Madden 2005

SONY PlayStation 2

Click HERE for screenshots. 

Right out the gates, I liked Madden 2005.  The days of the “madden rap” might be gone, but they finally managed to hit the right notes for the title screens and menus.  The music was catchy and the menu screens featured a nice blend of photographs and video clips of your favorite team’s stars in action.  The “PDA” radio that is on the franchise screen shows that the game is a bit dated, for the most part Madden 2005 is a solid game that left me with little to complain about. 

Diving straight to the action, my wildcard matchup was the Patriots at the Raiders.  The on-field player models have been tweaked again since 2004, this time giving them a slightly more “muscle-bound” appearance, somewhat reminiscent of NFL Blitz (but not as fat looking). 

As was the case in making the jump from Madden 2003 to Madden 2004, the subsequent jump from 2004 to 2005 shows a number of little tweaks and improvements to make the experience a bit smoother and more streamlined.  I loved the “on field drive summaries” that would pop up under the box score information, just like on TV. 

As I played through the first half of my matchup against the Raiders, there was not a whole lot to make note of because everything simply worked as it should.  The controls were great and the physics made sense to me.  Things were going well, and I managed to take a 17-6 lead at halftime. 

The “halftime” show featured some cheerleaders with weird faces and ridiculously big CGI breasts dancing around.  That was a bit silly, but moments later, I was back to the action. 

Again, there are just a number of little improvements over Madden 2004, but they did not re-invent the wheel here.  They knew they had a good product and improved upon it.  The kicking meter is a bit better, for example.  In any case, I ended up crushing the Raiders and having fun with it, winning 24-6.  One of the most decisive wins I had had in awhile.  By the time this game had been released, the Pats were 2x Super Bowl Champions (in reality) and the Madden player ratings were finally starting to reflect the team’s greatness. 

The divisional round was at Indy, and my impressions from the Raider game held true here.  Again, there are some minor improvements- the Peyton Manning player model looks a lot like Peyton Manning.  Details like the way he flaps around his arms and changes plays at the line pre-snap. 

Once again, I raced out to a convincing lead- after a pick-6 late in the first half, I ended up with ahead 17-3 at halftime.  It was fun- the game play was fantastic and my strategies were all clicking.  The more I looked at the player models, the more I realized that they had really been improved over the last couple years (and come a really long way since the first PS2 Madden game, 2001). 

The game was never really all that close and I finished with a 34-10 win.  It was fun, but I was starting to question whether the Pats were really that good or if the game was a bit easier than previous years. 

The AFC Championship game was the Ravens at the Pats.  For the third straight year, I was going up against the player on the cover of the box deep into the playoffs (Ray Lewis).  Given how good the Ravens defense was at that point (and that Madden 2005 was marketed as “the year of defense” or something), I guess it should have come as no surprise that points were hard to come by in this game.

After the first quarter, I hadn’t managed a single first down on offense.  The game featured a lot of hard hits and neither team could get anything going.  Midway through the second quarter, I took a shot with a 54 yard FG attempt and somehow made it.  I think it might have been the longest field goal ever for me in Madden. 

On my next offensive series, Brady threw a dangerous pass over the middle that somehow got through double coverage and was caught by Deion Branch.  This set me up for a short TD run by Corey Dillon.  Up 10-0, I picked off the Ravens QB at the end of the half, setting up a last second field goal.

I felt lucky to have my 13-0 lead, as those points had come mostly as a result of a couple of good plays.  Other than that, I was basically useless on offense.  Fortunately, my defense was having a great game, and the Ravens offense was even more anemic than mine. 

After a scoreless third quarter, the complexion of the game suddenly changed when Brady threw a bad interception (to Ray Lewis) with 3 minutes left in the game.  A couple of plays later, the Ravens scored, and all of a sudden, the score was 13-7. 

I knew I had to run out the clock to seal the victory.  Fortunately, after starting the game 0 for 7 on third down conversions, I was able to ice the game after a clutch 3^rd and long catch by Daniel Graham in the middle of the field.  In a game dominated by the defense (I had 5 sacks!), I had eked out a 13-7 win. 

All of this set up the Super Bowl, featuring the Patriots against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  For some reason, I thought this game would be a cakewalk, but I was wrong.  Brad Johnson was red-hot to start the game, hitting on his first 10 passes.  After an impressive opening drive, my defense woke up just in time to force a FG, putting the Bucs up 3-0. 

I responded with a great opening drive that ended in disaster when Brady threw a bad interception in the redzone.  Johnson resumed where he had left off and marched right down the field again- all the way to the goal line.  Once again though, my D awoke at the critical time and managed to force a second FG.  I probably should have been losing 14-0 at this point, but instead it was a much more manageable 6-0, Bucs.

My offense finally got it done on the next drive, with Brady throwing a beautiful pass to David Givens in the back corner of the endzone to cap off a 9 play 76 yard drive.  This gave me a tenuous 7-6 lead at halftime.  The first half was eventful, featuring a number of protracted drives, but not many points.

Although I was winning by a point, it did not feel that way.  I buckled down in the second half and resolved to score some more points, which did not come easily.  I managed to kick a long field goal before the play of the game took place. 

After playing an amazing first half, Bucs QB Brad Johnson threw his first bad pass of the day when he misread my zone defense and Asante Samuel picked him off.  After some dazzling moves, Samuel went 45 yards downfield for the score and blew the game open. 

I had scored 17 unanswered points and that was all that I needed.  After a frantic drive by the Bucs that stalled out and resulted in 0 points, I ran the clock out with Corey Dillon to preserve the 17-6 Super Bowl victory. 

For the first time in ages, there was actually a decent Super Bowl celebration, with players dousing Bill Belichick in a Gatorade bath and carrying him off the field on their shoulders.  Fireworks lit up the sky and the Lombardi trophy was enthusiastically lifted overhead. 

I viewed this celebration as a fitting end to Madden on the PS2 before the rise of the “next-gen” consoles.  I like to view Madden 2003, 2004 and 2005 as a trilogy of great Madden games, where each improved on its predecessor.  While I know that they continue to make Madden games on the PS2 (and apparently Madden 06 on the PS2 is great), I am making the jump to the XBOX 360 for my next review.  For better or for worse, I am fast arriving at the “current generation” of HD Madden titles.