It is hard to believe that the Madden Franchise is already fifteen years old, and that every year EA Sports releases an update version upon the gaming world. Each year Tiburon manages to impress me with all of the new gameplay updates, graphics, and new features in their newest game. This year it is no different, Madden 2005 has tons of new features that will keep you up late at night, trying to get that “last touchdown” before sleep finally consumes you. Needless to say, you should pick up this latest iteration of Madden 2005 as soon as you can, because your PlayStation 2 will thank you for it.

I cannot believe it has been a year since Madden 2004 was released upon the world. I loved every minute of that game, who would have thought that the playmaker controls would have added so much to a football game; it is hard to play a football game that doesn’t include this feature. Some people said that the playmaker controls made the offensive too powerful, and to a certain degree they were right, it seemed like the defense would be crushed if you properly knew how to use the playmaker combined with all of the other features available to the players.

To help balance out the offensive playmaker controls, in Madden 2005, Tiburon has added the defensive playmaker, which will totally change the way you will play the game. Now with a quick flick of the analog stick the defense can adjust to anything the offensive can throw at them. If people called Madden 2004 “more of an offensive game,” they will call 2005 “more of a defensive game,” and people wouldn’t have been far from the truth. I found that trying to get a solid running game against the defense is one of the hardest things to accomplish. It is easy to get small yardage gains, but to get some longer yard gains; you will really have to work for it, because the defense can be relentless.

Another one of the biggest hyped features of Madden 2005 is the “Hit Stick” feature which allows you to cream the offensive ball carrier, and if you time it correctly, you might even cause the player to fumble the ball. While it sounds like a small thing, this feature really helps expand the gameplay and make this game seem closer to realism. I mean how many times have you played football games, and just wish you could knock the daylights out of a particular player because he is making your defensive look pathetic. Well now your wish can come true, just hit the right analog stick and you can hit him hard, which usually accompanies a great animation, such as a flip. There is a down side to this feature that if you don’t time it correctly you could miss the guy completely. So it is a gamble to either try to tackle him normally or just cream him with the hit stick and hope for a fumble.

For a couple of years now players have had the ability to create teams and even individual players to play with, but this year Madden 2005 has added something new. Now players will be able to create their own wacky fan in Create-A-Fan mode. This is great to see an outrageous fan that has body painting of your favorite team all over their face and bodies. Not only that you can give them the funky foam fingers, and many other items that you see at a live football game.

Last but certainly not least, I am sure you are all foaming at the mouth wanting to know what new features, if any, are in the Franchise mode. I know you are thinking nothing can compare to the Owner’s mode that was instituted last year, but this year the developers at Tiburon do not disappoint, because the newest features provide you with many hours of gameplay. The new features are: Storyline Central, EA Sports Radio, player personalities, and a progression system.

The Storyline Central really expounds on the Franchise and makes it deeper than ever. It allows you to check up on what is happening though the entire NFL through national and local newspapers, which can give you a heads up on player disputes which might give you a chance to nab that player for your own team. Also you will receive emails, which contain important information regarding your team, such as player disputes. The EA Sports Radio was a nice treat added to this game, and really helps break up repetition that might occur. Tony Bruno will host a weekly talk show, in which he discusses how things are going all throughout the league. His commentary on what is going on is really good since a lot of the things he says are humorous in nature.

The player personalities really help flesh out the game, by remembering that the team is composed of individuals. Each of the players comes to life with their own morale, and everything that happens, on or off the field, will affect them in one way or another. The progression system allows you to see how every player is doing within a certain time frame. If they don’t match up with the skill set you need, it is a great way to find out if you need to give them “the boot.”

The online portion of Madden 2005 received a huge boost as well this year. Each year they continue to optimize the online portion and this year it feels as if you are playing against someone next to you because lag is not even an issue anymore. The game plays as smooth as silk if you are playing against a friend sitting next to you, or a friend on the other end of the United States. If you sign up for the premium pass, you will be able to join an online league, which is what many people have been waiting to do for years. There are special tournaments for premium members only and it gives you a huge repetition boost.

