Madden NFL Football

Wow...really?

Posted 2 years ago By - Jay Acevedo

Among all 3DS launch titles, Madden NFL Football was certainly one of my most anticipated ones for various reasons. If you know me, then that fact is easily understandable, though easily debatable debatable as well. EA had only two titles to bring (this and The Sims 3), and with my deep love for the Madden franchise, EA’s capacity to deliver a great football experiences to the PSP and obviously, the 3DS’ hardware capabilities, I had high hopes. The table was set for something good.

Unfortunately, without saying that it’s a massive failure, Madden NFL Football reached out to my heart, pulled it out of my chest and threw a Hail Mary into the stands.

No matter how powerful 3DS tech could truly be, if there’s not enough content to justify the $40 price tag, it deserves to be smacked. If you’ve read my Pilotwings and Steel Diver reviews, you may have noted that I wasn’t that hard on them for being barebones. Madden NFL Football may be light in features, but a sport game isn’t supposed to be like that, especially when the company’s name is Electronic Arts and had been releasing a brand new Madden title on all platforms known to man for the past 15-20 years. Plus, if I compare the feature-set to the Madden NFL 11 PSP version (which, by the way, is a less powerful handheld…just saying), the 3DS version is seriously lacking, both in terms of presentation and gameplay options. No online/local multiplayer support (if I remember correctly, the DS version had multiplayer), no Franchise mode (only Season, Practice and Exhibition), no Mini-Camp Competition (or any sort of mini-games) and no Superstar Challenge.

Of course, everything isn’t all negative in Madden 3DS land. Overall visuals - including player models and textures - do get the job done, but they’re nothing worth writing a whole paragraph for it. Playing with the Circle Pad is much more responsive compared to the damned PSP analog nub. The game does gives you the option to save a current game in progress. GameFlow play-calling is present, as well as the ability to call and create your own plays via the touch-screen. Arcade and Conventional play-calling, which gives you access to the entire team playbook, is also available. Games – whether its Season or Exhibition - can also be played in standard 11-on-11 or the “arcade way” at 5-on-5. Environmental sounds and play-by-play commentary are also positives worth mentioning, although the latter hasn’t received any fresh lines. There are also the “Spotlight Moments”, where the action slows down and players need to follow on-screen prompts to complete the key play successfully. However, all the good Madden NFL Football has is quickly overshadowed by the serious lack of features.

3D

Some camera views make it cool at times, but it doesn’t add anything valuable to the experience, on top of being extremely painful to view after a few seconds. A 2D Madden is much more comfortable on the eyes.

Conclusion

Again, I’m not saying Madden’s first outing on the spanking new 3DS platform doesn’t deserve any attention but for a first shot, it’s certainly a disappointment. Rushed? It sure has all symptoms. At this point, I don’t think it deserves to be bought on Day One, certainly not at $40…unless you’re REALLY craving football.

Being a Positive Pete, I could say that this “effort” lays the foundation for the next Madden 3DS title, but in all honesty, I can’t go out and say it loudly. I thought Electronic Arts would make something worthwhile, I really did. I guess I’ll be loading my Madden NFL 11 UMD and start my 19th season in Franchise...