Any Madden fans out here?

Now I checked this forum, and there hasn't been a Madden topic here at all. So, I'll start one.

Anybody who is in the know of [American] football should already know what the Madden series is. Madden NFL is the world's premier football game, in the fact that it sets the benchmarks in sporting simulation of this genre. If it weren't for the Madden series, we wouldn't be seeing respectable competition. And I wouldn't be appreciating EA Sports holistically!

Let's talk about this year's version. Madden NFL 2004 is the most recent version of this game, available for PS2, XBox, GameCube, and PC-CD. This version has an Owner mode, in which you can control the team, trade players, hire staff, set parking, ticket, and concession prices...even create a new stadium! Owner Mode puts you in the front office for managing your NFL team.

Not to mention Playmaker mode, in which you can control two players with one controller (one blocks, while the other runns with the ball for a TD, first down, or a substantial gain). The PC version allows you to customize your team jerseys and helmets. I've already set up a file on my web page for team rosters and custom art for teams from each of the 47 prefectures (Ibaraki has two). See below.

All in all, Madden sets the standard for American football simulation games. Deeper playbooks, new moves, Playmaker mode, Training Camp drills to improve ratings, Owner mode...and you can also compete online with others! Just now we had a Madden Challenge champion in Las Vegas!

Here's the Madden website, and the custom team file. Enjoy! MADDEN ROCKS!

Madden NFL 2004

Japan All-Stars

"KAMPA~~~~I!"

I once loved Madden, then I realized for it to be one of the most overrated franchises in the history of not just sports gaming, but video games. The owner mode is just eye candy to cover up the utter lack of QA testing, still uncorrected AI flaws.

Of course, having done this much bashing I still hope that one day they'll actually polish the game's AI and look forward to the 2005 title.

I definitely agree with you there. Also the commentary is still disconnected in some places. In fact, that was one of the areas that I pointed out in the EA Boards that needs improvement: the commentary, as well as the AI and other flaws. No football game is perfect. ESPN Football 2K4 may have had the first-person concept, but it too, has some flaws as well. That's why every new version of EA's games', whether it's Madden, NBA Live, NHL, MVP Baseball (formerly Triple Play), etc. has improvements here and there.

I thought this said Maiden, as in Iron Maiden...oh well.

As for Madden...bleh. I much prefer Sega/ESPN Football games.

I see that you're a "first-person" type of fan, Winter. If only they had it available for the PC...then I would have soaked it all in...

Hachiko,

Wow! I didn't know Madden had all of that cool stuff in it. Kinda like Madden+Sims, which HAS TO equal cool. Keep it up with the info on games. You obviously write very well about them.

-Jeff

I've been playing the PC version lately and I forgot how turnover prone this game is. In a game I should've won but only lost 21-14, I ended up throwing 6 interceptions, and yet I still nearly completed 50% of my passes. Strange stuff.