Description:
The Madden series is wildly popular on the console market, with this year's version on the PlayStation2 garnering all kinds of critical acclaim. The same can't be said of the PC version of Madden NFL 2002, however, which will leave football fans extremely frustrated, especially because none of the problems from last year's edition have been addressed. In fact, in most instances, things have gotten worse. Madden NFL 2002 offers five modes of gameplay--Great Games, Multiplayer, Exhibition, Season, and Franchise--and all 31 current NFL teams, the expansion Houston Texans, and European teams. Franchise mode, which lets players manage all aspects of the team--including salary negotiations and signing and cutting players through multiple seasons--is good fun, and after a few seasons, meeting the salary cap can be quite challenging. On the flip side, the Great Games mode, in which a victory in one classic game will unlock other classic games, is especially disappointing, because it completely fails to re-create the playing styles of past teams. In fact, other than the original uniforms, there's no difference between playing a classic game and playing a game between two modern teams. Graphically, Madden NFL 2002 looks fantastic, with excellent models, great motion capture, and smooth animations. Other cool effects include light reflecting off the helmets, realistic rain and snow effects, and nicely rendered stadiums. Pretty pictures are no substitute for good gameplay, however, and in that respect Madden NFL 2002 is extremely unsatisfying. The computer never runs the ball, and because the AI for the defensive secondary is so bad, it's common for a lackluster computer-controlled team to throw for 400-plus yards a game against a human-controlled team. There are sliders for both human- and computer-controlled AI, which let you tweak various AI settings such as pass blocking, interceptions, and the ability to break tackles. If you fiddle with these settings enough you can improve some of the problems, but no amount of tweaking can turn this shoddy game into something enjoyable. The frustrations continue with the controls, which are slow and unresponsive. In order to make quick cuts or spins, you'll need to press the applicable button a split second before you actually want to make the move. In addition, when playing on defense it's common to get burned on a pass play when you switch control to the player closest to the ball because any initial moves you make usually send you in the wrong direction. The only truly fun aspect to Madden NFL 2002 is its multiplayer options. You can play against another person on one computer, or you can link up over the Internet. Playing over the Internet can be laggy at times even with high-speed access, but it's still preferable to playing against a super-powered computer opponent. It's truly sad that EA Sports doesn't see fit to deliver a compelling football game to computer gamers, especially as Madden NFL 2002 is the only mass-market football game available for the PC. Hopefully EA Sports will get its act together next year and deliver a real football game. --William Harms Pros: - Great graphics
- Franchise mode and online play are a lot of fun
Cons: - The AI is a joke
- Control isn't as tight as it should be
- Games play out very unrealistically
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