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.  

Madden 2004

SONY Playstation 2

Click HERE for pictures.

Madden 2004 picks up the ball where Madden 2003 left off and manages to push it a little bit further downfield.  The jump is nowhere near as dramatic as it was from Madden 2002 to Madden 2003, but it is always better to see a bit of progress rather than regression, which seems to happen all too often in the Madden franchise.

I should note that there are tons of features available by stage of the Madden franchise- training camps, franchise team options spanning dozens of seasons that include the ability to draft, trade and manage players while accounting for the salary cap – the list goes on and on.  There is also no end to the levels of customization you can add to the difficulty curve- even in a granular sense- like how often DBs will pick off a pass rather than bat it down or how frequently a running back will fumble the ball.  You can create your own teams, players, logos, blah blah blah.  As has been the case in ALL of these reviews, I just go with whatever the default setting is and review the game based on that.  I don’t have time for all that other stuff with 21 (and counting) Madden games to get through.

SO, that said, back to #14 on the list, Madden 2004.  In my first game- the Divisional Round of the playoffs- the Steelers came to New England to face the Pats.  The player models have been tweaked a little bit from Madden 2003 to 2004 in that they are now a bit bigger and less lanky.  I was not a huge fan of the font used on the play calling screen as it looked a bit blurry to me.  It wasn’t crippling- I could read it, but it could have been a little easier on the eyes.  They do spice up the play calling screen by having “live video” on the field in the middle 1/3^rd of the screen while you pick your play on the bottom 1/3^rd and the opposition has the top 1/3^rd.  The presentation is fancy, but still, it would be nice to have a clear font that is easily read when decoding play diagrams.

Once the action on the field got underway, I immediately noticed a number of tweaks and improvements to player animations and physics.  For the most part, these were not really game changing, but nice little enhancements that made the plays seem more realistic and less, well, “Madden-like”. 

In spite of these improvements, I got off to a rocky start and was losing 10-3 at the half of my game.  My lone good drive was dashed by a clipping penalty called on one of my offensive linemen.  I also kept dropping sure-fire interceptions while playing defense, which was irritating.  At this early stage though, I could not yet determine if it was a game-flaw or if I was just unlucky. 

I managed to turn the game around in the 4^th quarter.  After struggling offensively for most of the game, I mixed up my play calling and sent speedy Bethel Johnson streaking down the field from the near slot position.  After side stepping a blitz, I found him wide open for a hugely gratifying TD pass.  With the game tied, I immediately stepped up on defense and picked off a Tommy Maddox pass at the 40 yard line.  Rather than go down immediately, I began a very long return that somehow ended with me in the endzone (after some nifty running by Eugene Wilson).  The back to back TDs put me up 17-10, and changed the complexion of the rest of the game.  I managed one more interception late in the game that led to an easy TD to make the final score 24-10.  It was fun, and I had won pretty convincingly. 

The second game was against the Raiders in Oakland for the AFC Championship.  This game turned out to be one for the ages- after taking note of the improved coaching likenesses on the sidelines, things got underway and Oakland struck immediately with a systematic opening TD drive.  I kept trying to mix up my defensive play calling, but nothing worked and I was down 7-0 early.  I responded with a great opening drive of my own, but it stalled at the Oakland 2 yard line, and rather than chance it, I took the points with the FG.  7-3 in the first.

They did a great job with the sound effects for Oakland’s stadium and fans- the vibe was intimidating somehow and everything seemed louder and more intense because it was the Championship game.  On Oakland’s second drive, QB Rich Gannon somehow escaped what should have been a sack and managed to complete 55 yard pass over the middle that resulted in a TD (it was reminiscent of the infamous catch by David Tyree in the Patriots/Giants Super Bowl).  I was pissed (especially because it reminded me of that play) and also losing 14-3.  Before the half ended, I got a nice drive going and once again had a 4^th and short situation while within Field Goal range.  This time, I got greedy, went for it, and failed to convert.  The score remained 14-3 going into halftime.  ALWAYS TAKE THE POINTS!

In reviewing the halftime stats, it was evident that I was getting killed by the Raiders in every category.  The game wasn’t even as close as the score indicated, so I had a lot of work to do if I was going to pull it out. 

I came out firing and scored a TD after an impressive drive, but they immediately responded with a FG.  At the end of the 3^rd, I had pulled to 17-10.  I got the ball back with a chance to tie the game and immediately threw a terrible interception.  A few plays later, they scored, putting me down 24-10 with 3 minutes to go.  The game should have been over at that point, but I kept fighting. 

