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REVIEW PAGE - MADDEN 2005

Madden 2005

I’ve noticed something about a lot of the reviews I’ve seen for Madden 2005, none of them have been for the PC version.

Now I realize that a lot more people actually play the game on their PS2, XBox or even their Gamecube. But what these playas don’t realize is that they are missing out on the version that allows the most customization among all the platforms. This has always been the case with the PC version, and it is no different this year.

When we had our interview with Jeramy Strauser earier this year, he had dropped a bombshell on us: we would not be able to use created teams in franchise mode.

Needless to say this was going to create some problems with a lot of people, particularly those of us who run leagues or our own team to promote a website (PCF Instigators and the forthcoming BlideSideBlitz team). But by manipulating some files we would be able to use them in Madden 2004 along with updated rosters.

But as for Madden 2005 we would have to satisfied with the stock teams that were available.

The way that Madden 2005 looks and plays, that might not be as bad as we had thought.

There is enough in the game to keep anyone of us occupied and interested well into August of 2005 when Madden 2006 is due to come out (allegedly). Take the roster editor for instance. Now I know, the numbers are not fully open up so that you can give any player any number, but there is a way around that. If you use up all of the numbers for that position you are trying to change, then all the other numbers should be opened up for that player. That’s assuming that the player in question already has a number other than what the NFL says he should. If not then you can always create that player again, give him the correct number and release the other player into the free agent pool.

I know that you’re thinking that that will put a lot of blank players into the free agent pool. Au contraire monfraire, if you create a team with the express purpose of putting those players onto its roster so that you can delete it and then import that team onto your roster file so you can do it several times over, you won’t fill up your free agent pool. Now if you had created a team, exported it, imported it, and then deleted it in Madden 2004, then the game would not let you import or export files into that roster file again as it somehow corrupted the file. This does not happen in Madden 2005 as I have done this several times with no problems. I guess they worked that bug out. Now mind you the minimum number of players on each team is 45 this year as opposed to the 49 last year. So you can get 10 unwanted players in there before you have to delete that team, import it and start over again.

Another piece of good news is that your roster files and teams from Madden 2004 will work in Madden 2005! I don’t know how the gang at Tiberon missed that as data files usually are incompatible from year to year. But this year something must have slipped through the cracks because it is possible to use 2004 files in 2005, and vice versa. I know because I have tried it both ways.

Well enough with all that, you might be saying, how does the frigging game actually play?

In a word…maaaavolous.

The one thing that you will notice about this year’s game is that EA Sport’s has lived up to their word. Indeed the defense is much improved. So much so, that when you first start playing the game, you will probably get frustrated very quickly when the same money plays you ran last year suddenly fail you. On the other hand, when you play defense you will feel the exact opposite as your MLB sticks the opposing HB for a loss on 3^rd and inches when last year it was a sure 1^st down during the last 2-minutes of the game.

Now as far as how sliders effect the game take this piece of advice: turn all of them up as high as you can in order to get the most out of your players – especially on offense. Since this year’s game is slanted towards the defense the offense needs all the help it can get. Below is the Box Score from a game I played with the All-Rams against the All-Vikings. Take note of how high the sliders are and at the stats for both teams, you will find that both teams played very realisticly.

Now as far as the new controls are concerned, it will take some getting used to for those of you who used the right analog stick to call a run or pass defense in Madden 2004. Unfortunatly that feature has been replaced by the “hit stick”, which I haven’t gotten the occasion to use very much. Neither have I used the options for individual assignments, although I understand that they are a really cool addition to the game. After all, I play 15 minute quarters with an accelerated clock, so there is not a lot of time to call out individual assignments like hot routes or blitz packages. But this also forces you to think quickly before the CPU snaps the ball as to how you can stop your opponent. Usually the defense will do a good enough job to where you don’t have to call out any assignments. All in all the game plays very well with just a few tweaks and is the closest we have ever come to the actual action o we see every Sunday.

As for graphics…wow! If you have a high end ATI or nVidia card then you will not be disappointed. I started the game at 2:30 in the afternoon, and by the time the game was over the sky was dark and the lights were on! Also, since we were playing in a created Metropolitan Stadium, it would snow off and on during the game adding to the realism. The sideline shots were very well thought out as you actually have coaches talking to players on the bench, and you even get a good view of some of the fans in the stands.

Speaking of the fans, the create-a-fan feature is kind of fun, as you get to create your own brand of idiots to populate the front row and get their painted mug on camera. Creating fans to populate the Black Hole in Oakland is probably the most fun you will have with this game for a while, but eventually you are going to want to see these guys in action during franchise mode.

Now franchise mode is more of the same like we saw last year. Owner Mode is back, but there is a new twist. You now get access to your local paper for stories on how your team is doing, who is happy/unhappy, and so on. You also have a morale meter this year to see how individual players are doing and weather they need more playing time or not. If a certain player is unhappy with his time you can always put him on the trading block to try to change his attitude around (hey it worked with Bill Meuller in MVP Baseball 2004). New to this mode is the radio show hosted by Tony Bruno, except that there is not much there to listen to as the radio you hear is pretty generic and tends to repeat itself.

The thing that has really surprised me about this release besides being able to use last year’s rosters, is the fact that there was an update available on day one of its release. After installing the game I figured “what the hell, what have I got to lose?” as it turned out I gained a whole lot as the system located an update and installed it. Another patch had been released after that, and I wouldn’t be surprised if more were released as more and more issues are brought to light.

Bottom line: this is a game that is woth picking up, playing, and keeping in your library even after Madden 2006 comes out. The game looks and plays like the real thing, even down to the weather effects. But if you want to use created teams in a franchise, hold onto Madden 2004 as well.

On a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best), Madden 2005 gets a 9.4.