Vibe.com, March 31st, 2006
So before the arena football madness gets out of hand, EA Sports snatched up the license and created the first arena league game. The game features the same calls and plays used in the AFL, great scouting options and all the AFL teams and players. But can this even stand next to the Madden and NCAA Football powerhouses?
Audio/Visual: The audio is pretty simple. There aren’t any game commentators, just an arena announcer calling out the names of players who made plays. The crowd noise sounds pretty good, as if it was actually recorded from a real AFL game. The music is mostly rock, but on the Xbox version you have the custom soundtrack option. Graphic-wise, the game is decent but really doesn’t hold a candle to Madden or NCAA Football. At times it looks kind of blocky and cartoony, but the animations still look pretty good, especially when some dude is getting waxed over a wall.
Controls: The controls are similar to EA football games. The major difference is in the kicking game where you use the right analog button to wind up and kick the ball, kind of like the way you swing in most golf games. For the most part, the controls are real simple to get the hang of for everyone.
Hotness: It’s real easy to score. Anyone can master this game and score a touchdown every time the touch the ball. If you like high-scoring, nothing but pass plays and hard hits, this one’s for you.
Wackness: You can’t run at all. Basically the whole running game, the plays and running back is practically useless.
