Five Greatest Madden NFL Games of All Time
With an new edition of the amazing John Madden simulation football series released, it’s important to express the amount of gratitude and cultural impact this video game has had on today’s society.
Starting in 1988 as a arcade like football game called “John Madden Football” has continued on for 34 years plus, establishing itself as one of the most successful sports video game franchises ever thanks to the man himself, John Earl Madden.
John sadly passed away in 2021 at the age of 85 years old and his impact in football is still felt to this today, mostly thanks to his contributions and explanations of how the game of football is played.
With today’s article, we hope to showcase the greatness of the video game series he helped create and honor his legacy as the great man he was, this is for America’s favorite football coach.
Honorable Mention: Madden NFL 12
Released on August 30th 2011, Madden 12 continues to be a underrated game when talked about in Madden football circles.
Innovative game features such as Free agent bidding and cut day for franchise mode, new tackling system, and dynamic player performance showcased the new future generation of Madden going forward.
This game is one of my personal favorites in the game’s history. But is largely discredited for having Peyton Hillis on the cover of that year’s game, which most fans of the game universally agree that he is the worst athlete to ever make the cover.
Release Date: August 30, 2011
Cover Athlete: Cleveland Browns RB/FB Peyton Hillis
IGN Score: 8 out of 10 stars
Game Awards: N/A
5. Madden NFL 06
New features like Superstar mode where you can pick your parents, to QB vision so that you’re able to feel immersed as a real NFL quarterback, Madden 06 took advantage of it’s competition and released the most in-depth franchise mode of it’s time till Madden 11 came out years later.
Release Date: August 8, 2005
Cover Athlete: Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb
IGN Score: 8.5 out of 10 stars
Game Awards: Spike TV’s VGX Award for Best Team Sports Game (2005)
4. Madden NFL 03
With the improvements of play mechanics and graphics on a scale never before seen in sports games, Madden 03 set the standard for sports simulation at the time of it’s release.
IGN writer Aaron Boulding described the game perfectly when stating “Madden NFL 2003 is a can’t-miss because it accurately simulates NFL gameplay, NFL commentary, NFL uniforms, NFL stadiums and NFL players and that’s what football gamers are looking for.”
Release Date: August 12, 2002
Cover Athlete: St. Louis Rams RB Marshall Faulk
IGN Score: 9.1 out of 10 stars
Game Awards: 4Players Best Xbox Sports Game of the Year (2002)
3. Madden NFL 11
Personally, Madden 11 is my favorite game of the series. A beautiful love letter of sorts to football fans everywhere is the perfect way to describe the game.
New features like a new kicking meter, new audible system, and an improved locomotion animation system, while even being able to meet then president Barack Obama when your team wins the Super Bowl, made Madden 11 a daring and exciting game. It massively paid off.
And the soundtrack is probably the best of the series, there’s was no better feeling than listening to Guns N’ Roses “Welcome to the Jungle” after getting home from school, this is a game any football fan will fall in love with.
Release Date: August 6, 2010
Cover Athlete: New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees
IGN Score: 8 out of 10 stars
Game Awards: NAVGTR Award for Best Game in a Sports Sequel (2011)
2. Madden NFL 04
Two words define this game: Michael Vick! – The most overpowered video game character in the history of sports simulation!
Madden 04 also created owner mode, allowing the player to control a NFL franchise, a feature still used in today’s games of Madden NFL. You could control everything from hot dog prices to hiring and firing coaching staff.
The Playmaker feature, which was created for Madden 04 and still used to this day in modern Madden games, allows players to make in game adjustments which making plays.
It’s one of the best games in the series, as Madden 04 won the video game of the year award for 2002, the first & only time during that’s happened in the video game series history.
Release Date: August 12, 2003
Cover Athlete: Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick
IGN Score: 9.4 out of 10 stars
Game Awards: Spike TV’s VGX Award for Game of the Year (2003)
1. Madden NFL 05
The first video game I ever played was Madden 05. It’s easily the best aged game of the madden football series, I was lucky to be born in a very fun time of gaming!
The Ray Lewis cover with a pissed off Lewis staring at the gamer is so iconic, a game that showcased a new feature called the hit stick, allowing a player to knock out the other on defense.
Madden 05 is the backbone of the football series, mainly due to it’s storyline central for the game franchise mode, that allowed the player to create every player’s story, each player’s personality, wants, desires, and problems.
Even the new “create-a-fan” feature, that allowed you to make fans you would be able to see at every game for the season going forward.
Madden 05 was not only industry changing for it’s time, but it still affects football games to this day, it’s the greatest and most realistic football simulator ever made.
Release Date: August 9, 2004
Cover Athlete: Baltimore Ravens LB Ray Lewis
IGN Score: 9.5 out of 10 stars
Game Awards: Spike TV’s VGX Award for Best Team Sports Game (2004)
