10 -- The Mich an Daif -Frfa, Se tember 17, 2004 FRIDAY Focus MADDEN '94: THE WAY rr WAS MEANT To BE PLAYED There are four seconds left in the fourth quarter and the clock is ticking down -just enough time to call one more play. You're down because Emmitt Smith of the Dal- las Cowboys just broke seven tackles for an 80 yard touchdown run. Phil Simms, better known as "11," steps up to the line and quickly yells for the snap. Your B receiver runs a slant that leaves him wide open and way ahead of the pack. You hurl the ball downfield for an amazing over- the-shoulder catch, and even though your man is still 40 yards from the goal, a timely speed burst and a few well-placed jumps secure the winning touchdown. The crowd roars for the 1994 New York Giants, and just when you think it can't get any better, you hear it from the big man himself: "Now that is big-time football!" If "Madden 2005" is the premiere game for the football aficionado, then "Madden '94" for Sega Genesis was football for the nerdy everygamer. Noth- ing was realistic and anything was possible. Play-action passes that looked like Hail Marys? Check. Kickoffs that never went out of bounds? Check. Punt rushes that earned more sacks than any blitz in the playbook? It's in the game. Perhaps the most memorable feature in "Mad- den '94" was the ability to flip an offensive play. According to the back of the game box, flipping a play allowed the offense to "avoid roving LBs." It was true. Running a flipped halfback counter in the I-formation - basically a run that swung out to the left - was nearly a guaranteed first down, even on third and long. Come to think of it, Michigan's play calling would'work pretty well in this Sega Genesis universe. Speaking of play calling, running a solid defense was a breeze. While the punt rush has already been hailed as the ultimate run/blitz defense, making the right call against a pass was as simple as pressing any two buttons at random. Anything from "Prevent" to the intimidating "Red Dog" carried the same odds of knock- ing down a pass. Pass interference was rarely enforced, so there was no need to be shy about shoving prospective receivers into the sidelines. With Madden '94, EA Sports achieved the arcade feel that always felt forced in games like NFL Blitz. It thrived on its ability not to mimic actual football, but to stand on its own in a world of fairy-tale football illusion. - Jared Newman 15 YEARS OF MADDEN 1989 - JOHN MADDEN FOOTBALL APPLE I COMPUTER 1990 - JOHN MADDEN FOOTBALL SEGA GENESIS 1991 - JOHN MADDEN FOOTBALL SEGA GENESIS 1991 -JOHN MADDEN FOOTBALL '92 SEGA GENESIS AND SUPER NINTENDO 1992 - JOHN MADDEN FOOTBALL '93 SEGA GENESIS AND SUPER NINTENDO 1993 - MADDEN NFL '94 SEGA GENESIS AND SUPER NINTENDO 1994 - MADDEN NFL '95 SEGA GENESIS AND SUPER NINTENDO 1995 - MADDEN NFL '96 SEGA GENESIS AND SUPER NINTENDO 1996 - MADDEN NFL '97 SEGA GENESIS, SUPER NINTENDO, PLAYSTATION AND PC 1997 - MADDEN NFL '98 SUPER NINTENDO, PLAYSTATION AND PC 1998 - MADDEN NFL '99 'a 1 NINTENDO 64, l PLAYSTATION AND PC 'MAIRSTIFTEEN In the past 15 years, John Madden's name has becom YOQU ihoetig iegms h eondfobl nls n Super Bowl champion coach probably thought addingmhisnm wtoh Sonthifootball game s uT aohredreetda.Hw ever, the franchise exploded through the years and Is playedballntt f ga me ad o otballnst ath es themselves. "John Madden Football" Is the epitmelyd by aldiferent types of gaesfo as oe dreetda.Hoa- Btstesle ohad Fof sports videogames and a phenomenon that grows strn er yea By Adam Rottenberg 0 Daily Arts Editor very year. ,., BA Sports could easily rest on its laurels with the "Madden" franchise and just rehash the previous games with mere roster updates and still sell millions of copies. Fortunately, the sports videogame jugger- naut continued adding to its reputation of excel- lence this season. "Madden 2005" plays and looks bet- ter than last season's entry, Madden boasts some huge addi- NFL 2005 tions and remains the PS2, GameCube, best NFL game on the Xbox and PC market. EA Sports Upon playing the game, it becomes evi- dent that the focus has shifted towards a more defensive style. First, there are now defensive playmaker options. Introduced in the 2004 season on offense, playmaker enables gam- ers to call individual player audibles, changes to the player's designated action, before the ball is snapped. Now, with a touch of the right thumb- stick, individual defenders can be designated to either fall back into alternate coverage patterns, act as a spy or blitz the quarterback. Additionally, the defense's ability to stop plays has been ramped up significantly since last sea- son. The developers made it much less likely for players to be able to convert on long third and fourth downs - emphasizing the play of the defense. Creating turnovers and injuring the .. 3 s F '_ 4 i .... ' . i ! opposition both rely heavily on the use of another franchise. Garners can take the new feature - the "hit stick." By using the right Detroit Lions from lowly door- thumbstick during the action, the player lays out mat of the NFC North to Super a vicious tackle on their opponent, usually caus- Bowl contender by drafting talent, ing fumbles or fatigue. However, a misaligned picking up free agents and making tackle with the hit stick could lead to a large gain trades. Further options enable the by the offense, as most offensive players can eas- player to go as far as to set concession ily bounce off these harder tackles when they are prices at the stadium and watch atten- not lined up perfectly. dance figures fluctuate. The entire mode is now Offense, while largely unchanged, still feels as set up to look like a PDA. Through this PDA, the sound and smooth as ever. Players familiar with player can choose how to alter or observe his team. the "Madden" game mechanics will have no trou- To increase the realism this year, EA included news ble at all -- calling audibles, using playmaker, reports about the player's team and from the rest setting "hot routes" (reciever route audibles). EA of the league in the central hub of dynasty mode also made sure that Michael Vick - last year's called "Storyline Central." A radio