Before we even get into this article, I want to preface what kind of football gamer I am. First and foremost, I look for a fun and immersive gameplay experience. I am not really a stat whore nor do I buy the college ball games so that I can import 4 seasons of data into the pro game. I just won't do that. I like playing a season or three with my favorite team, the Eagles. I was born and raised in Philly, so they are always my team, even when their stats are in the toilet.

In a nutshell, I don't need to know the temperature of my players feet when they wear Underarmor socks as opposed to Nike sport socks in an average December game in Green Bay. I don't need to have my players bitch about their play time nor do I want to have to remind them to lift a weight during the week. I understand that a lot of players out there love this stuff, but I'm not looking at that.

So that brings us to the 2005 season games. The playing field has been leveled over the years and now were down to only two very worthy titles: the reigning champ, EA's Madden 2005, and the steady upstart from Sega, ESPN 2k5. Both games feature some of the strongest gridiron action we've seen in years and both games have brought a lot to the table this year.

Let's just jump right into it. I'm not the master of all I survey when it comes to football games. I'm an average player, simple as that, and I'm going to give you the average player's take on these two games. Sure, there are gamers out there who can live off of a Madden game-only diet until the next year's release, but I'm not one of them and I think a bulk of the gamers out there are in the same boat.

This year was a little different for football gamers. Sega has quietly been building upon their initial success with the 2K series since it's inception on the Dreamcast. Visual Concepts showed that someone else can actually attempt to challenge Madden's crown ever since 989 proved they were only a one trick pony. Even though the series has been steadily improving over the years on an already solid foundation, sales have never even come close to Madden numbers. Sega decided to pull out all of the stops this year and release the game for the steal price of $19.99 while getting it to the shelves almost a month earlier than Madden's release.

The mighty EA had a couple tricks up their sleeve as well. First line of defense was the name itself. Madden is the 900 lbs. gorilla in football gaming and has been for years. Video game football was finally getting to where it should be way back when John Madden made sure that the game had all of the players on the field. I remember what a big deal it was back in 1993 when they secured all of rights to the teams, logos and names of all the players. Madden has history and this year was it's 15th anniversary, commemorated with a special edition release of the game complete with special features, including playable versions of classic Madden games and video featurettes.

Their ad campaign was brutal as well. The tag line for the pre-release web ads read "The REAL football season starts on ." They know they have a rabid fanbase who is dedicated and wanted to cash in on that fervor. Madden is going to sell millions of units even if the game is shit, however, there has always been enough competition out there to keep them on their toes. Case in point this year from Sega and their brazen tactics.

Out of the gate, Sega scores a win in the graphics department. Check ESPN 2k5 out on an Xbox with a decent television set and you have some damn fine looking football on your screen. Player models have a ton of variety and everything looks really crisp and clean. Even stupid little features like the extra point kick safety net looks perfect. I was actually annoyed that I was impressed by that friggin net. Helmets shine and the field of battle looks perfect. Many others have said it, and I'll confirm it, ESPN 2k5 is easily the best looking football video game to date.

I'm not saying that Madden is a bad looking game, in fact, it's fine. However, it just pales in comparison to 2k5 this year. Madden features slightly more generic player models overall along with a slight lack of polish compared to the competition this year. Madden does have some additional touches that the Sega game does not, such as the 'create a fan' mode where you can customize your very own 'super fan' in the stands. I also liked how Madden customized your user interface based upon your choice of favorite team. Since I picked the Eagles, the screens were all green along with background video footage of key players. Dump the butt ugly cheerleader though, EA. Sweet Zombie Jesus she was hideous. My wife even noticed acne on her head. Come ON!

ESPN 2k5 also heavily benefitted from the ESPN license which was used to damn near perfection this year. In game replays have a very tv feel to them with excellent screen wipes and very nice replay work. EA's presentation definitely feels more like a video game than a television broadcast. Some of the replays have an odd angle and feel to them that seems off to me. They're not bad, necessarily, but they could be better. The ESPN license in Sega's game pays off in other ways as well with in-game updates at the bottom of the screen just like watching a game on the sports channel.

The sound experience is a little mixed as well. I'm beginning to think that we will never see perfect commentary. I know it's tough, but sometimes it seems further away than it should be. ESPN edges out Madden with more relevant commentary, however it does tend to repeat a bunch which will be noticable when playing a season. As much as I like John Madden, his commentary is completely and utterly useless. It's just generic for lack of a better term. After a pick, the man said something along the lines of "that turnover really hurt, and the worst thing is, now the other team has the ball!" What kind of shit is that? ESPN still uses the same fictional due to call games since the first 2k games and they still do a decent job, they just need to try and flesh things out and also have a coach in the booth there to help the pronounce the player's names correctly.

Music in ESPN, aside from the ESPN jingles and SportsCenter themes, are horribly generic. On the Xbox you can remedy this by cutting imported music for use in the stadiums. That's a very cool feature for those willing to put in the effort. EA takes a different approach and is still plugging away with their "EA Trax" and have collected a slew of licenced tunes to play during the game and menu screens. Even though a lot of the music is decent, it doesn't really fit into the game plus seems pretty distracting overall.