Knowing I had to score twice quickly, I got off to a great start and punched the ball in the end zone with 1:54 left in the game, making the score 24-17.  I still had three time outs, but rather than kick it deep, I took a chance by trying an onside kick.  In playing through the first 14 Madden games in the franchise over the last 8 months, I think I have only attempted something like 2 onside kicks.  Neither of them had worked.  I took a deep breath, lined up the kicking meter and kicked the ball off with a short, low, awkward angle.  As it reached the Raiders’ line of receivers, they got entangled with each other, giving me just enough time to dive on the loose ball.  Patriots recover!

At this point, my heart was racing a bit because I suddenly had a chance to tie the game when moments before defeat seemed certain.  Just 5 plays later, I threw the game tying TD with just under 1 minute to go.  The drive was vintage Tom Brady, but I did worry about having left too much time on the clock for Rich Gannon, with the score tied at 24.  

The Raiders did manage to pull off a few plays and creep close to field goal range.  At this point, I saw the first chink in the armor of the CPU’s AI.  With the clock running down and one time out remaining, the Raiders had a chance to win the game with a long FG as the clock expired.  However, they seemed to “forget” they had the T.O. and the closing seconds of regulation ticked away harmlessly, forcing OT. 

This was a curious glitch, and I probably should have lost the game.  Was it bad coding or was the coaching staff of the Raiders just dazed and disoriented after having surrendered 14 unanswered points in the last 2 minutes of the game?  Either way, the game was in OT.

After a few nerve-wracking drives that ended in punts, my big opportunity came when their punt returner muffed his fair catch and I recovered the ball deep into Raider territory.  Not wanting to take any chances, I kicked the game winning FG and won 27-24.  “AFC Champion” flashed on the screen and I breathed a deep sigh of relief- the game had taken nearly an hour of real time and I was exhausted. 

Following the game, I was told I had won some “Madden cards” that would grant me special wishes or something the next time I played if I “activated” the cards.  I have no idea what this means, but it seemed pretty gimmicky and I never used it.

The next matchup was Super Bowl XXXVIII, which the Patriots won in real life against the Panthers.  In my simulated season, the matchup pitted the Patriots vs. the Michael Vick led Atlanta Falcons.  For the second straight year, I was playing against the athlete featured on the cover of the Madden game I was playing (last year I played the Marshall Faulk led Rams).  My opening drive looked like it was going to be a great one, but stalled out in the redzone and I was forced to kick a FG after a 9 play, 50 yard drive.  After forcing a quick 3 and out, my second drive was very similar to the first one and I once again had to settle for a FG deep into Falcon territory.

A few minutes into the 2^nd quarter, I experienced another drive that stalled deep into Falcon territory and extended the lead to 9-0.  I was dominating the game statistically, but had a weak lead on the scoreboard.  After they closed the lead to 9-3, I finally managed to punch in a TD and took a 16-3 lead late in the 2^nd.  I managed to eke out one more FG before the half and take a 19-3 lead into halftime.  The score should have been more like 35-3, but I was pretty confident that a 16 point lead would be enough to close out the Falcons and win the game. 

Sensing that they were down and in trouble, the Falcons opened up the playbook in the second half and Michael Vick started to take command of the game.  After having contained him pretty well in the first half, Vick started running all over the field and improvising plays that I simply could not keep up with.  They opened the half with a 14 play, 80 yard TD drive and then scored a second TD almost immediately thereafter, following a Tom Brady interception.  Suddenly, my lead had shrunk to just two points and the score was 19-17. 

With the momentum swinging hard against me, I put together one of my best Madden drives in a pivotal situation.  I took the clock just inside 2 minutes before scoring a TD to put me up 26-17.  The Falcons weren’t dead yet, however, and on their ensuing drive, Vick once again improvised and picked apart my defense, scoring a quick TD with :51 left in the game, making the score 26-24. 

With no time outs, the Falcons tried for the onside kick, but failed to convert.  I simply kneeled out the rest of the clock and took home the Lombardi trophy once again, final score: Patriots 26, Falcons 24. 

Madden 2004 is a very good game that I view as a patched up, improved version of Madden 2003 (which I loved).  While the strides aren’t as marked as the jump from 2002 to 2003, it still offers some better animations and some nominal gameplay improvements over its immediate predecessor.  It is clear that by this point, the series has really hit its stride on the PlayStation 2.  

Madden 2003

SONY Playstation 2

Click HERE for screenshots. 

