For over 20 years, gamers all over the states have heard video game commentating by the great John Madden. The franchise had its first upgrade in Madden 93. It had player sprites, and active models of things. The high point of the series started as soon as the PlayStation 2 launched with Madden NFL 2001. It was also the first Madden game to have an NFL player on the cover. EA Sports also introduced online gridiron when they made the game playable online in Madden NFL 2003. Now with more updates than ever, Madden NFL 2004 looks to be the best pigskin threat this season. The Madden NFL series has always had strong sales every year. EA Sports and Tiburon always put just enough to make you catch and scramble for your $50, but this time around, it’s more than enough. Not to mention the added features in the original modes of play. Madden NFL 2004 covers every aspect of professional football and does it very well. New to the game is the Owner Mode. Owner Mode is an updated franchise mode that lets you do a lot more. In addition to hiring and firing Staff; you can put some money down to renovate your stadium, re-locate the team, set ticket prices, set merchandise prices, change the team’s uniforms, and a whole lot more. Like Franchise Mode, it takes 30 years to complete. If you’re not ok with Owner Mode, you can just play the Traditional Franchise Mode or just play a Season with Season mode. The game also features a 2-Minute Drill, Create A Play, Create A Team, Create A Player, Training Mode, and editable rosters for you to cheat or enhance your knowledge and skill around the football field. For a football game to be great, the controls of the game have to be perfect. With the addition of Playmaker, Madden’s controls get more diverse than ever. While sometimes complicated, Madden offers some of the most understandable and easy control schemes you’ll uncover from any sports game. Since the game fully makes use of what the PlayStation 2 can do, most gamers will find it playing the best on Sony’s console rather than that of the Xbox or GameCube. During the snap, you can call commands using the Directional Pad to call a player in motion. Pressing the Square (PS2) / B (GC) /X (Xbox) button before the snap will cause the QB to call an audible. You can cancel or keep switching by pressing the appropriate buttons. On a passing play after the snap, pressing the X (PS2) / A (Xbox & GC) will bring up the passing icons. You can press R2 (PS2 and Xbox) / Hold R and press Y (GC) to throw the ball away or you can scramble for some yards by pressing The Triangle (PS2) / Y (Xbox & GC) buttons. There’s a whole lot more, but it’s for you to learn and try out yourself. Also new to the series is the Playmaker system. Rather than just calling audibles at the line of scrimmage, you can make your QB give signals to the receivers to make them come back if nobody is open with just a tilt of the right analog stick. During some times, doing the same command will tell an open blocker to block for your QB at any angle. The visuals since 2001 of this game have always been considered perfect, but EA Sports and Tiburon always change a minor detail to make everything better. The only thing new to the visuals now would be the player faces. Also, the game’s wonderful simulation allows grass fields to look like mush after a few moments in the harsh reality that is professional football. The crowd is more lively, and the NFL Stadiums are authentic. Madden NFL 2004 offers no disappointments in the graphics department. Madden is the only NFL gaming franchise to have real commentators speaking at the booth. Back for a 2nd appearance, Al Michaels will be alongside John Madden. Pat Summeral has been removed because of his boring gestures. EA Sports hoped to make games more exciting with the conservative yet thrilling commentating with Al Michaels. However, John Madden hardly has anything new to say. John Madden’s words often have no view upon the game being played. You can make Marshall Faulk make a 2-yard run, but Madden can complain that Warner should’ve made a little more touch on his pass. He’s an over the mill crazy old man in the game. Other than the amateur commentating made by John Madden, the sounds of the game are awesome. From the rap and rock music by Thrice and Eminem to the bone-crushing hits to the many individual chants made by specific fans, Madden NFL 2004 looks great and sounds great. As with 2003, Madden NFL 2004 is online only for the PlayStation 2. Electronic Arts has created better and faster servers, and the lagging percentage would only affect your game if you’re on a 56K modem. You can save your record onto the many servers or by using the PS2 Memory Card as well. Since Madden is a multiplatform title, the question always pops up. “Which version of Madden should I buy?” Well, if you have a PlayStation 2 with the Network Adapter, you’ll want the PS2 version in a heartbeat. If you prefer controls and better loading screens… and if you have a GBA, you’ll want the GameCube version because of its superior power over the PS2 and because of its GBA Connectivity. If you’re an Armchair Quarterback who hates loading screens, loves speed, loves sound, loves watching and playing the game; you’ll want the Xbox version of the game because of its Progressive Scan option and the ability to burn your own music into the game. Or if you just want the game cheap, pick up the Game Boy Advance version. Madden NFL 2004 is by far the best Madden game to date and it features the best update to any game of its kind. It’s the first NFL game to come out of the bunch, and it should lead to very strong sales. If you want an NFL game NOW, then Madden NFL 2004 would be the best choice. It’s a worthy update to 2003, and the Owner and Playmaker modes are just icing on the cake. Whether you’re an all-pro veteran with Madden or just a first-time rookie, Madden is probably the game to get. If you’re still a fan of Sega’s sports games, then you might want to wait for ESPN Football 2004 when it ships for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
This was a pretty fun football game. Not much to say about it but here goes. The graphics were really good. The controls were very good and my favorite out of all of my 3d sports games. The music selection was nice and i... Read Full Review
Graphics 9.5/10 Naturally, today's sports sims have incredible graphics. The players walk, tackle, and run with a fluid motion that could almost be mistaken for a real game. When creating a new player, several new option... Read Full Review