The meat and potatoes of this meal is in the gameplay, and both games give you plenty to chew on. The best thing here is that both games are a damn fun game of football, each offering a couple different tweaks which should appeal to everyone out there. EA has incorporated a lot into the defensive side of the ball this year, culminating in a an awesome little gameplay mechanic they call the 'Hit Stick.' While chasing down the ball carrier, flicking the right analog stick towards him will throw a bigger hit his way. When used correctly, it will surely bring him down or even jar the ball loose for a fumble. Nailing a quarterback for a fumble is immensely satisfying with the 'Hit Stick' mechanic.

There are also a ton of pre snap options available on defense for the Madden players. It seems overwhelming at first, but it's actually not to hard to tweak your formations on the fly before the ball is snapped. Novice players probably won't bother with those features, however, opting for basic formations to do their job.

ESPN has probably my favorite addition to a football game in a long time. Finally, I have some real moves on the line. I tend to pick one of the front men on D and try to pressure the quarterback or stop a run from breaking through the middle for an easy gain. ESPN added some individual defensive moves that actually make it feel like you are doing something off the line and I love that. Sure... on the easy difficulty it makes for a ton of sacks, but the upper difficulty levels even that out. Either way, it's a very welcome edition to the mix.

Both games feature decent controls for moving the ball around on offense. Stiff arms, spins and dives are all there as standard issue needed to go for extra yards. I felt more comfortable with the ESPN controls overall. They just felt a little more intuative to me in timing and execution, but that is most likely due to me having more playtime logged into the series overall, even though the game feels way different from it's predecessors.

I also liked kicking overall more on the ESPN game this year. It just seemed cleaner overall since they use a very basic and classic method for kicking. Madden uses a method similar to a lot of golf games, with a power setting on the way up and then an 'accuracy' arc on the way back to hit. I'm a fan of the simpler execution of kicking. It's not too hard to get the hang of the Madden setup, but the accuracy arc in the kicking controls open you up for a lot more randomness that doesn't need to be there.

Madden and EA also serve up a lot of extras this year, although the collector's edition of Madden is where some fun features live that aren't in the standard edition. I dig the historical games present on the Madden disc that feature the current roster of players. Sure, it's not very practical to go back, but playing the 16-bit version of Madden did bring back some nice memories. Also on the Madden collector's disc are some behind the scenes videos as well as a trivia game for the hardcore fans. The regular game of Madden has a lot of features people have come to expect such as the unlockable cards which also provide some cheats here and there. A neat little 'toy' feature that EA included was the ability to create your team's 'Super Fan' with a reasonably weak create-a-character mode.

ESPN features the return of some features such as the first person mode, which is an interesting experiment as well as the crib which has been expanded a bit for those of us get addicted to collecting crap. One of the best innovations in the ESPN game is the "VIP" data that the game collects on a gamer. Your tendancies and style are all recorded in this file that you can actually trade with people online and face their VIP settings if you are trying to scout the top players and challenge them online. However, the VIP addition was used for a heinous purpose already. I was playing the game and all of the sudden I saw a message pop up saying that there was a phone call in my 'Crib.' Here, the phone call was from Jamie Kennedy and he wanted to play me in a game. Supposedly, ESPN NFL 2k5 contains VIP profiles from 'celebrities' like Steve-O, Carmen Electra, etc. As you play the game, you are taunted with little sound bites from the 'star' while a little box with their face pops up on the bottom of the screen. It's pretty lame and hopefully won't show up again.

Madden has a lot of nice online features for the PS2 at least. Sony should just hand over their online services to EA to completely manage. EA even allows for players to log into their own little section of the EA Sports website for stat tracking and scouting reports for other players. It's very slick overall. In game, everything plays real smooth, and EA has instituted some 'Fair Play Rules' which are designed to help even the playfield and keep people from playing unrealistic ball. For example, you're just flat out not allowed to go for it on fourth down unless the game is really close and it's in the fourth quarter. While I can completely understand the how and why, a couple little tweaks should be instituted. I was caught a few times on fourth and inches close to the red zone where probably most NFL coaches would just hammer in the first down with a short running play. A simple addition of giving you limited number of tries on fourth down. "A" for effort in trying to curtail cheap players though. I also like how they let the voice chat continue after the game. I was a little worried it would cut off right away like it did in NFL Street's online mode.

When all is said and done, I have to give my personal nod to ESPN this year. Especially when you factor in the starting price point of $19.99, the value from the title is insane. Both games will provide anyone looking for a good solid football a great time, however, the average gamer will probably take a shine to ESPN's overall graphical sheen compared to Madden. I also tended to enjoy the gameplay more when playing ESPN, even though both games do offer a solid gameplay experience. I just had more fun when playing ESPN overall. The use of license and features made for an excellent NFL experience which I'm sure anyone could enjoy.