• Football simulation/action sports game.
• New storyline central in franchise mode gathers game events into news-story presentations.
• Create-a-fan feature lets you put your likeness into the stadium crowd.
• New Defensive Playmaker Control lets you modify pre-snap assignments for any defensive player on the field.
• Single- and multiplayer online modes.

From the Manufacturer --------------------- Force the action on defense in Madden NFL 2005. New defensive tools allow you to make more plays and be in on all of the action. The all-new Hit Stick lets you lay the big hit to turn the momentum of the game in your favor. With the new Storyline Central, you get the inside scoop around the league from radio host Tony Bruno, along with local and national newspapers, to help you make critical franchise decisions. With groundbreaking graphics that capture the real stadium experience, Madden NFL 2005 continues its 15-year tradition of innovation in video game football. Key Features: * New Hit Stick--Change the momentum of a game by making a huge hit or force a turnover. * New Defensive Playmaker Control--You are now in complete control on "D". Modify pre-snap assignments, including double teams and player-specific match ups, for any defensive player on the field. * New Storyline Central--Now your games are impacted by the stories that surround your team. * Enhanced Franchise Mode--Players now react to everything that happens in the franchise. * New Fan Presentation--Your team's crowd is now customizable with new Create-a-Fan. * New EA Sports Online--Take on the best Madden players online. Improved EA Sports Fair Play keeps the playing field level. The Top 10 Reasons You Have To Have Madden NFL 2005* Be part of a dynasty -- the biggest dynasty in sports video game history. Now in its 15th year, Madden is the standard by which all other sports games are measured. * It's the players' choice -- NFL athletes fight for a spot in the Madden each year, and who knows authenticity better than the guys that actually play the sport? * Gear up for the Madden Challenge -- the only national tournament that gives you the chance to win $50,000 for playing a video game. * Show your fandom -- with new Create-a-Fan, you can put yourself in the stands to support your favorite team, or create other rabid crazies that will rock the home stadium. * Hone your skills -- in Training Camp mode, you can learn more about strategy and practice the plays and moves that will lead you to victory. * Live the Storyline -- added depth to Franchise Mode includes Tony Bruno on EA SPORTS radio, talking about your squad and taking calls from fans, NFL coaches and players to make you and your favorite team the center of attention. * It's a work of art -- all new player models, environments, sidelines, cut-scenes and momentous celebrations make this the best-looking Madden ever. * Go online and play -- What other football game can you play online 24/7 and never have trouble finding someone to play? * Play both sides of the ball -- new defensive features make defensive play an equal part of the game, and now you can make the big game-changing hit with the all-new Hit Stick. * Cover athlete Ray Lewis says you need to play Madden -- isn't that enough? About Storyline Central Storyline Central is the new addition to Franchise Mode that brings the top stories in the NFL right to you. Now, instead of searching for news about your players, all the stories surrounding your team are delivered to you in three different ways: the newspaper, EA Sports Radio, and email. The newspapers in Storyline Central work just like the papers you read at home on Sunday morning. Every team in Franchise Mode has a newspaper from their local city that discusses only the stories that pertain to that team. In addition to the local papers there's USA Today, the national paper featuring the most important stories from across the entire NFL. Every week, you'll see articles about the game you just played, your upcoming game, injuries, playing times, your rankings on offense and defense, etc -- practically everything that happens in Franchise Mode can and will show up in the newspapers. The second part of Storyline Central is the Tony Bruno Show on EA Sports Radio. Each week, host Tony Bruno breaks down the biggest stories in the NFL on talk radio. The show feels just like a real sports radio show, featuring callers, player and coach interviews, trivia questions, and the occasional rant from Tony himself. There are 15 NFL coaches and over 60 different fans that call in, and the show is driven by events in Franchise Mode, so every team is mentioned based on the magnitude of the events happening to them. The third aspect is email. Each week, you'll receive emails about everything going on with your team -- email from players, coaches, general managers, the PR department, you name it. If a player is upset about his playing time, you're definitely going to hear about it. In addition to sending and receiving email, you can do a multitude of day-to-day tasks from the email screen. Depending on what's happening to your team at the time, you can use the email screen to check your gameplan, make changes in your depth chart, read last week's box score, or place an injured player on IR. But along with all the good comes a little bad -- player personalities. In the past, owners could have two or three Pro caliber players at the same position and never use those players. So to make it even more realistic, the game is now set it up so that every player, relative to their talent and age, will expect a certain a of playing time. If you have two amazing quarterbacks and one of them sits on the bench all year long, he'll start to get very angry, and you'll definitely hear about it. But just like in the NFL, winning cures everything. If you have a team full of angry players, make a Super run -- that should make the atmosphere in the locker room a little more positive. And finally, there's the new trade/free agency system. Trades are more realistic than ever before because we've added trades during the draft in the off-season. As was evident in April's draft, the majority of NFL trades happen during the first few rounds of the draft every year. Additionally, our off-season free agency system has been completely re-worked this year to make more like the real NFL, where free agents choose where they want to play based on salary and a number of other different factors. You'll see older players sign with teams who have a to make it to the Super , and you'll see younger players lean toward playing in large markets for the marketing exposure. Prestige is also a big factor in every player's decision. Prestige is affected by how you run your organization and how you treat your players. If you are always cutting players or putting them on the trading block, the rest of the players around the league won't feel comfortable playing for you. When it comes right down to it, Storyline Central is the most in-depth feature ever done in Madden NFL Football (or any other game for that matter) and represents the real NFL like never before.