If Madden & the old NFL Blitz games had a love child, this would be the end result.

User Rating: 7 | Arena Football XBOX
Sometimes games have an identity crisis. I think Arena Football falls into that category. It doesn't know whether to be the high-strategy, sim-style of the Madden football games or the all out action of NFL Blitz. So what you are left with is a little bit of both. And the game is fun to play. There is no question about that. It's just doesn't get the little things right.

First thing you will notice when playing a game is the rule differences between the NFL and AFL leagues. You will also notice this game is heavily geared toward the offensive side of the ball. The run game is almost non-existant. The franchise mode is horribly barren. The graphics use some version of the Madden engine. While some of the music is good, there are really no real announcers. While it's good they have all of the real AFL players, there are a lot less players I actually know in this game than I thought there would be.

In short, if you like Arena football, you have probably already bought this game. If you are still undecided, I would recommend giving it a rental first. I think it's a fun game, but the one-player experience is hurt by the fact that the season mode is terribly shallow. There are classic AFL teams to unlock, which I thought was pretty cool. And you can get this for a cheap price. Go out and give this a shot. Just don't expect the next great videogame football franchise.