Madden has been dominating the football game market for the past 20 years. EA Games has now released the first version of Madden for the iPhone into the App Store. Now there is quite a rivalry between Madden 10 and NFL2010 and gamers face a tough decision.
From a visual standpoint, Madden delivers, but not exactly with the precision we had hoped for. Everything looks a bit old-school like the graphics of consoles of days gone by. Yet, for the iPhone they look standard. You’ll quickly recognize that the original John Madden comments and helmet-to-helmet crash audio effects are all included in this iPhone version of the game. If you don’t like the included music tracks, you can play your own selection from your iPod library. All the controls in Madden 10 work great and a variety of options are available on demand.
Multiplayer should be included in a future update, as well as roster updates, which will add a lot to the game. Replay value is huge. After all, it’s a Madden football game. You know you’ll be playing it until the next one comes out. It is comparable to Gameloft’s NFL2010, though each offers a great gaming experience and some attributes that the other lacks. If you can afford it, you might want to go ahead and get both. Madden 10 rolls into the app store at the expected $9.99 and will likely remain that way for most of the season. Madden hauls in a solid 4-Star touchdown pass, taking this grudge match against rival NFL2010 into OT.
Being released as the first full-featured football game for the iPhone, NFL2010 by Gameloft is designed to deliver. Of course, Madden 10 will be the title all comparisons are made by. Yet, in our reviewing NFL2010, we were excited to see it holds up and stands tall against its 20-year-old rival.
NFL2010 definitely sports a wow-factor in the graphics department. Actually, this is the closest to Madden we’ve experienced. We liked the sounds too. You’ll enjoy responsive controls and notice that they are all well honed. Some functionality does feel to be missing as we don’t quite feel we have total control over the plays. Sometimes, we get the feeling we are simply watching them happen as we have set them up. Kicking plays seemed to give the most feeling of control as they allow for dual controls of aiming and power. We liked this scheme the most.
If this is the first effort Gameloft has made with iPhone football gaming, we’d say NFL2010 is a glimpse of absolute success. We won’t be putting down this title any time soon. When viewed in relation to Madden 10 and pricey console football games, the $7.99 price tag is cheap. A 4-Star rating is awarded this smash-hit title that impressed us through and through.
Chillingo has taken a different approach with Super Shock Football by basing it on the electric football gaming style. It won’t replace Madden 10 or NFL2010, but it does present some coolness with vibrating players and other additions that justify it as a worthy contender.
Super Shock Football is a visual masterpiece – we loved the 2D players all zigzagging around the 3D environment. The game presents a top-down view when setting up your players but then it rotates to an on-field angle for play watching. Audio effects are very enjoyable as you can hear the little men humming as they vibrate around the field. Crowd noise and whistling add to the entire effect of being in a virtual stadium. Every game control mechanism can be accomplished with a single finger. At the bottom of the screen you’ll see the usual stats like scores, time remaining, etc. These are a tad difficult to read, but they are not distracting from the game itself. A few options can be set like length of the quarter, and the number of players on each team.
Clearly, there are other games available for a more authentic football experience, but Super Shock Football is in a league of its own for nostalgia and humorous gameplay. If you don’t take this game too seriously, it is an absolute blast. Replay value is very high, as anything can happen and the eventual outcomes are so random that no two games will be anywhere close to the same. Chillingo has priced Super Shock Football at $1.99 for a limited time, a very fair price for an enjoyable experience. Super Shock Football is worthy of a 5-Dimple touchdown dance.
In just over a year, iPhone and iPod touch gaming has soared to new levels. As we planned these NFL video games for review, we had no idea they would all perform so well. Madden 10, NFL2010, and Super Shock Football all bring exceptional aspects to the table with the result being a major winner for mobile gamers the world over. These truly are some of the best apps we’ve come across.
Learn more about iTouch apps. Stop by Eric Meister’s site where you can find out all about free iTouch games and what they can do for you.
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