The EA Sports Bio is back in this new “2005” branded games, and it still is a great addition to it. Incase you are unfamiliar with it, the idea behind it is that the higher points and the better that you do in the game, players will be rewarded with new stadiums, teams, and other goodies that makes the game even better. Not only this but if you own other EA branded sports games and play them, you will unlock special things in some of the other games.

Madden 2005 is rated E for Everyone.

Gameplay: 9.4
With the Madden franchise, you know that you will have one of the best gameplay experiences, and Madden 2005 continues this tradition. The defensive playmaker stick adds so much depth to this game, just like the offensive playmaker did last year. The new defensive mechanism makes you play a whole lot more strategic like they do in real life. One flick of the stick on either side can make the “play of the game”. The new Hit Stick also adds a whole new functionality to the game. It takes a while to get the hang of but once you do you will not know how you ever played without it.

Graphics: 9.3
As with each new version of Madden, this year there is slightly more details on everything, from the stadiums, coaches, and the football players. The most apparent details are on the football players; this year you can see the muscle definition on players which is just amazing. All of the animations are great as well. The best animations to watch are the ones you can pull off with the new Hit Stick, I’ve gotten the opposing players to be actually flipped around with this new hit stick. Besides the great game play features the Hit Stick added to the game, it is a blast to see what new things my players will do to the opposing players and watch the result of this. Another great thing is that the weather is constantly changing, and it looks really good while it is going though this transition.

Sound: 8.5
The game makes full use of Dolby Digital surround sound, so if you have a setup that allows it, it is well worth it! What is really disappointing is that the commentary in this game really needs some work. While commentary is not supposed to be exciting all the time, it just seems like I am listing to the exact same commentary year after year. While it is not horrific it just needs to have some more polish. One step in the right direction is the new Tony Bruno’s radio show in the franchise mode. It was very humorous to listen to and helped break up some of the repetition that sports games are known for.

The soundtrack for this game was really good. There are also a variety of different songs ranging from rock to rap, so there is something for everyone to like in this game. If you don’t like a certain song you can even prevent it from ever playing. All of the stadium sounds are present in this newest Madden game, such as the bodies pounding on each other, crowds yelling, and many other things define the football experience.

Difficulty: Medium
This is one of the hardest categories to put a definitive difficulty level on. The difficulty level really depends on how skilled you are at playing this game. If you are a hardcore Madden fan, obviously the Rookie or Pro setting is a walk in the park for you. If you are a newbie in the Madden world, than the AI in Madden will be all over you like ants on a picnic. The good thing about Madden is no matter what your skill level you will be able to find a setting that makes the game feel “right” to you, and once your skill set increases, you can increase the difficulty as well.

Concept: 9.2
There are a few new additions that Madden fans will appreciate and welcome with open arms. The first thing is the new Defensive Playmaker controls. This helps balance out the Offensive Playmaker controls, and makes the game feel more realistic and strategic. The Hit Stick is another great feature, and once you get accustom to using it you will wonder how you ever played a football game without it. The create-a-fan was really interesting. While there is not a ton of different options to choose from it was nice to see some of your creations cheering you on during a football game.

Multiplayer: 9.5
The developers at Tiburon really know what they are doing with the PlayStation 2, because playing an online game was exactly like playing an offline game. I love that there is never any lag every time I log in and play. They have even expanded this year’s online section. If you decided to get a Premium Pass, you will be able to create leagues and have a rating next to your name so players will know you will not just quit the game when the going gets tough for you.

Overall: 9.3
There is a reason why so many people look forward every year to each iteration of Madden. It is because they make one of the best football games available on the market. Every year they add something new to their football games, which make you wonder how you ever played the game without it all these years. The only thing that is sad is that we have to wait another year to find out what new gameplay innovation they will cook up for next years game. The good thing is that wait will seem short because when you play Madden 2005 time flies.