Madden 2004 (PC, EA Sports, General)

By PETER ELEY

(Herald rating: * * * * *)

The yearly release of EA's premium football game, gridiron that is, rather than rugby or soccer, might not be a big deal in this part of the world but in the US millions of armchair fans eagerly await this event.

The challenge for EA is to make each year's game different enough to give these fans a reason to buy it.

Madden 2004 certainly fits the bill on this count, with numerous gameplay and graphical tweaks, more stats than ever and a brilliant feature that lets you control players off the ball.

And as anybody who has ever watched gridiron will know, lots more goes on off the ball than on it.

You need a dual analogue stick gamepad to use this feature, but it is worth the outlay simply because it makes Madden the best and most realistic gridiron game around.

This is the most important new feature, but other less-noticeable tweaks add real value to this year's release.

For example, new camera angles make the running game more realistic and give more control.

Gridiron is a bit like playing chess with 120kg pieces and if you don't understand the game's finer points, you can expect to spend a few hours picking up Madden 2004.

But the game is so well thought out that even people who would rather stand in the rain watching schoolboy rugby than the Superbowl on TV will most likely be hooked.

Quite simply, it is one of the best sporting games around, probably because of the huge user base in the US and the intense level of competition from other gridiron games.

There is even a sort of sim mode, where you get to build luxury stadiums with plush corporate boxes, hire staff, set ticket prices and generally run your team franchise as a business.

* Email Peter Eley