Think back to the year 2004, a year that could be summed up as nothing short of a football gaming utopia. NFL 2K5 aside, EA's Madden 2005 set the bar for all successive iterations in the series. The game was the perfect blend of polished gameplay, solid presentation, and new and innovative features like defensive playmaker controls. Madden 05 had football gamers glued to their consoles for months to come.

Fast forward to 2006 when the now infamous Madden "next-gen" trailer was released, and the hype surrounding Madden's move to the Xbox 360 and PS3 was at a fever pitch.

Sadly, four-plus years since the release of that trailer, gamers are still waiting for a proper Madden to grace today's powerful HD hardware -- let alone a Madden anywhere close to that initial video. Madden 10 may have come the closest to delivering an experience comparable with Madden 2005, but it still contained too many gameplay-related shortcomings to be considered a true successor.

But ripping current-generation Madden for not including features that were included last generation is like panning the Xbox 360 for its "red ring of death" issue -- it is a well-known issue that has been beaten to death in the media. The real main reason why Madden has been a complete failure during this hardware generation can be summed up with one word: innovation, or rather lack there of.

Take a look at every successful sports franchise this generation and tell me what they have in common. They all have something new and innovative that they were able to add to the genre, essentially making sports gamers forget about past versions of the series on older consoles. The NHL series added analog shot mechanics and the EASHL; NBA 2K added dynamic commentary, My Player mode, and signature style; MLB: The Show added stunningly realistic visuals and dynamic presentation; FIFA added Ultimate Team mode and Virtual Pro; and even Madden's little brother NCAA Football added the revolutionary Online Dynasty mode.

So what exactly has Madden done? In short, the answer is not much outside of some shiny new graphics -- unless you count a half-baked online franchise, and online co-op that would have been great in 2005. Locomotion, Pro-Tak and analog stick running controls have all been nice additions to the franchise, yet it can be argued that none of these things have made an impact on the series in a way the features above impacted their specific games.

If anything, all these gameplay additions really did was fix previously broken gameplay mechanics, which just made the game feel as fluid as the PS2/Xbox versions of the series on the field. However, in a way that is fitting because this fixer-up approach seems to be the mantra for Madden this generation. Every yearly addition is essentially a bandage to improve a previously broken mechanic from a prior year. In the end, the ultimate goal seems to be to finally achieve the same level of on-field gameplay as was experienced in 2004.

To be blunt, it feels more and more like EA is content with the game's sales to date, and therefore the company is avoiding the true innovative overhauls that have made the NHL and FIFA series blossom in HD. It is difficult for me to believe that EA has yet to add anything truly innovative to its flagship franchise, and even more difficult for me to swallow the fact that Madden 2005 still offers a more complete gameplay experience than a game developed for a much more powerful gaming device six years later.

When I see a game like Backbreaker released, I only get more furious. How is it that a developer with fewer resources can deliver a revolutionary physics engine and change the way a football game is played? The overall product may not be perfect -- I could not stand the camera angles in Backbreaker -- but I have to hand it to a developer like NaturalMotion for being innovative. What's even crazier is that Backbreaker actually looks more like the 2006 "next-gen" Madden trailer than the real Madden.

To use the old adage, only time will tell if Madden is ever again worthy of its past glory. Unfortunately, as a long-time fan and supporter of the series, I am growing increasingly worried that we may never see the glory days of 2004 ever again.


Christian McLeod is a senior staff writer here at Operation Sports focusing mainly on football, baseball and classic sports games. Residing in Michigan, he survived Snow-Mageddon 2011 thanks largely to his addiction to NBA 2K11's Association mode. Follow him on Twitter @Bumble14_OS, talk to him on our forums via Bumble14, or challenge him on XBL/PSN at the tag Bumble14.