Madden NFL 2004
by EA Sports
|
Our Price: $12.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.99 (click here) Category: Video Games See more product details |
|---|
Video Game Reviews of Madden NFL 2004
Customer Review: Jonathon Church just doesnt know the rules
Summary: 5 Stars
The clock starts up in real football after an out of bounds play when the refs put the ball down and tell the guys to start the clock you have to think or atleast look it up before you type stuff like that.On the Game it is the best game on the PC as ESPN football is overall the best football game available. Alot more of a realistic game.
Customer Review: Fun for Pros and Rookies
Summary: 4 Stars
First off, I should say that the last Madden I purchased was 2000. The series has come a long way since then. The graphics and animations have much improved--becoming much more lifelike. The sound has gotten better, too. John Madden will always be the master of the goofy comment, but it's part of his charm both in real life and in the game. He, Al Michaels' and Melissa Stark's voiceovers add to the immersion factor of the game. One complaint I do have is the menu music. After awhile it becomes really obnoxious. Of course, you can always turn it off....
A new touch to Madden 2004 is the Playmaker feature. You will need a dual analog gamepad to activate it. Unfortunately, the PC game doesn't fully support many gamepads at this point. It can't be just ANY dual analog gamepad. 10-button, dual analog Logitech, Gravis and Thrustmaster pads are supported, but neither the manual nor the box mention these are the only officially supported brands. Anything else and you're taking your chances on the PC.
However, it's worth getting the right kind of gamepad to use the feature. It allows you to more-or-less call instant audibles. On offense, you can switch the direction of a play before the snap. You can use it on defense to change the zone the safety is assigned or cheat the secondary to the run or the long ball.
You can always use the more involved audibles on offense or defense, too, which will work just fine if you don't have a compatible gamepad to use Playmaker. You can still call hot routes for your receivers, call for motion and on defense shift your line, linebackers and change coverages.
And the franchise mode is really deep. Again, you have control for 30 seasons. You can manage everything from fantasy drafts and contract negotiations to advertising budgets and price setting. It's very easy to get caught up in running the team and forget about actually playing the game of football!
The manual, as is unforunately typical, is not very helpful. To really get a good understanding of the various offensive strategies and especially the various defensive schemes and packages, you either have to play a great deal or succumb to picking up a strategy guide. As far as depth, Madden 2004 is definitely for football fans who have some time on their hands. But, rookies will enjoy it too if they turn off some of the more complicated features or ignore them all together. A fun game that is worth picking up, especially if you haven't updated in awhile.
Customer Review: Close, but No Cigar (Needs Commissioner Mode)
Summary: 3 Stars
Those of you who have already played this game on the PC may be wondering what my gripe is since it really is a beautifully rendered game. The pluses of the game are obvious, so we won't discuss them here becaue they are noted in other reviews. Here are my gripes:
(1) The clock is supposed to stop on out of bounds plays. It will only stop in this game on out of bounds plays in the last two minutes of a half. That just isn't how it is in reality. It is supposed to stop after ALL out of bunds plays.
(2) When you get burned on the deep pass and activate the man nearest to the ball carrier, that man slows down and you cannot catch the ball carrier. You have to let the computer completely handle that situation which rarely ends in actually stopping the ball carrier before he crosses the goal line.
(3) When you relocate franchises, you can change their nickname and logo, but you can't change their endzone decorations and fifty yard line decorations. If you moved the Chicago Bears to Portland, Oregon, and chose the Bulldog logo and gave your newly uprooted team the Bulldog nickname, your endzone decorations and fifty yard line decorations will still be that of the Chicago Bears. Has anyone else noticed that you can't change the color of the helmet of logos provided with the game? A Bulldog logo just doesn't go with baby light blue helmet. If it can be fixed, please contact me in my "About Me" profile.
(4) The game went deep in simulating the off season, but not deep enough. It left out franchise tag players. A player with the franchise tag is guaranteed a minimum one year deal with a salary averaged on the top five salaries in the league on the identical posistion. If another team signs your franchise player, it costs that team early draft picks in the next draft. There aren't any restricted free agents, either. A restricted free agent can sign an offer sheet from another team, but if the prior team matches the offer that player has to accept the prior teams offer. There are other kinds of free agents, too. I can't go over all of them here. There are trades that often are not based only on player for player or for draft picks in the real NFL. If Denver traded their punter to Seattle and that punter put of imprerssive numbers for Seattle, it could cost Seattle an early draft pick. All of that would be based on the deal Seattle and Denver made. Players should have incentives in their contracts. Let's say if Seattle's Matt Hasselback throws for over 3,000 yards this season he is eligible for a bonus of a million dollars that DOES COUNT against the salary cap. The game has players holding out for better contracts, but in reality that generally doesn't happen until a player enters the final year of a contract. This game has hold outs with multiple years left on contracts. You should be able to fine holdouts. What about roster bonuses? Roster bonuses are what mainly cause seasoned veterans taking their services elsewhere. The prior team has to waive the player due to salary cap restrictions. All of that should be in the off season mode.
