Madden 3DS: Taking The Gridiron To Another Dimension

Electronic Arts ERTS has traditionally been known as the maker of the deepest sports games. But among the company's portfolio of football, basketball, hockey and soccer simulators, EA has also released a handful of arcade-style games that ushered in new eras of sports entertainment. From NFL and NBA Street to the revival of the NBA Jam franchise, EA has repeatedly shown that it has what it takes to compete with the arcade leaders of the industry. But what many of you may not realize is that, in addition to all of those games, EA has also reworked the Madden franchise for public exhibition. This four-player version of the game has found its way into various bar/gaming venues, such as GameWorks (before the chain began to close) and Dave & Buster's. Just over one year ago, EA brought a home version of Madden Arcade to PSN and Xbox Live Arcade. And now, the publisher has brought it to the Nintendo 3DS. Officially, Madden NFL Football (the full title of the 3DS iteration) is not an arcade game. But under the hood, players will find a straightforward, pick-up-and-play experience that harkens back to the good old days of NFL Blitz. There aren't any late hits, and penalties are still enforced. But with 11-on-11 or 5-on-5 gameplay, simple (near flawless) passing, and the ability to have the AI pick all of your plays, Madden NFL Football is very much a part of its arcade brethren. The Depth Effect Without question, the first thing people will want to know about Madden NFL Football is whether or not the game looks good in 3D. The answer is a resounding yes. With the 3D depth slider raised almost all the way up, the game is instantly more immersive. You can see well into the distance of the football field. Every player pops out of the background, adding depth to their polygonal designs. After just 20 minutes of play, you will literally hate the thought of going back to a flat (non-3D) environment. This is not an exaggeration; after a couple games, I dropped the 3D depth slider all the way to the bottom to turn it off entirely. Suddenly, the game just wasn't as cool. It didn't seem as deep or as immersive. The gameplay content remained the same, but the visuals were somewhat tarnished. Is this a sign of things to come from the future of game design? Will 3D change the way we look at video games? It very well could. However, there are a couple of things that need to be noted. First up: headaches. Before launch, some game-specific websites complained that Madden NFL Football caused headaches and/or eye pain after just a few minutes of playing with the 3D features turned on. For the purpose of this review, I left the 3D feature turned on almost the entire time, and not once did I experience any discomfort. Second: ghosting. In addition to the aforementioned criticism, Madden NFL Football is also getting saddled with complaints of duplicate (but transparent) images that appear on the screen. Unfortunately, I have experienced this as well, as it seems to be a byproduct of the 3D presentation – not necessarily for all 3DS games, but definitely for this one. What I found is that Madden NFL Football, perhaps more than any other 3DS game, requires your eyes to be a certain distance from the system (about 12 to 18 inches in my case). It also requires you to keep the 3DS steady, or else ghosting and other split-image flaws will immediately appear. Part of this – potentially all of this – can be blamed on the system's maker, Nintendo. If gamers aren't tolerant of this, they are bound to have problems. As far as the issue of pain is concerned, if you have viewed 3D movies without issue, chances are you will be able to play Madden NFL Football without any problems. To be safe, never start a brand-new game – whether it's Madden or any other title – with the 3D slider all the way up. Start no higher than the middle and slowly slide it upward. Give your eyes a second to adjust, and when they do, you will be blown away by the level of immersion that 3D adds to this game. Individually Addictive With a full (albeit simplified) season mode, as well as the usual "play now" feature, Madden NFL Football provides a great game of football on the 3DS. The controls are excellent, the gameplay is super quick, and while the 3D visuals don't physically alter the gameplay, they definitely enhance the presentation, as well as the overall experience. That alone is enough to play Madden NFL Football. However, unlike almost every other version of Madden available, the 3DS edition does not include any multiplayer features. There aren't any online features either, making this a wholeheartedly solo experience. If the lack of those elements does not deter you from buying Madden NFL Football, then you will be very satisfied with this impressive, 3D-drenched package.