A Madden game that knew how to play ball!
User Rating: 8.8 | Madden NFL 2002 GC
While coming home from Thanksgiving Break I was forced to leave my 360 at my townhome ( I was flying back) so the only console available to me at my parents was my trusty old Cube. Having just played, and been entirely underwhelmed by, Madden 07 I approached Madden 2002 with trepidation. Certainly, I had played it to exhaustion during my younger years but I was curious to see how it stacked up with Madden 07 and my findings startled me. Madden 2002 just didnt equal Madden 07, it surpassed it on numerous fronts. Namely, pass defense. The D in Madden 2002 plays you recievers tight, and plays an awsome bump and run that makes hitting your targets a challenge, and not an artifical one. The run blocking is superb as well, as is the run defense (A total miss in this series since the 2003 version) and your secondary, when not under your direct control can hold the fort. I also found the General Manager options to be pleasing and while the graphics have entered the "dated" range the animation that comes with them remains excellent. This was John Madden's last game with Paul Summerall and they still manage to do a decent job (I swear I hear a new bit everytime I play). The bottom line is that this is a pleasing, ageless football simulator. If you have a Cube and want to play a challenging game of football with more substance than style than you cant go wrong with Madden 2002.