(5) Are skill levels really necessary? All they have to do is make it so the computer offense/defense doesn't get burned by the same play over and over again. I've scored over seventy points on the Pro mode. If they'd just fix the AI, the other skill levels would be useless.
(6) When players reach a certain age, no amount of training camp is going to help them. They shouldn't be eligible for the mode. Make the cut off at are 33.
(7) What happened to being able to realign the divisions? Does Dallas really belong in the NFC EAST? No, Carolina does. Where is Carolina, they're in the NFC SOUTH. Geographically Carolina is more East than Dallas is. In reality Dallas is a profitable and traditional rival for that division, but in Madden World you should be able to fix it.
(8) There are so many buttons to press for ball carrier trick moves (spin, stiff arm, etc.) that it just isn't practical to use any of them besides the sprint button. The AI should take over the trick moves and all the player has to do is hold the sprint button (maybe not even have to do that). A move would be based on the runners style. If it is Shaun Alexander he'd be a finess back (spin, juke, etc.). If it is Jerome Bettis he'd be a bruiser (stiff arm, run your ass right over, etc.). But don't limit ball carriers to a certain style. They should all be capable of all the moves despite their favorites.
(9)It needs a commissioner mode on top of owner mode. The commissioner decides which teams should relocate, approving trades, contracts, expansion, which games will be on national TV, etc. You should be the owner of a team at the same time, too. You shouldn't be able to dabble into other teams money, however. But teams can ask the commissioner for advice about pricing, relocating, etc. Either a team will follow your advice or they won't. An option to obvioulsy wound a team will not appear as an option for the commissioner.
(10) When you have to put a player on IR and sign someone to fill his shoes, you shouldn't have to pay that new player a whole season's salary. It should be broken down into weeks just like in the real NFL.
Just a few ideas. . . .
Customer Review: The Best Madden Yet
Summary: 4 Stars
I've bought and played nearly every version of Madden since 98. While it took madden a while to get up to a *good* game, I always felt it hit it's peak with the 2000 version and the subsequent releases just added style over substance. No more! in Madden 2004, while the graphics are truly stunning, gameplay has improved greatly as well. The computer opponents are challenging, sometimes it seems a bit too much. There are a few annoyances to the game. For example, in the normal camera angle if the offense punts to you, you can't see the covering team coming for you as you catch the punt. If you don't call for a fair catch, there's a 90% chance you'll get hit and fumble the ball. For that reason, I call for a fair catch on nearly every punt return.
Another annoying feature is the number of sacks that the computer's defense can get on you. There are times when you might have half a second to get rid of the ball from the snap before you're driven into the turf. This is something you can live with but it's frustrating when the computer has the ability to get rid of the ball much faster (if you want to fire a bullet, you have to keep the button pressed down for about a second anway - by that time you're dead meat if the pass rush is blitzing).
And of course, there's Al and John's commentary. My #1 complaint about this game has been the same for years - Al and John repeat the same thing over and over. If you play 16 games, you're likely to hear the same quotes 16 times...sometimes even within the same game. That seems to have improved a bit in this version but it's still there.
On the positive side the game is challenging, seems fairly realistic. and most importantly, is a lot of fun. Unlike previous versions, an effective running game is a necessity to consistently win at Madden 2004. Clock Management is key to the game as the computer's 2-minute drill [is tough].
There are a multitude of other features besides pure gameplay. Too numerous to mention and that I haven't had a chance to dive into just yet.
All in all, this is the best Madden yet, and probably the best PC football game ever.
