Arena Football: Road to Glory
Score: 90% ESRB: Everyone 10+ Publisher: EA Sports Developer: Tiburon Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 8 (Online) Genre: Sports (Football)
Graphics & Sound: If the XFL and that futuristic football game at the beginning of Starship Troopers had an illegitimate child, it would be EA's Arena Football: Road to Glory. Yes, its the AFL; the hard-hitting, fast-paced new twist on a classic sport. With a brand new, easy-to-follow set of rules including a clock that doesn't stop, Arena Football is determined to get the blood flowing. Arena isn't as graphically sound as its Madden predecessors, and being played on the PS2 doesn't give it much help. Character faces are fairly dull and boring, though their animations are smooth, with very little clipping. The crowd is nothing short of a few giant cardboard cutouts, moving en masse. On a more positive note, the camera work is nearly flawless, always giving each player freedom, even if his opponents aren't. There are no play-by-play sportscasters in the game, leaving only the monotone PA announcer to contrast the dull, unenthused cheering of the crowd. This wouldn't be so bad if the game featured some kind of in-game music, but, as we all know, this is an EA Sports game, and in-game music is out of the question.
Gameplay: The field is fifty yards, missed field goals can be rebounded and run back for touchdowns, late hits go unpenalized, and the clock doesn't stop. Yes, the AFL is new, which means its not for all the Madden fans out there. AFL games rack up scores near the hundreds, and NFL-Blitz-like hits over the wall are enough to make players cringe. The AFL is lined with intimidating team names such as the Orlando Predators and the Los Angeles Avengers. These are two among the nineteen playable teams in Road to Glory. The game only offers a small handful of play modes, but you can't expect too much from a lesser known league sport. You begin the game like other EA Sports football games by selecting your favorite team. Naturally, I would have to recommend the New Orleans VooDoo. After that, you have your choice of playing an exhibition game or starting a career. There is no draft in the AFL, so Career mode is nothing more than back to back games, with little options in-between. The game also has a Challenge mode, though they're incredibly simple to beat, and there aren't many challenges.
Difficulty: Because of the rapid-fire pace of the game, there is a lesser chance to use strategy to beat your opponent. Because the field is only fifty yards in Arena Football: Road to Glory, there practically is no running game, unless you've got inches to go. Also, there is only one defensive linebacker--the mac-- who can sack the quarterback, and he can only do it after the QB has left the pocket. This will take some getting used to for seasoned Madden veterans. The best part about this game is that the load screens constantly deliver the rules of the AFL, making it very easy to learn the tricks of the trade. The game also has both an offensive and defensive tutorial to bring new players up to speed.
Game Mechanics: Arena Football: Road to Glory's controls aren't too far of a stretch from Madden. The passing system isn't quite as in-depth as Madden or NCAA, though it does feature the all new receiver total control. You can take control of a receiver before the snap and evade your opponent until breaking free, upon which you can tell your QB when to fire the pass. While in the game, you can take advantage of EA's new telemetry system that compares individual offensive players to matching linebackers. This allows you to find weak points in the line, which really helps out for big plays. The kicking system is also brand new for Arena Football. Now, the strength and direction of the kick is based solely on pulling back and pushing forward on the right analog stick. Accidentally slip to the left or the right, and so will your kicker. The game's create-a-player/team is incredibly simplistic, not offerring many choices in the design of either player or team. Most created players look strikingly similar to one another, though I suppose it doesn't matter too much, seeing as how they're all wearing helmets anyway. Arena Football: Road to Glory is not NFL football. While the AFL is still relatively unknown, the game is definitely worth checking out if you're looking to take a break from other football games that don't really offer you anything new. Hopefully we'll see another AFL game next year with more features to draw in new fans.
-Crazy Kangaroo, GameVortex Communications AKA Josh Meeks
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