Among all of the shooters and adventure games that seem to litter my shelves in these modern times, there has always been a place in my collection for sports games. Even digging back into some of my ancient history shows that half of my Sega Genesis collection was comprised of some kind of digital representation of actual, physical exercise. Perhaps it stems from a desire to pursue the big leagues of any major national sport, or maybe I have convinced myself that playing sports games is actually better for my health for some reason. Either way, it seems that modern equivalents haven’t done much in the way to entice me, as my current selection for this generation is very close to nothing (unless you count Rockstar’s Table Tennis…and I do!)

This does not mean that I’m not always willing to give a new game a shot, as I have been intrigued by the recent NHL 3-on-3 Arcade, a distilled version of a house favourite sports title that I quickly downloaded from the Xbox Live Arcade and still pick up on a regular basis. With an easier to approach control system and a much less demanding set of rules, it was easy to hand someone a controller with limited exposure to the game and not overwhelm them with some local multiplayer action. That and having an online game meant no disc swapping or searching, so it was an easy choice for a quick play in the evening.

Making that same kind of transition now is the NFL series, Madden NFL with their appropriate titled Madden NFL Arcade featuring a five-on-five match-up in the same vein as the NHL series before it. Slotted in nicely right before the Thanksgiving weekend, the game promises to feature all the frantic football action, but with a much less intimidating approach that will take the core mechanics of the game and break it into a game that is easy to pick up, master and bring online.

There is a rather large gentleman headed my way...

For the most part, Madden Arcade executes the attempt to emulate the “arcade” experience rather well. The game looks good, with a subtle artistic style that brings it just a shade out of the realism department and while the environments are rather sterile they set the mood right and as long as you have a grassy field to play on it does not really make too much difference. You have a set number of downs to get the ball from end zone to end zone and the option to kick a field goal is notably absent, but not missed. The artistic style choice surrounding the experience almost seems a bit of a compromise from the outwardly zanny NHL Arcade and the super-serious Madden 10, almost following a Wii-like aesthetic of realism-lite. I appreciated the lightheartedness of the NHL game, with the odd menu selection sounds and the overly dramatic announcer calling out plays like an evil cartoon character, and the football series just seems to step away from that enough to make me miss it. It’s in no way overly serious, but it feels more like All-Play rather than Arcade.

Matching up against your opponents is another odd portion of the game. Instead of picking out players to their suitable positions like in the previous Arcade game, this one allows you to pick your team of choice. While that is excellent for fans of any of the teams, it does also bring along all the statistics of those teams with it. Meaning the high-rated NY Giants will often end up as the team of choice, especially in online play where the Giants seem to end up playing against each other quick frequently. While I understand that having all the teams on an equal playing field (no pun intended) would perhaps upset some of the more football-focused enthusiast, it adds a quantifiable tier system to the selection process and makes deviating from that particular “best” option feel risky.

I think he's juking! I'm not actually quite sure what that means!

Like NHL Arcade, Madden brings along a chaotic element to the series that allow players to spice up the normal grind of the game. At the start of each down a pseudo-slot machine will dole out some delicious Game Breakers that can help you defensively or offensively, depending on which side you’re playing. While some are basically over-powering monsters, others feel like toothless tigers, especially the bonuses that effect both teams at the same time such as slowing down or speeding up time. Ones that give you an extra four men on the field or an extra down are especially effective, but almost feel like cheating if you get them enough.

The game makes it easy to pick up and play, to its credit. Even those without any prior experience with the game or NFL games in general will quickly get the idea. For offense, you either run or pass (short, medium and deep) and the defensive plays are just counters. It’s like Rock, Paper, Scissors with a little more leniency, but will allow more experienced players to make for a good running game or open up the field for long passes (especially with so few men on the field). This does bring about a weakness, though, as the lack of a playbook makes the gameplay feel a little shallow, and a few key plays will often win you yardage, while most others will hardly be used. The running plays are especially effective, almost too much so considering the mechanics available for dodging and weaving around the defending players. That combined with a good quarterback will allow you to open up the field while the computer players wander off and go for a lot of easy touchdowns.

All of the above taken into account, this is the first sports game I have played online for any amount of time and actually enjoyed my experience. I didn’t feel like I was getting slammed at any given time, and EA Sports online ranking system gives you a good idea of where the best in the world are ranked next to you, and it felt more like a challenge than an insurmountable goal. It runs smoothly online and the matchmaking works enough that I didn’t run into would-be newbie crushers looking for fresh meat. I was able to pass on the controller to some friends without so much as a passing interest in the game and they were able to enjoy their experience with the game, and even go on to beat me way too many times in a row.

So what I’m really trying to say is…
For all the whinging I’ve done, Madden NFL Arcade does exactly what it sets out to do: distill the full-on football experience into a downloadable segment that encompasses the game. It’s simple enough to pass on to inexperienced users without a lot of intimidation, and while even the computer players can give you a run for your money the game feels balanced enough that it the online experience is pleasant instead of frustrating. Team statistics are a sore spot, and it doesn’t seem to have the charm of NHL 3-on-3 Arcade almost taking itself a bit too seriously, but for those with a desire to toss the pigskin in a hearkening back to simpler times of sports games, it is absolutely worth the purchase. Also, local multiplayer! This we always love. Players who already have Madden in any form, though, will probably not find much here.

Madden NFL Arcade is developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports. The game is available for on the Playstation Network for the PS3 ($14.99) and Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360 (1600 MS Points). The game was provided courtesy of EA Sports. Played for approximately 5 hours, 10 games online and the rest offline. “Madden!” was shouted an innumerable amount of times.