Customer Review: Lots of pluses, and a few minuses
Summary: 4 Stars
In response to "gamer's" August 8th note about using it for the PC over PS2 -- the solution is simple. Just BUY a game controller for the PC. You need a dual analog controller to be able to use the Playmaker feature on Madden 2004 -- that feature won't work on other PC game controllers. Anyway, here's my spin on Madden 2004 -- it's a GREAT improvement over Madden 2002, largely because of the added features. The improved franchise mode is the biggest selling point of this Madden version, and what a franchise mode this is! Great for control freaks who want to rule the world and leave no detail unturned. Graphics and gameplay are terrific as usual, but not much improved over already fabulous earlier versions. Here are my observations -- a lot of pluses, and some minuses (fyi, I've never played Madden 2003):
1. Graphics -- both front-end and gameplay -- work very well on my 64MB video RAM, 2.2MHz, and 512MB RAM computer. But having stadium detail at "highest" setting slowed things down, so I recommend to all that you only use "medium". (The only difference is the cheering, jumping crowds are eliminated, which is good because I found them very distracting.)
2. Gameplay graphics are marginally improved over the already fabulous 2002 (and I assume 2003) versions, so you can't go wrong here. A little more realism is introduced to players' movements. For example, when a defender intercepts a ball, his post-interception reaction time usually slows down as he assesses the new situation. Be careful of that jarring hit from the rather ticked-off wide receiver.
2. The accelerated clock option sped things up quite a bit in gameplay. Clock runs down quickly between plays. A big plus.
3. Playmaker feature is very neat, but takes some practice to get used to, especially on defense. As mentioned above, you need a dual analog game controller to use this feature.
4. Franchise mode went VERY DEEP in this Madden version, which is great news for those who want a very realistic NFL simulation. Training camp, preseason (yes, those useless games), overhauled NFL draft system, time-sensitive free agent period, stadium upgrades, finances, relocations, even the entire coaching staff, etc., etc. are at your beck and call. It does make for a very, very long game experience, but if you like it that way, it's for you.
Training camp is composed of several drills where you can improve the ratings of a specific player. As for the draft, you actually get to research specific prospects via scouting combine and/or individual workout, and even then it's still a [blindshot] when you draft that coveted college star because the actual ratings are hidden until you ACTUALLY sign that pick. All you can go on are scouting reports and just a few physical attributes. I drafted a really top-rated college star punter in the high 5th round, only to find out during training camp that he was a bust. I had to cut him before the start of the season and sign a free agent. There's a lot less predictability in the Madden draft, and that's as close as you can get to the real thing (think Ryan Leaf). I'd have liked college stats and especially the influence of specific colleges on player development (e.g. NCAA Div I, II, III, etc.), but that's asking for a little too much, I think.
You also now have control over the income and expenses of a team -- set ticket prices, concession prices, hire and fire coaches (and their staffs, too), upgrade or build stadiums, etc. The coaches and their staffs even come with their own ratings that have an impact on players' ratings & performances. It's fun to give Steve Spurrier the boot if he doesn't send my Redskins to the playoffs this year.
5. As for signings: signing bonuses are now part of the calculation. Use that wisely, because they hit your cap seriously if players are cut before contracts are up.
6. You can download stat reports to Excel. Great, easy way to evaluate the talent on your team, especially as they progress from year to year. Madden also downloads complete franchise reports -- rosters, stats, contracts, the shebang -- to text files.
My gripes and suggestions for improvement:
1. GET A BETTER MANUAL!!!
2. Building a new stadium to replace your stinky and muddy football field is neat, but building tools are limited. More creativity in stadium design is needed. I don't want to build some generic Three Rivers Stadium knockoff (sorry, Steeler fans).
3. Every time you play a game in franchise mode, your controller configuration annoyingly reverts to default unless you select your profile at the start of EVERY game.
4. NFL draft information is not saved. Would be neat to see how the top picks fared over the course of several seasons.
5. Draft, trade, and even Pro Bowl/award history are not part of a player's stats in future seasons. Who would know the cheap free agent I signed was a MVP three seasons ago?
6. Madden only shows your team's cap room for the current season, and doesn't show you what the cap room would be like in future seasons. It's hard to evaluate the impact of accelerating contracts, which seriously hit the cap in later years.
7. The year-by-year salary and bonus contract structure is dictated completely by the computer. You can only propose total contract value and total signing bonus, which really hampers your flexibility in negotiations.
8. No comments offered on sounds and music. I always turn the sound off when playing the game, so I can't provide any critique here. :-)
4 out of 5 stars. If you care only for playing the football game itself, it may not be for you since you may already get a kick out of 2003's version. If you want the much-improved franchise mode, and the additional bells and whistles, get this game.