SuburbanPimp
07-30-2003, 03:49 PM
I got my new issue of PSM today, so I figured I would share the reviews of both Madden 2004 & ESPN NFL Football ’04 with you guys. Happy reading!
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PSM Magazine’s Madden 2004 Review
You’ve really got to hand it to Tiburon. Faced with the unenviable task of keeping the premiere football franchise on top for more than a decade, the developer just keeps pulling out the stops. Each year, something new is added. The upgrades just keep piling up. They have turned Madden into one of the deepest videogame franchises in history.
A True Dynasty
The new big gameplay mode in this version is an Owner’s Mode – and it’s flat out awesome. We’ve grown accustomed to franchise modes in football games and we know how to handle the salary cap and free agency. But just as we’ve learned how to handle those features, EA throws another clever new wrench into the works.
As an NFL owner, you’ll be responsible for the entire operation of your football team. This starts with hiring coaches and training staff. Pick up good ones and your young players will improve quickly. Try to save money on cheap staff and you’ll end up with players who don’t improve as the season progresses or recover slowly from injuries. But this is just the first step.
You’ll also have to pay attention to your team’s day-to-day operations. That means that you’ll have to set prices for tickets, merchandise, and even refreshments. (We like selling cheap hot dogs and burgers while racking up the price for beer. The fans will pay!) The strange thing is, these decisions will actually affect your team’s bottom line. You also need to spend money on promotions and advertising, or fans won’t show up no matter how good your team is.
If you don’t like how the fans are supporting the franchise, you can pack your team’s bag and move them elsewhere (LA’s still open). Once you’re in the new location, you can build your own stadium and include as many money earning luxury boxes as your greedy heart desires. It’s a wicked new invention that must make Al Davis proud.
The owners’ mode is part of a fully revamped franchise mode that is deep, intuitive, and worlds of fun. Although the NFL has put a salary cap and a draft in place to keep single teams from becoming a dominant force, if you have good in-game skills and GM talent, you can stay on top for a long, long time. It will be tough, but if you’re ruthless and put aside all sentimental feelings for your players, you can beat the system.
Another brilliant addition to the franchise mode is the integrated mini-camp feature. By going through the mini-camp drills with a selected player, you can add skill points to each player during the offseason. Plus, you are given the choice to risk your newly earned skill points by tackling a tougher level of the same mini-camp challenge. This gives you even more control of your team’s destiny and it’s fantastic offseason fun. It’s the stuff sports nerds like us have been dreaming of.
On the Gridiron
Lest we forget about the gameplay itself, we must mention that Madden’s better than ever in that respect. A key improvement can be seen in both offensive and defensive adjustments using the right analog stick. This “playmaker” control lets you shift your team moments before and even after a snap. On offense, you can flip plays with a toggle of the control stick. If, for instance, the defense shifts to one side of the line, you can just toggle your running play to the opposite side and take advantage of their aggressiveness.
On defense, you can move your players and still make calls after the snap. If you read that the offense is about to run, just hit your stick down, the safeties will crash to the line. If it looks like the offense is about to throw deep, quickly hit the right analog stick up to send your safeties deep. It’s amazing how useful this is, and for the first time, this actually makes playaction passes effective in a game.
The playmaker control also works for individual players. If, for instance, you’re running the ball, you can hit the analog stick to control blockers. In the passing game, it can be used to send receivers off their routes and into the open. It’s very cool and very useful. Playmaker control adds a key element of playcalling strategy that will keep you on your toes both before and after the ball is snapped. It’s a great twist on familiar football gameplay and it’s something that you’ll wish was in every football game you play from now on.
Sights and Sounds
The sound and graphics have also received a much-needed boost. The audio commentary, which has been a major weakness for this title in recent years, is vastly improved in 2004. The play by play is smarter, more appropriate for game situations and far more realistic than ever before in this franchise. We really appreciated that the commentary changes dramatically in the waning minutes of the game and in overtime. It’s these kind of details that make you forget that you’re playing a game.
The graphics have also improved, but not as much as the sound. The best change, however, is the removal of the big-headed player models at the coin toss. Man, it was about time. Those guys were creeping us out.
The Online Experience
Online play has also been upgraded. For starters, the game now supports voice chat online using a USB headset and a broadband connection, so you can smacktalk your rival to your heart’s desire. Plus, EA is cracking down on cheaters and guys who pull the plug when you’re beating them severely. If you play fair and play well, you’ll climb the ranking system and make a name for yourself among the Madden elite.
The bottom line is that Madden is once again the deepest football game ever made. With all of its gameplay modes, special features, Madden Cards and franchise depth, not even hardcore football fans will have reached the depths of this game by this time next year.
