Full Review

Right off, in my opinion, this is the best sports video game ever produced. The graphics will knock your socks off. The gameplay rocks. The options are extensive and you can tweak this game to your heart's content. I love this, I hope they don't change much for 2003!

Now for the details:
My system:
AMD Athlon XP 1700+
512MB DDR RAM
ASUS A7N266 Mainboard
GeForce2 Pro 64MB DDR Video Card
SoundBlaster Live! Value Sound Card
Plextor 16/10/40A CD-RW Drive
Gravis Gamepad Pro USB

As far as performance, this game flies on my system. It takes a bit to load, but other than that everything else is lightning fast.

Once you get into the game, there is an extensive menu of options to choose from. There is the generic game options of Exhibition, Season, Playoffs, Practice. I think some of the menu options could have been grouped together...instead they are spread out and they have been given little icons rather than words explaining what they are...it takes time to get used to it. I think more simple would be more attractive, but EA Sports loves to be flashy, and that's exactly what this is.

The options for changing graphics, sounds, etc. are a little vague but all I did was crank them up as high as they would go. I knew my system could handle it.

As for setting up the controller...this is where I ran into a little bit of a problem and found something that I don't particularly like. In order to edit the buttons on a gamepad, you have to use the gamepad to navigate in the controls menu. If you use the mouse, it will only let you map the buttons on the keyboard. I found this to be a huge annoyance and I hope they change it.

Selecting the teams is cake. You can choose any of the NFL teams (including the new Houston Texans) or the NFL Europe (aka World League) teams. You can also choose the playbook that your team runs and the stadium where you want them to play (the new Texans stadium, Reliant Stadium, is also in the game). The playbooks are named by head coach...for example the San Francisco 49ers playbook is called S. Mariucci. This can be helpful to learn other team's plays or you can mix things up and see if another type of gameplan will work for your team.

Once in the game, the gameplay is fairly easy. There is one button for "hike" "pass" and "run faster" so its not hard to learn that part of it. The tough part comes in selecting good, effective plays and executing them well.

In last year's Madden 2001, the defenses were unbeatable. If I threw a pass, it was either dropped or intercepted. The run was stopped for a loss on every attempt. They've toned that down this year so you can complete passes and run the ball. You just have to choose the right passing patterns or the right runs. If you have no football experience, then this is something you have to learn through playing the game. It's not hard, just takes time.

One play-calling option I love is the "Go-To Guy" menu. For a particular team, they have 3 or 4 Go-To Guys who are the best players and the ones who come up with the most clutch plays. For example, the Go-To Guys for the Rams are Marshall Faulk and Issac Bruce. For the Green Bay Packers, its Brett Favre, Ahman Green and Antonio Freeman. This playbook option lets you select the Go-To Guy and it gives you plays specifically for that player. I thought this was an easy way to learn about playcalling.

I really enjoy just playing against the computer or against my roommate, so all we do is exhibition games. I haven't tried multiplayer or season yet...I don't think I'd have the time for a season and if I tried multiplayer, I'd never leave my room.

Also, there are some cheats out there for getting hidden teams and hidden stadiums. The hidden teams are all of the All-Madden teams from 30 years till now, some of the great teams of the past and NFL all-time teams. For example, the 49ers All-Time Team includes Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Dwight Clark and Ken Norton. Although they don't mention them by name (only by number) you know that 16 on the Niners is Joe Montana. This can be fun to play with great old teams versus new great teams. There must be over 150 teams in all...quite the selection.

As for the AMAZING graphics - they are the most detailed sports graphics I've ever seen. You can see clouds of breath when you play in the cold. You can see arm hair on the players. The stadiums are modeled flawlessly. You can see individual blades of grass on the field. On astroturf I swear you can see the seams! The reflections on the helmets are a little cheezy (they look like polished metal) but it does the trick. Absolutely amazing.