Ever wanted to play American Football but been to afraid to be called a ponce for wearing all those protective pads? Well then fear no more as Madden NFL 2005 is heading to the Nintendo DS in full 3D mode. Now you can leave the house and play American Football wherever you wish, and this time your friends will be jealous.

Madden 2005 is the latest in the long line series of Madden games from EA, this to be the first to be made for the DS. Not only that but it is the first handheld version to ever be made into 3D. The graphics are not the most impressive ever seen (although do roughly resemble N64 type graphics) on the Nintendo DS, but who is looking at graphics when you're caught up in the intensity of a game? The player models do seem to appear quite on the bulky side, so unless all NFL players have once been the world's strongest man then it would suggest that EA dropped a few polygons in aid of keeping the motion fluid as ever, especially as both screens show the action, just in two different ways.

 

During a game, all of the main action appears on the top screen, this is the important one if you want to win anything, but while the play has stopped the bottom screen becomes vitally important as you decide your next play. The plays are shown in their usual manor like the GameCube version, but once the play has been selected, the small X's and O's remain on the screen showing you and you alone the play you have selected. If you're like me and tend to forget the play you have chosen, this is a very handy option, especially when the ball has been passed back, all the motion is shown on the bottom screen showing you where your receivers and runners are. As said, vitally important.

Much like the console version, the Instant Replay is great fun for showing off an impressive touchdown to your friends or to repeatedly show the world's most deadly tackle. Usually this is much more fun than showing back the touchdowns, for obvious reasons; we're sick. It is indeed very nice to see a part of the Madden series ported to a handheld and made into full 3D, blocky or not, we can now only hope that the game play is just as addictive.