EA Sports, how I hate thee, let me count the ways. I have never been so pissed off while playing a sports game, and we only played the game for 2 days. Here's the sign of a problem; if a player is screaming at the TV screen in rage for 90% of the time, you made a bad game.

We started our first game as Tampa Bay (because they kick ass) against Green Bay (because they blow chunks) and played as two of us on the same team. The first thing we noticed was the new graphics. The second thing we noticed was that they weren't new graphics; just the old graphics with a dark film laid over everything. About 5 different times during our first game, the quarterback magically slid sideways before the snap and was no longer under center when the ball was snapped to him. I guess since it only happens 5 times per game, EA didn't feel like this was a problem. The rest of our first game went smoothly, other than our complete inability to get the ball in the endzone. I'll allow this to be chalked up to us not having played a Madden game in a few years. Then the fourth quarter comeback kicked in. Every fourth quarter, no matter how bad the computer has been playing, they will start pulling plays out of their asses. You could call a prevent defense every play and they will still drop a bomb over your defenders for a touchdown or two. We started watching replays to find out why. Several times, our defender started to backpedal as if the ball were being throw to him and the other team's wide receiver ran in front of him to catch the ball. Since the defender was running backward and the receiver was running across the field, the defender had no chance to make a tackle either. Sure, I don't play football professionally, but this doesn't seem like the best way to play defense. Other times, we watched the defender run away from the ball when they had a clear shot at it. Several times, both defenders dove for the receiver, brushed against each other and missed the tackle. Only 3, maybe 4 times did my defender's make an intelligent play against the ball. They didn't intercept it, or even tip it, but they at least made a shot at either the ball or a tackle. All these problems weren't noticed over extended play; they happened in our first game. I never lost a game because the computer played better than me. I lost because my defenders were complete morons.


I decided to give the superstar mode a chance. I created a new rookie halfback and got drafted to the Patriots. All the activities are fairly fun to prepare for a game, even if the training camp and practices seem a little pointless. Your goal is to run good plays in practice in order to increase your players influence during the next game. The problem is, you can run whatever play you want as many times as you want. Just find a play where you can get a yard or two every time and run it over and over. This setup doesn't really promote switching up plays and actually 'practicing'. Once gameday came around, the game completely fell apart. I played six games and every single play, my runner was hit in the backfield. Occasionally I could break a tackle and get some yards. This was the Patriots for Christ sake. I was under the impression that they had a halfway decent offensive line. I played a couple of terrible teams during those six games, but that didn't stop their linemen from playing like superstars. I did break a big run and it was quite an adrenaline rush, but it didn't make up for being completely pissed off at the game every other moment of my time with it. Before EA decided to be jackasses and buy the NFL licence, I never remember getting pissed off at NFL 2K5. In that game, you felt as if you earned both your wins and losses. Madden has been around for nearly 20 years and they can't seem to figure out how to make a fun and rewarding football game. I did absolutely nothing with any of the other gameplay modes. The way I see it, if I hated almost every aspect of the game I have seen so far, extra modes can't save the game.

The graphics are fairly decent, but you still see the same tackle animations you have been seeing since the first version on PS2 (the last Madden worth full price). There was still a ridiculous amount of clipping issues. A defender's arm will go through a runner's chest and out his back when making a tackle. The ball still freezes for a split second in mid air to magically rotate to fit better into the receivers hand. They added more animations to this year than in the past, but it still isn't very much. Why if they have been rehashing animations, commentary and...well...every other gameplay aspect from old versions of the game, do they feel like it is OK to charge us $60 for what is basically an expansion pack with a roster update? The answer is simple. EA knows we will buy it because there aren't any other options, so what point would there be in putting any new effort into the game or give gamers a deal on price?

I have heard several people say this game is as good as Madden 05. That means EA has made 0% progress in three years. I guess my recommendation if you must have a football game is to go buy Madden 05. Wait, forget that, go buy NFL 2K5. Don't waste your money on EA.