Coming off of my frustrations with Madden 2002, I was not particularly optimistic going into Madden 2003.  Once the game started, I was immediately turned off by the new music featured on the menu screens- angsty songs that immediately grated on my nerves.  These songs made me long for the sweet rhymes of Ludacris. 

In continuing my quest for another Super Bowl title, I simulated through the regular season and found the Pats had made it into the Wild Card round and were playing the Colts in Indianapolis.  Lucky for me, Peyton Manning was injured, so the Colts had to rely on a backup named “Huard”.  In spite of this apparent advantage, the Colts came out firing and scored a TD easily on their opening drive- 6 plays, 78 yards. 

As I watched Huard shred my defense, I noted that the player models are a bit slimmer than they were in 2002.  Bill Belichick’s likeness has been imported, so it is funny to see him stalking the sidelines.  Pat Summerall had also retired, so for the first time since Madden ’96, he was not in the game.  His replacement (as it was in real life), was Al Michaels. 

Once I got the ball back, I immediately screwed up by pressing the wrong button on the controller and throwing an interception.  This was not a glitch in the game, I just hit the wrong button and inadvertently threw into triple coverage and the ball was (rightly) picked off.  Unfortunately for me, “Huard” remained as sharp as he was on the first drive, and I was down 14-0 early.

In spite of this hole, I felt weirdly confident.  I could tell already that a lot of the issues I had with Madden 2002 had been tweaked and resolved.  When I had an open receiver and threw the ball to him, he would catch it (avoiding the dreadful initial-catch-then-drop tendencies in the previous year).  The physics seemed better and animations were improved.  Put simply, the controls felt damned good. 

On my second drive, I systematically marched down the field and scored a TD to pull within 14-7.  After forcing my first defensive stop of the day, I got the ball back at my own 7 and managed an 8 play, 93 yard TD drive to tie the game at halftime, 14-14. 

I got the ball to start the second half, and once again made a mistake in the passing game.  Rather than set Tom Brady’s feet to have him throw a deep pass, I attempted the throw while he was off-balance.  This resulted in an inaccurate toss off his back foot and led to a pick.  Once again though, I wasn’t frustrated at the game- it made sense why that pick happened – it was my fault.  Unfortunately, they managed to score once again and I was down 21-14 going into the 4^th quarter.

I resolved to keep fighting and responded with an 11 play, 70 yard TD drive.  With 3:11 to go, the game was tied at 21.  To this point, Manning’s backup (“Huard”), had played a near perfect game.  I knew that he was bound to make a mistake at some point, and fortunately for me, that moment took place at a critical moment in the 4^th quarter.  Just before the 2 minute warning, I sent in a strong-side blitz, which forced him to throw an inaccurate pass that I picked off and ran back for the score.  For the first time all game, I led, 28-21. 

With less than 2 minutes remaining, they mounted a desperate drive to tie the game and drove to my 2 yard line.  With time running down, it came down to 4^th and goal from the 2.  They tried to run it up the right side, but Tedi Bruschi burst through the line and stuffed Edgerrin James in the backfield for a loss as the clock hit :00.  I won 28-21 in a great comeback- the game was balanced, fun, and exciting.  I looked at my watch and noticed that the entire game had only taken around 45 minutes in real-time, which marks yet another improvement over the 60+ minute games in 2002. 

The glow of victory following this first game was not to last, however.  For the first time in this whole experiment, I then went on to lose three games in a row.  For whatever reason, I was stymied by the 

Pittsburgh Steelers defense and lost the first game 10-3, the second game 24-10, and the third 16-13 in OT. The third game hurt the most, as I led for the entire game, but fell behind after a 99 yard kickoff return by freakin’ Hank Poteat.  Hank Poteat?  Are you serious?  I managed to come back and tie the game at the end of regulation, but never had a chance in OT as they kicked the FG after a painful 15 yard facemask call against my defense. 

It was a funny thing though, in spite of all the losing, I wasn’t all that mad.  If I had lost three straight games in Madden 2002, I would have been furious.  So what was the difference?  Well, whether it is illusionary or not, I felt like I was in CONTROL with Madden 2003.  Even when things didn’t work out, I could understand why by watching the action unfold and the replays.  On the aforementioned Poteat play, for example, I screwed up my kickoff coverage by missing the first tackle and getting tied up in their blocking wedge.  I knew when I missed the first hit (I timed it badly), it could potentially be problematic.  When my second line of defense couldn’t disengage from the return team’s blockers, I knew I was in trouble.  It was a bad play, but it made rational sense.  Had the same play happened in Madden 2002, Poteat would probably have simply broken 8 tackles and scored. 

