Product DescriptionIn its 14th year and with over 28 million copies sold, Madden NFL Football once again proves its status as the undisputed leader in authentic NFL football simulation. With a primary focus on in-game graphics, incredible depth, visual presentation, and tournament tested gameplay, this season Madden NFL 2004 continues to demonstrate why its the definitive interactive sports gaming experience. New features include revolutionary Playmaker Control that lets gamers adjust on the fly just as NFL playe
Much better than 2003 (Rating: 4 out of 5) Madden 2004 for the Pc is not much different from the console version. I can't say that the graphics are better or worse. Still, the graphics are pretty dang good.
Players - The players look great. From the tattoos to the weight, they all look different. I can tell the difference between a 300 pound lineman and a 180 pound reciever.
Uniforms - All uniforms are accurate and look slick. You can even see the little tiny holes in the jerseys. I can't remember if the uniforms get dirty or not.
Managing - You can manage all aspects of the game. From ticket prices to the price of hot dogs in the stands. But if you're having a poor season, don't expect many people to show up to the stadium.
Tackling - Only two player tackles, which sucks. Often times a third person runs up to make a tackle only to fall flat on his face. This is a major problem because sometimes he gets hurt when missing that tackle. Oh well, it's a step up from only one player tackles in the 2003 version.
Coverage - Don't play on the rookie setting because your recievers will
smoke the DB's. The computer player often plays soft on rookie, but when you bump the settings up a little it can be a challenge to get a pass off without getting it intercepted. You'll need to mess around with the setting sliders a little to get things even.
Passing - Compared to 2003, the passing game is awesome. When you rollout to pass, you perfectly plant your back foot and make an awesome throw. In 2003 it was wobbly when you threw the ball running and the mechanics wasn't right.
Running - Stiff arms, Jukes etc... But same thing as the covergae, you'll
need to mess around with the setting sliders to get things right. On the rookie setting you can gain 15 yards a pop, on higher settings they really stuff you at the line.
Other - Trade, sign, draft, retirements, camp, practice etc.. it's all here. I must say that I never could fix the sliders just right to make it completely realistic. And that's 3 years of trying to do so. But it's fun if you like great graphics and managing every aspect of a football team.
An excellent choice (Rating: 4 out of 5) I thought this game was excellent. Fun and challenging with plenty of options. Worked fairly well with our Windows 2000 but the turf style made a difference to play quality, with natural turf being the worst and artificial turf the best. Create-A-Team and Player have plenty of options. I thoroughly enjoyed Mini-camp and two minute drills. The Franchise feature is very enjoyable but problems can occur during off season simulation. Amazon's service was good. I found this game very enjoyable and thoroughly reccomend it.
Excellent game. (Rating: 5 out of 5) Madden 2004 is a great game for the average EA Sports fan. There aren't many flaws and Madden is great with his commentary. The stadiums are of high detail. The gameplay is great. Sometimes it won't load. If you have run a different program before you play it, odds are it won't load either at the beginning or the end. I like the trophy presentation at the end of a victory in the Championship game or the Super Bowl. It's a great game with excellent commentary from Madden and Al Michaels.
A bad game (Rating: 1 out of 5) this game was just not fun. Madden jabbering the same lines over again was plain annoying[they didn't even make sense]! The game just got boring! You played a game and could not play it for the rest of the day! It just shuat me off[most of the time].
Improved over 2002, but... (Rating: 3 out of 5) Okay, I'm cheap. I admit it. I tend to purchase Madden Football when it goes down to $9.95 and this product is awesome and is bringing me hours of fun for a low price.
I played on 2002 for several years and grew tired of it.
The good news about this game, and I say this from a person who plays in Coach mode:
The passing game is greatly improved. 2002 had quarterbacks with very low passing percentages. 2004 is a lot better.
The running game is better. In 2002 you almost had to restrict how often you ran, it was too easy. It's a bit more difficult in 2004, but, unlike so many other games, you can still generate a running game.
They give you a greater ability and more options in creating your own unique team.
But....
Stadium graphics are iffy. Sidelines vanish and such. Annoying for such a graphics intensive game.
I'm finding the Franchise modes to be awkward at best. 2002 had some limitations that 2004 has, but depending on the mode you are in, it can be difficult
You are unable to take an already existing team and do much editing in it. Maybe I still have to work on it, but I can't find a way to become new quarterback on the Giants, or to put Eli Manning in there. (For Giants' fans, he had a great career in 2002!)
I'm happy with this game overall and it's fun, and it's about the fifth version of Madden Football I've used (I started on the original DOS Version), but it has its funky moments which are, frankly, a bit annoying and disappointing.