong side). You can move wide receivers from one side to another if you think that might set up a big play. Even your wide receivers’ routes can be altering by using optional routes. This means that a receiver running his normal route might decide to change his route in the middle of the play after seeing the coverage. A dotted line will show you his optional route, which might turn out to be the most advantageous route.

After the snap, the quarterback must keep an eye out on all receivers and fire a pass by pressing any of the face buttons or triggers to certain receivers in hopes of a completion. Rolling out of the pocket and running with the quarterback is also the option, but a big gain is very unlikely due to the improved defensive artificial intelligence. After having completed a pass, you’re off to the races. In Madden NFL 2005, receivers seem to always run their designated routes and don’t make stupid decisions such as running out of bounds and back in. Whether they catch the ball depends on a number of factors, including your difficulty setting, the amount of coverage, the rating of the quarterback and receiver as well as whether the quarterback was throwing with his feet set or not.

The running game hasn’t been altered much at all. You can still juke in both directions, dive for extra yardage, hurdle, stiff-arm and perform all of the basic running moves. The running game is fairly realistic, as big gains are limited unless you are playing on the Rookie difficulty rating. The advanced defensive AI limits big gaps and holes, but if you manage to catch the defense off-guard then you will be rewarded with a nice run.

On the defensive side, Madden NFL 2005 has undergone a complete makeover. Most of the changes take place once again prior to the snap. After calling a play, you will have the option of modifying individual player assignments, which is known as the Defensive Playmaker Control. You can assign two linebackers to blitz from the sides, you can bulk up your defensive line, you can send your cornerback to pressure the quarterback, you can make the linemen focus on the left side of the field if you feel that’s where the opponent is going to run the ball, you can make your safety help out by double-teaming Randy Moss, you can specify Champ Bailey to go after only Terrell Owens. The possibilities are endless. Basically, you have total control over your team. Although some will welcome this control, I began to feel that this is just too much for my taste. It adds so much strategy to this game and so much that you have to think about, that you begin miss the simplicity of games like NFL Blitz.

After the snap, you have control over a certain player, although you can switch to the player closest to the ball at any time. You can obviously go for a wrap-up tackle, dive, attempt to break up a pass or go for the interception. This year, you are introduced to the Hit Stick. With a well-timed flick of the right thumbstick, you perform a devastating tackle and greatly increase your chances of making your opponent fumble the ball. This turnover can change the game completely, although a miss-timed flick of the Hit Stick will send you to the turf while your opponent goes for the big yardage. Science plays a role with the Hit Stick, as a bulky player such as LaVar Arrington has a much better chance of knocking the ball loose that a skinny cornerback.

The defensive artificial intelligence has also been given a boost. Cornerbacks and safety actually follow their assignments at all times, thus you will no longer experience the random occurrence of when a safety stops, watches a receiver make the catch and then chase him down. Batted balls occur more frequently than ever, as a pass down the middle might be batted down by a lineman that puts his hands up. This boost in AI makes Madden the best football ball game based on defensive gameplay, although those that rely too heavily on their offense alone will be disappointed.

The difficulty level varies a lot. On Rookie, blowing up on offense and stopping your opponent is extremely easy. The next difficulty level, Pro, offers much tougher computer opponents and the jump in difficulty between these two levels might be too much for some. Therefore, those not too familiar with the series will be faced with either blowout victories each time or very frustrating experiences for about 5 full games. The hardest difficulty setting is All-Madden, and this will give even the most experienced players a run for their money. Before moving on to the modes of play, I must also mention that the gameplay pace was surprisingly noticeably faster than the pace in ESPN NFL 2K5. I felt uncomfortable with this at first.

Madden NFL 2005 features a great range of modes including a Quick Game, Football 101, Practice Mode, Situation Mode, Tournament Mode, a Franchise Mode and a Rushing Attack mini-game. Besides creating your own players, playbooks and teams, you are also able to create your own fans. The first mode obviously allows you to play a single game instead of a season or more. Practice Mode allows you to practice with your offense and defensive in order to perfect your game, but I didn’t spend too much time there. Situation Mode allows you to select different situations (the score, time remaining, field position) and attempt to win the game. Football 101 serves as the tutorial and it is similar to practice mode, although you are guided through it by John Madden himself.

The best mode by far is the enhanced franchise mode, which is the deeper than any game has to offer. In the beginning, you will be thrust into the training camp, which is where you will be given the chance to improve players by participating in mini-games. After this comes the pre-season along with all of its games, potential trades and eagerness for the season to begin. During the season and on your way to the Super Bowl, there is just so much to do that it is mind-boggling. First of all, the way the Rookie Draft and Combine are held has been altered. Prior to the draft, you can select up to 15 players that you will scout at the Combine, and a ton of information about them will be given to you in order to pick out the best player available. The draft has finally become what it should be, a way to strengthen your team’s weaknesses. Trades are also conducted in a different manner, as you will place guys on the trading block, say what you’d like in return and simply wait for the offers from other teams. You can sign free agents, but make sure that you don’t go over the salary cap.

