To be blunt, I’m not a fan of most football games. I think they mostly miss the point of the sport and poorly convey what it’s like to actually be on the field. They’re obsessed with glitzy TV-style presentation that just gets in the way of the action. Their controls are needlessly complex and get even worse for the non-lead platforms. However, the first Madden for DS holds a lot of potential to stand out from the usual quagmire of console sports. Due to the features of the system, it has to be developed in a somewhat different way than the rest of the series. The new hardware is a fresh slate to build upon, and it has a few technologies that could really streamline how the sport is adapted for gaming.

Does Madden 2005 for DS seize the opportunity? Too early to tell. The game certainly looks nice, with reasonably detailed player models and a dynamic camera that takes it way beyond what has been done on GBA. It looks more like the console football games, which is mostly a good thing, since it’s hard to represent this sport very well in 2D, especially if you want it to be exciting at all. The demo I played had no instructions or tutorial, so I had to figure out the controls by trial and error, and I wasn’t entirely successful. Moving your player with the D-pad works just fine; it’s pulling off all the different moves with the face buttons that can get complicated. The touch screen is used to choose plays before the snap, and you can also use it at the line of scrimmage to call a time out, line shift, or audible. Even if player movement is still complicated, it’s nice to see some of these auxiliary functions being moved off the face buttons. Instant replays are controlled entirely through the touch screen, which displays various camera movements and timeline controls. It wasn’t working in the version I played, but that seems like a cool feature.

The best news to report is that Madden plays like Madden, at least enough for a non-fan like me to notice. Runs are amazingly fun and satisfying as your blockers take out oncoming opponents. I couldn’t figure out which button catches for receivers, but the playbook includes a wealth of passing routes, and the actual passing is handled through an icon system as has been the standard for years in console games. On defense, you can expect some heavy tackles and chances to intercept. Special teams are also well represented, though not really any different from how they are handled in console versions of Madden. All of this should be quite a treat for Madden fans who want to play on the go…and wirelessly against friends, which may be the DS version’s biggest selling point. (It wasn’t available in the version I played, though.)

What strikes me funny about Madden 2005 for DS is what it doesn’t do. You can call an audible with the touch screen…but why not use the microphone and really immerse the player? You can easily choose plays with your finger, but is there a play editor that lets you draw routes with the stylus? I don’t know, but there should be. Anyway, it remains to be seen where this launch game will arrive with any frills or truly clever ideas, but from what I played, I do think it will bring the most important element: a solid game of football.