Retro Review: EA Sports Arena Football (Original Xbox And PS2)

In Australia, Football is known as a kicking game where the ball is mainly played on the ground (as in FIFA). Their version of running with the ball and passing (usually backwards) is known as Rugby. There is nothing wrong with these sports, but in America sports are differently played. Their version of Football is known as Soccer out here. Football is an extremely popular sport in America with a limited number of players in the highest league known as the National Football League (only 52 people make the roster for the NFL on a yearly basis, not including injuries or suspensions). When players don't make the NFL roster, they tend to go to other lesser known leagues to not only keep in playing shape, but also to get their best moments onto tv and videos so coaches of the NFL teams can potentially call the looked over player for a try-out. One sport these players turn to is called the Arena Football League. The Arena Football League has many various rule changes from the National Football League due to their limited playing field. This article isn't to break down any of their rules or say that either sports version of Football is better, but to give a review on EA Sports' attempt to bring Arena Football from the live event to the home video game systems.

Gameplay: EA Sports did an excellent job making Arena Football a fun game. It has similar controls to the Madden series, but with various changes for a more fun experience. One difference is with the Right Thumb stick Instead of the Right Thumb stick being used as a “Hit Stick” or a “Deke Stick”, it is used as Telemetry cones to see if any Offensive or Defensive players are tired or exhausted (a green cone mean the player is healthy, a yellow cone means the player is a little tired and needs a rest, and a red cone means that the player is extremely tired and needs to be put on the bench in order to regain stamina). Telemetry is a very handy feature because there are only eight players on the field and most of the players play all sides of the ball (offense, defense, and special teams). If you want to manually switch tired players out in EA Sports Arena Football (the game will switch players out automatically based on how tired a player is) it is simply done in the Play Calling Screen.

Presentation: The graphics are good for the game's time. The rules are reflected properly and the game shows you the limits of where the Jack Linebacker can be. The actual game reflects the running game is usually ineffective as the league is known for the passing game. The game is fast paced and you can potentially score on every play, just like the AFL is known for. The game also reflects the league's history by making multiple historic teams available to use once you do the milestone attached to the team (some milestones are limited to a single game as “Kick a 20 yard field goal” to complete seasons such as “Win the Arena Bowl”) With the positives but there are several errors to point out. At this point of the life cycle of the Arena Football League, games were weekly televised on Sunday Afternoon on NBC. In the game, there is only the arena announcer saying the play result, no one to give a back story or play-by-play of the game. EA Sports used a generic stadium guideline to use for every team, which includes a full endzone at both ends of the field. Every team plays in a basketball and/or hockey arena, and based on how the stadium is designed, some teams do not use a full endzone and have dasher boards between the field of play and the stadium seating. It was obvious that EA Sports didn't do their best work with the presentation value of the game and focused more on the game play.

Overall: Reflecting back on this game, it was obvious that EA Sports didn't think the game wouldn't sell well. Even though the game play is fun and reflects the sport well, the lack of announcers is glaring and the limited amount of arenas does not help the game's feel of authenticity. The rules are very well presented and accurate for their time, and the game is properly paced to feel more like an arcade game. I have been a Season Ticket Holder for the team in Arizona for multiple seasons (dating back to 1999) and remember when the game first came out. All the players I remember (and those I don't remember) are all in the game from the reflected season. The game has a nostalgic factor for me because I grew up watching and attending the games. Even though this isn't the best game out there for American Football, the game is a hidden gem for the Original Xbox and PS2. I would have given it a solid 8 when it first came out because of the gameplay. Upon reflection, I give this game a 7. The game holds up well, but the presentation factor brings it down.