Madden NFL 2005

THE BAD:
[see review]

SUMMARY:
"Ikaruga is one of those games that comes along, kicks incomprehensible amounts of ass, but nobody notices because everyone's too busy playing dog shit football games. I don't get it: they re-package the same shitty football games every year, update a few stats, call it a new game and millions of suckers keep buying them. What's the point? Why not just go outside and play real football instead? Or even better yet, get bent. Nobody likes football." -Maddox Ever since Grand Theft Auto III came out, the position of videogames in pop culture has gone up tremendously. Games are about to topple movies as the leading form of entertainment. Filmmaker Uwe Boll has made several (absoultely terrible) game-based movies. What was once seen as a geeky hobby has now becomes one of the coolest things you can do. This, in my opinion, is a terrible development. One of the best advantages to being a game geek was that it got you as far away from the jocks/preps/cheerleaders as you possibly could, and now, those exact same popular kids are the ones buying PS2/XBOX(360)/GCs, and popping games into it. Games like the Madden series (along with 95% of all other EA Games) are the exact reason why this has happened. EA makes games that appeal to these low-lifes and as a result, the preps now play video games. They are sure to load every one of their games with all sorts of prep-friendly devices such as mainstream rap soundtracks, lots of glitter and bling, and all sorts of "totally pimp" slang so that they look intune with the current pop culture. Need For Speed: Underground II and NBA Live are two perfect examples of this atrocity. However, football games in particular are guilty of this, because every type of "popular kid" can find something in one that relates to them in real life. Jocks like football games because they play football. Cheerleaders like football games because they participate in them (even though cheerleading is boring to watch, and it doesn't have any effect on a football team's morale). Preps who aren't associated with either of these like them because they go to high school football games because their sense of school spirit tells them to. You might be able to put marching band into this category, except for the fact that they participate in that for their love of music, not for their love of football. Of course, the real video game players will always look towards the Japanese RPGs, niche games, and platformers that no prep would ever go near, but that's not the point. What is, is that the fact that football games inspire preps to get into gaming is just annoying and destroys individuality. Why can't they just stay where they belong? If you think that the music you listen to is the best because it's the most popular, buy this game. If you go to parties on the weekend so you can get "DrUnK oFf Ur AsS", buy this game. If you shop at Abercrombie and Fitch or Hollister for your clothes, buy this game. If you're a REAL gamer who agrees with this review, then for the love of God, do NOT buy this game.