Madden 2002
Just when you thought it was safe to leave the field!


Review by Vigilante

My biggest fear about this newest edition of Madden is that it would be just another rehash of Madden 2001. Madden 2001 was just a visual improvement over its predecessors, but how was Madden 2002 going to improve. In just about every way humanly possible. The coaches look like their real life counterpart. The zombie eyes are GONE folks. That's right people, they look like real human beings. And not only do they look like real humans...they move like them to. The guys in this game have a myriad of animations its almost scary. From the different ways one is tackled to the way people run, defend, and smack the ball down on defense. You will spend a lifetime counting all the animations these players have.

Instant Replay has been revamped so that when they show the replay, the camera zooms in on the important characters in the play. Not only does that occur, but the screen goes into letterbox mode adding even more intensity to the play. AND to top it all off...you can save the replay.

The gameplay has been tweaked as well, creating what I call the most in depth simulation ever to grace a console. The hits are more intense, and don't have that annoying collision effect of the previous version. The QB and RB have more moves to get away from defenders. Which is a great thing considering how much the A.I. in this game has been improved. Teams with hard as DL's will have rough as DL's. But what puts the gameplay over the top for me is the fact that you can actually have an effective running game. I don't remember this being a case in ANY previous Madden...until now.

As far as innovation, it still is a football game. No matter how you look at it. But, this game has more tricks and goodies than the law allows. Two minute drill is a new way to hone the skills for those tests late in the fourth quarter. Those that have NCAA College Football are able to take their graduating class, and transfer them to the incoming rookies in Madden after one season of play. Also, you have the ability to control the new expansion team coming next year after one season of play..OR..create your own. Hell, you can even create and customize your own league. The damn possibilities are endless.

A few problems I noticed in the game are very slight at best. One is that when the opposing team called for a fair catch..I still hit him. He didn't get tackled, but he dropped the ball..and the ball was labeled a fumble. Um...that's not right.

Also, I think this game should have a side game where you are a sniper. Your mission is to sneak into the commentator's booth, and shoot both Pat Summeral and John Madden in the head. No one would notice, they would replace the half assed announcers with decent ones, and the game would go on being played the way it always was. Only then will this game be perfect.

With the exception of horrid commentators, the rest of this game is damn near flawless. If only Madden didn't exist, this game would be the TOTAL package.

Once again, EA raises the bar for Football simulation. I didn't think they could improve Madden 2002 the way Madden 2001 did to the earlier games in the series. I was WRONG! This game takes that game, and shoves into it even more realism, more options, more all around flava to make the weakest football enthusiast bust a gut. I haven't played NCAA College Football, so as I see it..there is only one football game to have on the ps2 right now. Madden 2002 is it.

99%
Iconish

• This game looks even better thab before (NO ZOMBIE EYES)
• NCAA Tie In
• Ability to Control Expansion Teams
• Two minute Drill
• Create a League

• A few minor glitches. 'Fair Catch MEANS Fair Catch'.

• Madden and Summeral just won't DIE!!!