The Evolution of Madden (1998-2007)
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by user Ufgators
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Hello everyone and welcome to the historic evolution of everyone's favorite game...Madden. For some, an obsession. Lightweights. For most, its a religion! In one case, I heard of a guy who had a full grown beard before he even turned the system off! Since today is Madden holiday, I decided to research the Madden game an even ten years, from 1998-2007. Be careful, fella's, the early versions may make your eyes hurt!
1998
Wowsers! Notice the random red dots around the spiraling football. Players are pretty much indistinguishable, so there is no need to worry about who you are playing as.
1999
Crikey! Defenders look like big ol' bubbas, so watch out! Players are somewhat distinguishable, but look more like blobs than anything. The field looks like someone took a green crayola crayon and drew it, but it is certainly a monumental improvement over the previous year. I see some promise.
2000
WATCH OUT!!!! Madden 2000 decided it would give players the ability to fly. Yes, even Tony Siragusa could fly over the competition. Don't believe me? Google it! By now, we can tell who is who, despite the excessive bulk of most players. Uniforms are not quite clean yet, as excessive movement may cause a little blur to the side of the player.
2001
Hmm, I like it! Graphics were vastly improved, thus gameplay was more fun. The field still hasn't changed much, but that's okay. We are introduced into better views of the sky, and yes, refs are still fun to run through!
2002
Ooph. What is this? Have the graphics regressed in the course of a year? Maybe this is just a bad angle, but players are considerably blocky! The field has been given a new, thread-like pattern. The color is pretty much the same throughout any weather condition. A user will begin to wonder..."Is this as good as it gets??"
2003
Oh, okay. Graphics are brighter, players are faster, and WR's jump higher. The uniforms are still a bit choppy, but by far the best game yet. The pants seem well-defined. The soundtrack to this game could raise even a dead person's pulse.
2004
WHOO! Graphics are improved in most areas, as the speedy Mike Vick is the cover boy for this version. The names beneath the players are easier to read, and the field has gone back to the crayola design.
2005
YAA! This game is awesome! The soundtrack is a bit irritating, but the graphics are great (for this point in time). The backs of jerseys are very well defined, and franchise mode is really, really fun. The crowd is finally in focus, and the discussion about players holding their elbow during ANY injury comes into prominence once again.
2006
By gum, I think we've done it! The graphics of the sky are incredible! The soundtrack is immaculate, as it is headlined by Sam Spence and the Sounds of NFL Films. Franchise mode is uber-fun. The new vision cone was hard at first, but sometimes worked to my advantage. More times than not, though, it worked against me. The implementation of SS mode seems like a good idea...but it stunk. Players looks are pretty much up to the computer, and the highly touted NFL Street Player Upload was a huge bust, as any player uploaded has black skin in the game! I honestly do not care about the color of one's skin...but...my player isn't black! Oh well. I'm satisfied.
2007
Dum-Dah-Dah-DAH!!! Today marks the release of Madden '07. Now, we can see the hairs of Ol' Matt Hasselbeck's arm, as well as facial expressions and shadows and everything! Reggie Bush will overtake Mike Vick as the most exciting player to play as this season. In every speed related category, he is rated a 97 or higher. There are new additions to the game, such as "NFL Network". The game is a little slower to movements, probably due to the many options installed in this year's game. Speed is crucial this year, more so than ever. Overall, gamers should be satisfied as Madden continues the streak of addicting games.
There you have it! Madden has greatly improved from 1998 to now. My favorite saying has been and always will be "HEY! That guy looks like he got hit by a freight train!"
- Sources: Wikipedia, ESPN.com, IGN.com, Google Images
Date
Tue 08/22/06, 1:24 pm EST