PSM Final Score: 10 – Classic. (PSM’s Game of the Month, PSM Must-Buy Gold) This is simply the deepest sports game ever made. It’s got almost everything a football fan could ever want in a game – and then some.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PSM Magazine’s Madden 2004 Review
You’ve really got to hand it to Tiburon. Faced with the unenviable task of keeping the premiere football franchise on top for more than a decade, the developer just keeps pulling out the stops. Each year, something new is added. The upgrades just keep piling up. They have turned Madden into one of the deepest videogame franchises in history.
A True Dynasty
The new big gameplay mode in this version is an Owner’s Mode – and it’s flat out awesome. We’ve grown accustomed to franchise modes in football games and we know how to handle the salary cap and free agency. But just as we’ve learned how to handle those features, EA throws another clever new wrench into the works.
As an NFL owner, you’ll be responsible for the entire operation of your football team. This starts with hiring coaches and training staff. Pick up good ones and your young players will improve quickly. Try to save money on cheap staff and you’ll end up with players who don’t improve as the season progresses or recover slowly from injuries. But this is just the first step.
You’ll also have to pay attention to your team’s day-to-day operations. That means that you’ll have to set prices for tickets, merchandise, and even refreshments. (We like selling cheap hot dogs and burgers while racking up the price for beer. The fans will pay!) The strange thing is, these decisions will actually affect your team’s bottom line. You also need to spend money on promotions and advertising, or fans won’t show up no matter how good your team is.
If you don’t like how the fans are supporting the franchise, you can pack your team’s bag and move them elsewhere (LA’s still open). Once you’re in the new location, you can build your own stadium and include as many money earning luxury boxes as your greedy heart desires. It’s a wicked new invention that must make Al Davis proud.
The owners’ mode is part of a fully revamped franchise mode that is deep, intuitive, and worlds of fun. Although the NFL has put a salary cap and a draft in place to keep single teams from becoming a dominant force, if you have good in-game skills and GM talent, you can stay on top for a long, long time. It will be tough, but if you’re ruthless and put aside all sentimental feelings for your players, you can beat the system.
Another brilliant addition to the franchise mode is the integrated mini-camp feature. By going through the mini-camp drills with a selected player, you can add skill points to each player during the offseason. Plus, you are given the choice to risk your newly earned skill points by tackling a tougher level of the same mini-camp challenge. This gives you even more control of your team’s destiny and it’s fantastic offseason fun. It’s the stuff sports nerds like us have been dreaming of.
On the Gridiron
Lest we forget about the gameplay itself, we must mention that Madden’s better than ever in that respect. A key improvement can be seen in both offensive and defensive adjustments using the right analog stick. This “playmaker” control lets you shift your team moments before and even after a snap. On offense, you can flip plays with a toggle of the control stick. If, for instance, the defense shifts to one side of the line, you can just toggle your running play to the opposite side and take advantage of their aggressiveness.
On defense, you can move your players and still make calls after the snap. If you read that the offense is about to run, just hit your stick down, the safeties will crash to the line. If it looks like the offense is about to throw deep, quickly hit the right analog stick up to send your safeties deep. It’s amazing how useful this is, and for the first time, this actually makes playaction passes effective in a game.
The playmaker control also works for individual players. If, for instance, you’re running the ball, you can hit the analog stick to control blockers. In the passing game, it can be used to send receivers off their routes and into the open. It’s very cool and very useful. Playmaker control adds a key element of playcalling strategy that will keep you on your toes both before and after the ball is snapped. It’s a great twist on familiar football gameplay and it’s something that you’ll wish was in every football game you play from now on.
Sights and Sounds
The sound and graphics have also received a much-needed boost. The audio commentary, which has been a major weakness for this title in recent years, is vastly improved in 2004. The play by play is smarter, more appropriate for game situations and far more realistic than ever before in this franchise. We really appreciated that the commentary changes dramatically in the waning minutes of the game and in overtime. It’s these kind of details that make you forget that you’re playing a game.
The graphics have also improved, but not as much as the sound. The best change, however, is the removal of the big-headed player models at the coin toss. Man, it was about time. Those guys were creeping us out.
The Online Experience
Online play has also been upgraded. For starters, the game now supports voice chat online using a USB headset and a broadband connection, so you can smacktalk your rival to your heart’s desire. Plus, EA is cracking down on cheaters and guys who pull the plug when you’re beating them severely. If you play fair and play well, you’ll climb the ranking system and make a name for yourself among the Madden elite.
The bottom line is that Madden is once again the deepest football game ever made. With all of its gameplay modes, special features, Madden Cards and franchise depth, not even hardcore football fans will have reached the depths of this game by this time next year.
PSM Final Score: 10 – Classic. (PSM’s Game of the Month, PSM Must-Buy Gold) This is simply the deepest sports game ever made. It’s got almost everything a football fan could ever want in a game – and then some.