Regardless, by my FOURTH game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, they had gotten into my head a little bit.  After racing to a 10-0 lead, my command of the game began to slip and they had tied the score 10-10 at halftime.  I opened the second half with a grinding, 11 play field goal drive to put me up 13-10, but I was wary this would not be enough.  After managing to get the ball back early in the fourth quarter, with the score still 13-10, I made one of the worst, most stubborn calls I have ever.  After throwing an incomplete pass to my left slot receiver on 2^nd and 7, I went right back to the exact same play on 3^rd and 7.  The CPU had adjusted the defensive personnel for this play, and before I snapped the ball, I could see that they had stacked the left side of the field with their top defensive backs.  As the play clock was ticking down, I contemplated using an audible to change the play to a run to the right rather than a pass to the left.  It probably would have worked, given that all their LBs were off the field and the right side of the field was more or less empty.  Rather than make the change though, I decided to go with the initial call and try to jam the ball into the coverage on the left.

It was a disaster.  My wideouts were blanketed, and when they couldn’t get open, I threw the ball anyway.  Interception, TD return.  (Stupid, stupid, stupid!)  I was losing, yet again, 17-13.  2 minutes to go. 

With time running out and a 4 point deficit, I was able to mount a heroic drive to overcome my terrible mistake and win the game 20-17.  A huge relief, I had finally defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Madden 2003. 

The AFC Championship game was at Oakland.  By the time I got to this game, I was really appreciating the improved animations and physics in 2003- everything just seemed smoother and more realistic- the graphics looked amazing.  The game against the Raiders proved to be a chess match- I had to dig deep into the playbook on both offense and defense.  The CPU seemed to learn and respond quickly and adapt to everything I was doing in all phases of the game.

I had a 10-7 lead at halftime in a defensive struggle, where every yard was earned.  The score remained the same into the fourth, but in the last four minutes of the game, Oakland mounted a terrific, 84 yard drive that got them all the way to my 5 yard line.  Fortunately, I was able to keep them from scoring the TD, but they did tie the game at 10-10 at the end of regulation.

Burned by my OT loss a few nights before to the Steelers, it seemed like a big blow to lose the coin-toss to start the extra period.  Once again, I had to dig deep into the playbook and execute the plays as best I could in order to keep the Raiders from scoring and winning the game on their first drive.  After employing some creative tactics (including flipping a few coverage schemes to keep the ball out of Jerry Rice’s hands), I finally forced a stop and for the first time in 6 minutes of game time, my offense finally got the ball back.

The drive that followed was one of my all time favorite Madden drives.  Mixing up runs and passes, I got into field goal range for Vinitieri to win the game.  Rather than line up and kick the ball right away, I started to pound away on the ground to make the field goal attempt closer and closer still.  On 8 consecutive runs, I drove the ball all the way to the goal line, and in a hugely satisfying moment pounded the ball in with Kevin Faulk to win the game.  16-10, Patriots win.  The players stormed the field and “AFC CHAMPION!” flashed on the screen.

Super Bowl XXXVII featured the Patriots vs. Rams in a rematch of Super Bowl XXXVI.  The first half was a defensive struggle, but the Rams struck first before the end of the half, making the score 7-0.  I was frustrated by the pitiful performance of my offense- I couldn’t seem to make anything work.  The most frustrating play of the third quarter took place when Troy Brown caught a TD pass, but got obliterated by the strong safety and couldn’t hold on for the completion.  I had to settle for the FG, and the score was then 7-3.  After forcing another stop, I managed a second FG to pull within 7-6 at the end of the 3^rd.

They got the ball back and drove for three minutes before kicking a key FG to put them up by 4 with 2 minutes to go.  I needed some old-school Tom Brady magic, and true to form, he delivered.  I mounted a Brady-led 8 play 75 yard TD drive and reclaimed the lead 13-10 with 1:14 to go.  They attempted one last gasp effort to reclaim the lead, but had their hopes dashed when Ty Law came up with the game ending interception.  I couldn’t quite run the clock out, so I ended up putting through one more FG, to make the score 16-10, before it was all over.  Ty Law was named the MVP and jumped around holding up the Lombardi trophy on the 50 yard line as "Superbowl Champions!" flashed in front of him.

In the end, my experience with Madden 2003 could not have been much different than my experience with Madden 2002.  It was smart and the presentation was great.  Animations and graphics were terrific and the percentage of garbage plays had been reduced dramatically from the previous year.  Perhaps if I played longer I would have found more holes and gimmicks to exploit, but based on my sample of playoff games, it is clearly the best Madden game I’ve reviewed yet.