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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
This book is not a Strategy Guide, 21 Jan 2004
First of all, this book is aimed at the PS2 user. All the screen shots of the menus, choices, etc., are as one would see them on a PS2. If you are a PC user, a lot of what you see here, such as the "My Madden" section, won't apply to you, - it simply isn't included in the PC version of the game. (That being said, the other screen shots are as you would see them in any version of the game.)However screen shots of players in motion are not really very instructional, as they don't tell the full story. That's because this game is much more a "thinking" game than it is a "controller-jockey" game. The game itself has numerous variables that the user can tune (called "AI Settings" and "Penalty Settings") that affect the playing and outcome of every game. As well, there are dozens of plays that an offense or defense can call, dependent on where the team is in the game. All of these variables need to be considered during game play. Finally, a user who chooses to play in "Owner" mode (yet another variable of the game) is able to trade/release/pick-up/draft players. The Owner makes these decision based on a player's Ratings. There are 19 separate rating catagories for each player (not counting the player's salary, bonus and length of contract, which an owner must also take into consideration), all of which requires some careful analysis. Amazingly, none of the above is covered in this book. The book is really nothing more than a glossy, glorified "user manual", something that EA Sports should have included with the game. It is NOT at all a strategy guide. There are pages and pages of team and player listings, with no real explanations about how to interpret them or how to use them. There are no explanations about what the 19 player catagories mean, there are no explanations about the dozens of plays that can be called, and there is no explanation about how to set the game variables. In fairness, one section of the guide worth reading in the Franchaise section, where a very good walkthrough of the steps required to draft and run a team is explained. However, this section can be downloaded for free at the EA Sports website. I'm a longtime player of Madden NFL, and am also a regular contributor to several Madden NFL forums. Most strategy questions that a beginner player would have (you see them all the time in the forums) is simply not covered in this book. The Madden NFL series is one of best selling video games in the world. IT is also one of the most complex and thought-provoking games available. I would imagine that a comprehensive strategic guide would be an excellent addition to this game. Sadly, this Strategic Guide is simply not it.
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