Anyone who has ever played the N64 or PS One editions of this long-standing franchise will be on familiar territory here. If history has taught us anything, it's that "Madden" seems awfully outdated once a new generation arrives, and not surprisingly, the game seems one gen behind. AI glitches are all over the place, especially when it comes to clock management. For no apparent reason, the opposing team will just sit on the ball for the entire length of the play clock, whether they're down 27 in the fourth or just starting the first quarter. The running game is skewered far in the favor of the offensive squad and finding an open man is simple when throwing.
In-game audio is about as sparse as the graphics engine. You can play an entire game without even hearing the person endorsing the game and Al Michaels commentary is seemingly limited to "touchdown" and "first down." The crowd mumbles on, never changing their pitch. The menu screen initially sounds impressive, featuring a fully voiced music track. Then you get a bit deeper in and realize that it does nothing but repeat itself every minute or so.
Much like the other offering from EA Sports on the DS, "Tiger Woods PGA Tour," this game just screams, "wait until next year." At least "Tiger" has a solid foundation, one that makes it playable (and even enjoyable). "Madden 2005" doesn't have anything of the sort. It's forgettable, cheaply produced, and oh yeah, pointless.
Article comments
1 - RJ
What's a DS cost? And what are the alternatives in portable, color gameplay?
2 - Matt Paprocki
The DS is running $149. That's not bad, especially considering the two screens look great. As for the games, well....
There are plenty of options available elsewhere. The Game Boy Advance is still going, though it should die out this year. Still plenty of software out there for it.
The N-Gage just got a price drop to $99 (without a separate phone contract) and it's really become underappreciated. There's some great software out there now that just wasn't available when it launched and that pretty much killed it.
The Tapwave Zodiac is one I've never touched and probably won't for some time. It doubles as a PDA. Not much for it, but emulation fans are eating it up.
Tiger has the soon to be coming Gizmondo. I believe it's hit in Europe at some ludicrous price point (near or above $400). They're planning a launch over hear supposedly, but against the upcoming PSP, that's suicidal. Though no ones touched one yet (unless they've imported of course), it looks strong and I'm getting hot just thinking about it (yeah, I'm like that).