Mini-Game Tips

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more popular or pervasive football game on any console than the 15-year-old juggernaut Madden NFL by Electronic Arts. Now nearly old enough for a driver’s license, the series has appeared on every major game system since it debuted, and now that EA SPORTS and developer EA Tiburon have added full Xbox Live™ support, the best has become better.

Is that John Madden?

In case you’ve somehow pulled a Jimmy Hoffa and avoided the last decade and a half of Madden NFL domination, the latest incarnation, Madden NFL™ 2005, includes a set of mini-games designed to help you perfect your skills on the field … or just to enjoy some quick football action when you don’t have a time for an entire game.

Mini-games can be macro-frustrating.

Mini-Camp
Mini-Camp is practically a game in and of itself. Dozens of situation-specific drills are available (without the possibility of late summer heat-related health problems). As you build your skills and make high scores, you can use the mini-camp to unlock even more game situations—like the 2-minute scoring drive or a goal line stand—earn trophies, and of course, acquire those all-important Madden cards.

The ring’s the thing in pass training.

Mini-camp drills let you focus on a particular position, too. You can work on precision passing with your quarterback, who must complete precise, controlled passes through a series of rings (strangely enough, there’s a similar training mode in Harry Potter™: Quidditch™ World Cup). You can also have your linebackers practice the ol’ chase and tackle, teach your defensive backs the best way to swat down the ball, and do clutch kicking drills.

Clutch kicking offers variations of “it’s good!”

Rushing Attack
The setup for the Rushing Attack mini-game couldn’t be simpler. Two two-man teams face off on field, accompanied by a half-dozen tackling dummies. If you’re on offense, your goal is simply to score as many touchdowns as you can in the allotted time. The defense must stop you from scoring any at all.

Rushing: Four men enter, two losers leave.

Two-Minute Drill
Short on time, but itching to lay the beatdown on your favorite NFL team? Try a Two-Minute Drill, the epitome of the mini-game. It’s the last two minutes of the fourth quarter. You and your opponent are scoreless. You’ve got 120 seconds to beat the other guy, which you can do for tokens (which unlock cool stuff in the rest of the game) or for fun, against a human player or the Xbox console. If you’re a Madden NFL noob, this is a great place to get up to speed on calling plays and the finer points of manipulating your team, and if you’re a veteran you can play around with the enhanced defensive options that make Madden NFL 2005 the greatest Madden title ever. Then you go out on Xbox Live and embarrass yourself, your entire family, and everyone you’ve ever known.

Two minutes are all you need to dominate.

Mini-games are only a small part of the pigskin greatness that is Madden NFL 2005. Start training those thumbs, because Big John goes online for the first time on Xbox Live this August!

By Ben Barker