Arena Football

All I want do is throw or run with the ball and mash as many players as humanly possible in as many ways as possible. EA's Arena Football does all of that quite nicely.

But the actual gameplay feels like too much of a nebulous gray area between arcade and simulation, and both the presentation and the features set are lacking.

I have no idea why this title was even made. [Apr 2006, p.118]

The all-new telemetry system and be-the-receiver feature are interesting additions that enhance the fun derived from Arena Football, but they are not enough to push the game over the top.

Despite the fact that the game has a franchise mode of sorts (you sign free agents in the off season rather than holding a draft), this isn't the kind of game that you'll most likely play multiple seasons as you would Madden or NCAA unless you're simply a die-hard Arena League fan. The game simply doesn't have the legs for it.

If I only owned this game, I'd watch more television. [Mar 2006, p.102]

While the overall control scheme works well enough, kicking long range field goals through the notoriously tight uprights is far too simple. The limited playbook also gives the game a stale feeling and the half baked telemetry system fails to save the gameplay with largely unimportant statistical minutia delivered in eye-straining small fonts and obnoxious menus.

Sure, Arena Football may look and play almost as good as the pros (featuring all of the teams, players, and fast-paced fury of alternative smash-mouth), but time out here: who cares about the AFL? Oh, that's right-no one.

Online play is the best aspect of Arena Football, particularly if you've been turned off by the rampant use of cheats in Madden.