Electronic Arts’ latest edition of Madden NFL Football is a historic one, marking the series’ 10th anniversary.
The game’s development team celebrated by adding some welcomed features to 2005’s offering, not the least of which includes a deeper defense simulation.
While the Madden series annually includes a fairly deep offensive strategy, it’s defense always felt a little two-dimensional.
No longer, as several improvements, such as the “Hit Stick,” have added a new dimension to the D.
With a flick of the controller’s right analog stick, the “Hit Stick” allows for big hits on running backs and receivers. If timed properly, your defensive back will lay a huge hit on his victim, pumping up the crowd at home games or hushing them at away stadiums. Needless to say, it is more fun to slam an opponent to the ground and hear the stadium roar than to make a simple tackle.
The ability to modify defensive player assignments before the snap also adds a lot of depth. Even if the defense is lined up to stop the run, a man can be called to blitz the quarterback. When the offense readies a surprise passing play, sending a man to blitz is invaluable.
A new feature for Franchise mode is the “Storyline Central,” a collection of in-game media sources like newspapers and radio. They chronicle happenings around the league and in your team’s hometown, adding a lot to the simulation of your own franchise.
The radio station in particular is fun. It is a sampling of pre-recorded commentary by Tony Bruno discussing news around the virtual NFL.
There are even fans who “call in” to the radio station to give their input.
The two newspapers in Storyline Central, a national and a local front page, are somewhat disappointing. They have a fairly limited number of paragraph-long stories with names changed depending on their subject.
At one point during my Cleveland Browns franchise game, there were five stories on the front page of my team’s local newspaper. All five were identical and said that five different players on the Browns needed to play better or else they would be let go in the off-season. Repetition like this make the newspaper portions seem half-hearted.
A feature missing from Madden is the Season mode, a simulation of one NFL season’s worth of games that appeared in previous Madden editions. I always enjoyed following a team throughout the season as the real NFL season progressed. Madden 2005 offers only Franchise mode to fulfill my craving, which includes more seasons than I might want to play.
Those criticisms aside, Madden 2005 is as polished as ever. Controlling players as they run, juke, and tackle is neither too tight nor too slippery. This is control refined over 10 years’ time.
It’s wide selection of features, from Create-A-Fan to the “EA Trax” collection of current popular music, exhibit the large production values that Electronic Arts has devoted to its premiere football simulation.
Madden NFL 2005 does what it is meant to do. It is presented in a realistic, professional manner, while providing an entertaining experience that is worthy of consumers’ time and money.
