Madden NFL 2005 (E) (4.5 stars)
EA Sports
GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
For years, EA's Madden franchise has been the Super Bowl of sports games, leaving other football sims benched. All of it seemed to peak last year when Madden 2004 piled on the extras, becoming the top-selling game of the year. But with ambitious competitors like ESPN Football threatening to achieve their own levels of greatness, Madden has taken to concentrating on defense—literally.
All the major improvements this time are of the defensive variety, beginning with the new "hit stick" control, which allows for context-sensitive tackles with a well-chosen flick of the right thumb stick. Pre-snap assignments have been given an overhaul, making last-minute modifications much more intuitive.
Aside from that, Madden 2005 doesn't feel a whole lot different from 2004. The graphics still could use a little polish but the controls are perfect. And if the franchise mode were any deeper, the game would have to come with an agent. It's beginning to feel like the only way it still can be improved is if football itself improves. And that's not such a bad thing.
Thunderbirds (E) (2 stars)
Vivendi Universal
GameBoy Advance
You'd think a game based on a family of rocket-faring, international rescuers would be exciting, but alas, it's just another excuse to solve tedious puzzles by pushing crates, flipping switches and rolling through holes. And since the three playable characters only can perform one of those tasks each, you'll be toggling between them to an annoying extent. It's enough to make you hate teamwork.
Kim Possible 2: Drakken's Demise (E) (3.5 stars)
Buena Vista
GameBoy Advance
I would have thought it impossible for a licensed game like Kim Possible to lead to an inspired sequel, but with the aid of her trusty grappling hook, Kim actually manages to swing into a completely different genre. The repetitive brawling of the original has been replaced by a clever, little platformer, and the young super spy has got plenty of gadgets and acrobatics to keep the action interesting.
Army Men: Sarge's War (T) (2 stars)
Global Star
GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
Anyone who has ever derived pleasure from the willful destruction of his own toys may enjoy blasting these monochromatic bad guys into little plastic chunks, but beyond that, this bland, generic third-person shooter has nothing to offer. The whole Army Men series, like the toys that inspired it, is a decent diversion when there's nothing else to play with, but if it all got lost in the sandbox, I doubt anyone would cry about it.
Matthew Scott Hunter has been known to mumble, "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start" in his sleep. E-mail him at
[email protected].