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ESPN NFL 2005 Review - Xbox

When you think of dominant rival teams in Rugby League you think of the Sydney Roosters and Canterbury Bulldogs. In American Football it's the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots. When you think of rival video games it's Madden and ESPN NFL. The rivalry between Madden and ESPN NFL this year was intense. It was like 2 teams hollering, mudslinging and trash talking each other before the game had even started. ESPN NFL 2005 came out in the U.S.A. first (even though it's taken months to arrive here) and at $US 30 dollars cheaper than Madden. On ESPN's homepage it featured screenshots of its cover person Terrell Owens running over Madden's cover person, Ray Lewis. Madden responded with an advertisement saying the real football season starts in September (when Madden was due for release).

The ESPN series has always been known for its superior presentation, graphics and sound. Madden however, has had the upper hand with controls, physics and realism. Madden was having things its own way until the NFL 2k series (ESPN's previous series title) came blitzing in on them. The general discussion and debate between these two titles is that ESPN is fun but Madden is more realistic. Has anything changed? Read on

Gameplay

The crib is back, where by performing certain tasks such as a 50 yard pass or 5 sacks in a game you will receive points. These can be exchanged for items to decorate your crib, watch movies such as player interviews and much more. Now in your crib you get phone calls from celebrities such as Steve O from Jackass who wants to play you in a game. When playing against the player, it's like a 2 player game. In play calls you see the formation that the 'pretend' gamer is choosing. If you make a good play, you see an icon of the celebrity in the bottom with a sad facial expression and often, a pathetic excuse. When they make a good play, it's a an excited expression and they'll let you know all about it. For those without friends, it adds some feeling to the game. And while it's not a 2 player game, it feels like it.

The running game in ESPN is definitely not as realistic in Madden but it's still good. Tapping the "a" button increases your runners speed and jukes and spins are quite effective. It's quite fun pulling of a variety of successful moves which makes the running game quite rewarding. Passing while not incredibly realistic is fun. Controlling the receiver after you pass and pressing the catch button is the general formula in passing plays. In Madden it's more about reading the defense and throwing the ball to receiver who is free. In ESPN, you can get away by throwing into double coverage if you time the 'catch' button correctly.

ESPN NFL 2005 has included weekly preparation where you can train players and add statistics. This gets tedious however ... (continued next page)