You will have to manage the financial aspects of running a NFL team as well. You will have to set all of the prices at the concession stands and gift stores, decide how much money you wish to spend on advertising, decide whether you want to hold Fan Appreciation Days and give out free goodies to attract fans and manage a team like never before. You can upgrade stadiums by renovating them, renaming them or adding things such as wireless Internet access to all fans. Even the salaries of the coaches are recorded and make an impact because even if you fire them, you’ll still have to pay their salary. This is a great way to teach the kids playing Madden a bit about the financial side of the game. The amazing thing about franchise mode is that you can relocate a team if you want to. Although the process is tedious, it is possibly to move those lowly Cardinals out of Arizona, build a new stadium, and change the team name, logos and outfits. This truly makes you feel like the owner of the team.

This year, Electronic Arts added even more new features to the franchise mode. First of all, there is a virtual radio show hosted by Tony Bruno. He will discuss the latest happenings in the NFL, provide his insight on stories, stir-up controversies, listen to inquiries from callers and even conduct interviews once in a while. There is also a national and local newspaper that will feature articles revealing your players’ thoughts. Players might be quoted saying that they want more playing time, and this should send you a message. You also have a PDA that will gets messages from your staff and players voicing their concerns.

You will have to keep players happy. If your quarterback wants more playing time or is upset with your team’s losing ways, he will voice those concerns and can become unhappy. His performance might drop and you might have to put him on the trading block. Signing free agents isn’t only about the money any more, as players will take the fans, team prestige and other things into account. Performance on the field has a correlation with the new morale system. Certain events affect your players’ morale. If the star linebacker is traded for draft picks then the morale is sure to fall. If a team leader such as Jon Jansen has a season-ending ending then the morale is sure to plunge. The lower the morale, the worse the team will perform. Rivalry games are finally an important thing, as losing a rivalry game (such as Washington versus Dallas) will have a negative impact on your team.

Madden cards make a comeback in order to extend replay value. These cards will allow you to make individual players better for some time, give you advantages (such as five downs to get a first down) or put the opponent at a disadvantage (by making them 25% more likely to drop passes for example). These cards are fun although the crib system featured in ESPN NFL 2K5 was a bit more addicting. As you can tell, the replay value is very high due to the plethora of various modes and the amazing and time-consuming franchise mode.

Madden NFL 2005 finally has what Xbox owners have been longing for – online play. You can finally play one-on-one matches against players around the world, participate in tournaments and various leagues. The best thing is the EA Sports Premium Pass, which is an account that you will have to set up with a credit card (although the service is free). The great thing about the Premium Pass is that you will be able to provide feedback about people you play against. People that quit games will have bad feedback, which will discourage people from playing against them and will create a better gaming community.

Graphically, Madden NFL 2005 is a major disappointment. The player models are very detailed and look amazing, unless you’ve played ESPN NFL 2K5. Although the player faces, jerseys and musculature look good, they’re not as good as can be. The player animations while performing all of their moves are smooth and look good, until you notice some of the clipping problems. While playing this game, you will notice hands going through torsos, balls going through hands and I thought this was fixing two years ago! Apparently not. Cheerleaders have been a part of football for years. At first I thought the cheerleaders in ESPN looked bad, but boy are they ugly in Madden. The stadiums are fairly detailed and all of the buildings surrounding them can be seen, although the grass is as fake as can be. The fan animations look good, however this is mainly due to the Create-A-Fan mode. In this mode, you will be able to select the clothing, masks, face paint and accessories that you like the most. Then, the fans that you have created will be shown when clips of the fans cheering or jeering are displayed. I felt that this mode was simple, yet innovative and fun. To sum up the graphics, they are considerably worse than those found in ESPN NFL 2K5.

The audio department gets mixed reviews from me. The sound effects are fine, as the grunts and thuds made when the players are tackling and blocking each other are similar to what you hear during NFL games without going overboard. The Tony Bruno radio show was well done, and his voice is perfect for sports shows. The Madden series is known for offering an amazing soundtrack year in and year out. This year, the game featured less hip-hop and rap tunes than previous installments. This year’s soundtrack features more rock than ever before, featuring artists like The Hives, New Found Glory, Green Day, Franz Ferdinand and Hoobastank. Unfortunately, the commentary is the audio department’s weak point. The commentary consists of short phrases, without much humor or insight into the game. Sometimes utter nonsense is blurted out by Al Michaels or John Madden, especially during blowouts.

Overall, Madden NFL 2005 is an amazing experience, although I feel that many football fans might opt for ESPN NFL 2K5 this year. Although I recommend this game to everyone that enjoys football, there is something to consider. Would you rather have slightly more advanced player controls and a deeper franchise mode or better graphics, a much better commentary, ESPN presentation, a Virtual Identity Profile to gain an edge and insight on opponents and an engaging crib system? And by the way, the second option is thirty dollars cheaper. This year I’m definitely sticking with ESPN NFL 2K5, although if both games had the same price the decision might have been harder. Although hardcore fans might stick with Madden, I think that switching to ESPN this year is a wise decision.

Related Reviews:
ESPN NFL 2K5
Madden NFL '06

Recommended: Yes