Oktoberfest Awards: Madden NFL Arcade The Worst of the Indie/Arcade Games

Feature Article

Submitted on: 10/02/2013 by Dustin Toms

Madden NFL Arcade

Throughout generations comes the good and bad. With the good, we get games that become priceless; games we would never want to trade in or throw away. But with those games comes the bad and the very bad. And with our focus on indie and arcade games this week during Oktoberfest, the bad brings us all the way back to Madden NFL Arcade.

What went so wrong?

For those who don’t remember, Madden Arcade had a whopping selection of offensive plays. By whopping, I be you’re expecting some pretty big number, right? The game had 15 offensive plays which included one running play. Even the pass plays – which felt like they were stolen from an old NFL Blitz – were bad thanks to terrible route running.

Customization was taken out of this $15 arcade title, as rosters and ratings were nowhere to be found. You were stuck with your team, and for me (a Titans fan), I was stuck with Kerry Collins. Not to mention lack of game modes, this game just misses on most fronts. We gave it a 5.5 back in 2009, and that almost feels generous now looking back on it all.

Is it worth trying out again? Maybe Even For a Laugh?

Absolutely not. The game wasn’t very good to begin with, but now there are plenty of other options at your disposal. The obvious choice is Madden NFL 25 for either current gen or next gen. But if you want to stick with an arcade-type game, NFL Blitz is out on the marketplace right now, it's better, and should help satisfy your arcade football hunger.

Final Thoughts

I never really got hooked on Madden NFL Arcade. It was a true shame, too, because this game was actually pretty hyped up. The lack of content, features, gameplay, etc., holds this game back immensely. I will forever believe that this game was an absolutely great idea by EA, but possibly one of the worst executed products they launched in the previous generation. We said to stay away then, so do yourself a favor and pick up a newer football game.

(Dis)Honorable Mentions: Burnout CRASH, Hulk Hogan’s Main Event, NBA Unrivaled, Fire Pro Wrestling Avatar, Bellator: MMA Onslaught

Member Comments

# 1 BCDX97 @ 10/02/13 02:55 PM

I thought the NHL Arcade game was fantastic, but this game was a little lacking in the fun department, sadly.

# 2 jyoung @ 10/02/13 03:03 PM

Of the 50 or so online games I played in Madden NFL Arcade, I think 40 were against the Eagles and 10 were against the Titans.

Because of Michael Vick's and Vince Young's insane speed, those were the only two teams anyone bothered to use online.

Then a roster update came out that replaced Vince Young with Kerry Collins, and no one used the Titans anymore.

So online games became all Eagles, all the time. That was about the time I stopped playing.

# 3 RaychelSnr @ 10/02/13 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BCDX97


	I thought the NHL Arcade game was fantastic, but this game was a little lacking in the fun department, sadly.

The 3 on 3 NHL Arcade game was a fun little game, I think the price was even better for it too. I'm sick of companies thinking Arcade = shallow experiences though. IMHO having seasons and all of that sort of depth is just as important in Arcade titles.

# 4 lunaoso @ 10/02/13 04:31 PM

Online was-
Mike Vick
Blitz every play so the other offense couldn't do anything.

# 5 RACZILLA @ 10/02/13 04:48 PM

Maybe I was too close to it or it could be just burn out from working on sports sims, but when we released Madden Arcade I played the hell out of it. There was a group of us on the marketing team that would play pretty much every single day.

Can't really disagree with the general thought here as some valid points where made, but for whatever reason I legitimately enjoyed this one for a time.

# 6 jyoung @ 10/02/13 05:29 PM

3 on 3 NHL Arcade was definitely the better game of the two downloadable titles EA put out this generation.

It was $5 cheaper than Madden NFL Arcade, plus the gameplay was much more enjoyable.

But when you look at the feature list for 3 on 3 NHL Arcade, it really was pathetic compared to other arcade games of the time.

Simple things like saving the user's preferred camera and control method don't work at all.

Then there's maybe 20 NHL players total to choose from, with no actual NHL teams -- just generic red sweaters vs. generic blue sweaters. Yet the first thing you see when you boot up the game is the NHL licensing screen with all 30 team logos.

# 7 jmik58 @ 10/02/13 05:41 PM

I'm surprised no one has chimed in saying that regular Madden was the worst "arcade" game.

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