Madden NFL 12
SCORE: 89
Sports video games have been my passion and hobby for decades now. I enjoy finding sports games on clearance, purchasing them, and running them through the wringer. I even find games with no instructions and figure out how to play them. Madden NFL 12 on the PSP is one such clearance game I ran across recently. A hand held sports game brand new for five dollars (and a few cents) is pretty hard to beat.
Graphically Madden NFL 12 is a tough bird. I can’t compare it to the home consoles because it is nowhere near them. It is better than anything on the Nintendo DS, but that is not a fair comparison either. So it can be difficult to find any frame of reference. I noticed areas that Madden NFL 12 looks great - like the players, and their animations. I saw areas that need improvements - like the fans in the stands. Many of the fields are similar (in a lesser degree of course) to their real world counterparts.
Madden NFL 12 has one of the worst default audio settings I have ever seen. The announcers are way too quiet. Then at times we are waiting for the game disc to load for them to finish what they are saying. I actually sat on screens locked up waiting for them to finish their sentence before Madden NFL 12 would bring me to the play calling screen. Once I turned up their volume, and turned off the songs I found offensive Madden NFL 12 sounded better. They generally had on topic comments.
Madden NFL 12 gives the player all kinds of choices in the play calling. And there are a long list of different game play modes. For a hand held game this is very impressive. Controlling the running back, quarterback, receivers, and defensive players is a snap. The ball does get batted around a lot which leads to too many interceptions. But then in other instances where the cornerback could easily pick off an out route for an easy touchdown - well they just bat it down. This is lacking in realism in this part of the game.
Football is a violent sport. So much
so there is a movement to have it banned. Yet with all the hitting in
Madden NFL 12 the ESRB could not find any words to describe the
violence. I am against the ban on football personally. It is responsible
of me as a reviewer to mention it, and point out where the ESRB has
missed the boat again. I want this franchise to continue to improve on
the hand helds.
- Frank
Graphics: 84%
Sound: 76%
Replay/Extras: 100%
Gameplay: 95%
Family Friendly Factor: 90%
System: Playstation Portable
Publisher: EA Sports
Rating: ‘E’ -
Everyone
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