show plays in coverboy - is no longer unstoppable, which the background throughout Storyline Central, fea- makes things a lot more balanced. turing interviews with almost all of the marquee In regards to the offensive players in the NFL. As the overseer of the fran- playbooks, there is a chise, the player can also view newspaper articles new ability for receiv- from USA Today and a local paper (the Detroit Free ers to have option routes. Press for the Lions) as well as receive e-mails on These plays allow for the the status of players and fan response. CPU-controlled receiver Also, new to this mode is the ability for the to decide which of three players currently on the gamer's roster to get potential spots is the best for increased stats during the season. These enhance- beating the coverage. It adds ments occur after the preseason and at four sched- to the realism and strategy of uled points during the season. As always, players the passing game. can choose to load their rosters from "NCAA The requi- site game modes are found in 2005" into the "Madden" draft class, bringing this latest iteration of the series. In addition to EA's preeminent football franchises together. the standard exhibition, dynasty and practice Even though vast improvements have been options, there is now a mini-camp mode. Mini- made throughout the game, Xbox owners are camp enables players to practice the drills found receiving the greatest upgrade - Xbox Live in the preseason portion of dynasty mode. compatibility. Last season, PS2 owners were These drills include: pocket passing exer- granted the ability to play online, and now cises, running against practice dummies, r Xbox owners can join in the fun. Instead coverage workouts and more. While these of being stuck against CPU opposition, games can be fun for a few minutes, they Xbox players can challenge other football mostly just add to an already complete pack- fans from around the country to prove who age. really is the best. With the headset, smacktalk will The heart of "Madden 2005" is its dynasty mode, flow freely from participants in living rooms to allowing players to control every aspect of an. NFL complete and utter strangers. With the addition of "Mad- den 2005" to an already strong Xbox Live line-up, the online revolution has truly begun. Additionally, roster updates are available for both Xbox and PS2 owners, shifting players to the correct teams and improving rookies' attributes. The big bonus available only to PS2 owners is a special "Collector's Edition" of the game. It includes a bonus disc commemorating the 151" anniversary of the series, which has three clas- sic gameplay types. These enable players to use the current NFL rosters and play with them in a Super Nintendo and two Playstation environ- ments with the classic graphics, music and com- mentary. Although the nostalgia of revisiting old favorites is initially amusing, the entertain- ment is short-lived. The graphics have been cleaned up, but not radically overhauled. Some of the players still look a bit too car- toony, but the motions and textures are solid. The soundtrack features a vast array of artists from Franz Ferdinand to The Hives. EA even managed to secure the rights to the new Green Day single "Ameri- can Idiot" before it hit radio. The eclectic mix of rap, rock and punk should provide enough songs that everyone who plays the game will be able to find something they like. While the soundtrack is strong, the commentary failed to improve much over last year. John Madden and his broadcasting partner on "Monday Night Football," Al Michaels, providethe voices for the action, but it still sounds fake and a lot of the dialogue is repeated from last year. "Madden 2005" is the premiere football game on the market. Even in its 15th season, it shows no signs of slowing down. EA Sports proves yet again why it has become the reigning champ of sports videogames. 4 1999 - MADDEN NFL 2000 NINTENDO 64, PLAYSTATION AND PC 2000 - MADDEN NFL 2001 NINTENDO 64, PLAYSTATION, PLAYSTATION 2 AND PC 2001 - MADDEN NFL 2002 GNINENDO 64, PLAYSTATION, PLAYSTATION 2, XBOX AND PC 2002 - MADDEN NFL 2003 GAMECUBE, PLAYSTATION, PLAYSTATION 2, XBOX AND PC 2003 - MADDEN NFL 2004 GAMECUBE, PLAN STATION, PLAYsTAJIoN 2, XBOX AND PC THE CURSE OF THE COVER hat do Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk and Michael Vick have in common? They all appeared on the cover of "Madden" and fell victim to unfortunate circumstances in the following season. Whereas the Sports Illustrated jinx is well documented, the latest curse in sports follows the no. I videogame franchise. Minnesota Vikings quarterback Culpepper was featured on "Madden 2002," the second season in which players were included on the cover art. Coming off a 33 touchdown season and an NFC Championship game appearance, Culpepper came down to earth. His 2001 stats paled in comparison to his all-pro 2000 numbers. Culpepper has since the league following his tumultuous "Madden" sea- son. Whereas Culpepper completed his season in for- gettable fashion, St. Louis running back Marshall Faulk's campaign was disastrous following "Mad- den 2003." His Rams were coming off a Super Bowl season, yet what followed was injury and disap- pointment. Faulk's career still hasn't fully recovered with nagging injuries and unspectacular play. "Madden 2004" featured the new poster boy of the league, Michael Vick. The up-and-coming quarterback led the resurgent Atlanta Falcons to an exciting playoff appearance, but 2003 wouldn't be as kind to Vick and his squad. In a preseason nificant scrimmage ended up crippling the Fal- cons for the rest of the season. And even when Vick finally returned, it was way too late to restore order to the team. This season, with the emphasis on the defen- sive alterations, Ray Lewis, linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, takes the cover. If week one of the NFL is any indication - where Lewis's Ravens lost to an inferior Browns squad - Lewis may be in for a long season. The "Mad- den" curse may be coincidental, but the evidence is staggering. If Lewis fails to survive the season successfully, then will anyone pose for EA next