What makes Madden so great?  Is it the graphics?  The commentary?  The new music tracks?  Those things are great, and as enjoyable as it was to hear new music from Blink 182 and the up-and-coming band Yellowcard, the extras have had little to do with Madden's success.  The gameplay is the reason football lovers come back to it time and time again.  How do the developers do it?  How do they continue to develop a game that is always better than the previous one?

It's all about tweaking.  The developers couldn't possibly create the perfect football game in one run.  They'd make mistakes even if  they had 10 years to do it.  But if they had 10 years to make 10 Madden games, they'd get a lot closer to perfection.  That's what they've done and that's what they'll continue to do.

Has that same high-quality development been applied to the Game Boy Advance version?  Yes, but not without flaw.  The flaw is on the GBA's side of things, since the system is limited in polygon power.  (GBA can handle polygons, but it couldn't power a game that had 10+ polygonal athletes running around the screen.)  This forced the developers to use the same 2D graphic engine that they used last year.  This also means that the gameplay can't go too far beyond the standards of Madden 2003.  Still, it would be foolish to make that the focus of the review.

Football enthusiasts can rest easy knowing that the gameplay is still good in 2D.  EA attempts to add more dimension to the experience by having a camera that pans and zooms.  It's not the most spectacular effect, but it is pretty cool, and makes it easier to see and control all of the players.

The controls are much more intuitive than I expected.  Switching between players and maneuvering them around the field is easy.  It's also a lot less clunky than most GBA sports titles.  Receiving players are highlighted with the A, B, L and R button icons, letting you know that attempting to pass is as easy as pressing the button of the player you want to receive it. 

While attempting to pass is easy, completing a pass is a whole other story.  The AI is relatively smart, so if you're new to the game it'll take some time before you learn how to time passes and avoid interceptions.  Opponents (I like to call them "enemies") will surround the players that they suspect are most-likely to receive the ball. 

Want a variety of game modes?  You won't find the endless list that's featured in the console versions, but you do get most of the important ones: season, playoffs, exhibition, link play (for head-to-head gaming), and create-a-player.

Madden 2004's sound is pretty lacking.  Whereas the console versions had an incredible soundtrack, this version only features one song ("Action" by Blink 182).  As great as the song is, it's not all hear!  In typical GBA fashion, they loop the first half of the song.  The average instrumental music doesn't help the situation.  Neither do the sound effects, which sound like they belong on a 16-bit console.  (GBA is a 32-bit system, remember?)

When the last goal has been scored or when the battery on your GBA SP runs out (whichever comes first), you'll be left with a game that will pull you back in whenever you're on the go.  It's not the kind of Madden game that'll turn groups of gamers into couch potatoes (that's what the console versions are for), but it is entertaining enough to be your sports game of choice whenever an unexpected car ride arises.  That might suggest that this version is more suited for children.  That's not exactly the case, but since more kids bought a GBA than anyone else, and since kids are more likely to desire a fun time-killer, Madden 2004 is a good choice for them.  Diehard Madden fans of all ages will like it a lot.  GameCube owners can use the GBA cable to connect with the console version of Madden 2004 and unlock special Madden cards.  This gives them an excuse to at least rent the game.  However, I think most PS2 players will wait for EA to bring the series to Sony's portable game console, the highly-anticipated PSP.  All things likely, that will be the polygon-powered version we've all been waiting for.

Gameplay: 7
When you’re on the go, there’s only one sports game you’ll think about playing: Madden 2004.  You can’t stuff that big ol’ Xbox into your pocket, but you can travel anywhere with a GBA and its version of the game.  The gameplay is dated, but is not at all bad.  You’ll have fun and have the chance to increase your game-playing skills while going through the season mode.  Exhibition is a great mode for on-the-go gaming, and when boredom begins to creep up on you, try out the create-a-player mode.

Graphics: 6
For a 2D game Madden 2004 looks decent.  The characters aren't what I'd call detailed, and the backgrounds are rather plain.  However, the zoom-in camera effect is somewhat cool, and the animation is fairly solid.

Sound: 6.5
The sound is stale, except for the one and only song featured in the game: "Action" by Blink 182.  This song is a little different for Blink and corresponds with their mission to "experiment" and create an album that you'll either love, or throw in the trash (says Mark Hoppus, who spoke to MTV News earlier this year).  So far it looks like they're on the right track.  Look for it land on store shelves (and hopefully not dumpsters) on November 18th.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
There's a little bit of challenge here.  It's nothing major, but you'll definitely have to whip out a few of your pigskin skills if you want to complete a full season.

Concept: 6
Not much new here.  Just Madden in the second dimension.  Good, but we've experienced it before.

Multiplayer: 6
The multiplayer mode isn't bad, but it isn't nearly as exciting as the one featured in the console versions.

Overall: 7
Madden 2004 isn't one for the record books, but it'll keep sports fans entertained during those dull and boring moments in life (such as waiting in line for a PSP next fall).  The brighter colors means that, even if you weren't lucky or financially stable enough to pick up a GBA SP, you'll still be able to see the game pretty clearly.  At thirty-five smackers, it's not a game to rush out and buy (especially when there are other must-have GBA releases to purchase).  But if you're a diehard football fan and you don't have a portable version of Madden, you won't find a better football game to get than Madden 2004.