EA Sports is following up on the close of 2006's NFL football season with a timely release of its first AFL game. Hot on the heels of the Steelers win over the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL, Arena Football offers up more football to ease the withdrawal pains for grid-iron junkies. The AFL has been around for 20 years now, and its fan base has grown considerably in the last few years. Part of the appeal is that there are AFL teams in many of the bigger markets that lack an NFL squad of their own, like Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and in smaller markets like Salt Lake City, Utah and Grand Rapids, Michigan. The other draw is the unique way that Arena Football is played, with the rules leading towards high-scoring affairs filled with hard hits and constantly flowing play. It's too bad that the action-packed feel of the sport hasn't been captured with this release.

There are interesting characters in the AFL front offices, such as Philadelphia Soul's co-owner Jon Bon Jovi and Colorado Crush CEO John Elway; each far outweighing the players on the field in terms of popularity and raw star power. It would have been incredibly fun to be able to manage the teams as these figures in a decent franchise mode. Instead, you're limited to a single season mode, where management options are scarce. Your only actions throughout the season are the management of the injury reserve list, and the signing of free-agent talent to take the place of hurt athletes. You can start a season off with a fantasy draft, but without a proper tutorial it's hard to figure out the relative value of positions--it's quite different from what experienced fantasy football fans are used to. Here's a hint; after nabbing a top-tier quarterback, make sure to pick up solid defensive specialists in the early rounds; they're a prime commodity, and you need to start two at that position.

If you're not already a fan of the sport, Arena Football will make you re-learn all the things you've learned about the pigskin. You have a 50 yard field, with hockey-styled boards instead of sidelines meaning there's no stoppage of play until the ball carrier is either knocked down or over the wall. It's also Ironman football, with the same athletes playing on both sides of the ball. Receivers are able to make forward motions before the snap, giving them a good shot at getting a jump on their opposing defender. There are two linebackers, named the Jack and Mac, and only one is able to blitz the Quarterback. Your first few games may result in a slew of penalties, since you may be used to tactics in Madden or other football games that won't fly in the AFL. At the pause menu, you'll be able to watch video to learn about aspects of Arena Football that differ from other football games, but the videos are too small to get a real good view of what's going on.


Offensive play is what it's all about, and just forget about the running game; Arena Football is all about airing it out. Try as I might, I just could not get a solid running game going. Bill Cowher styled smash mouth football this is not; ball control just isn't a feasible option. The simplified playbooks bring home this fact. There are only a handful of plays to choose from, and every team runs essentially the same plays, letting the ball fly on nearly every down. You'll want to toss it towards your motion receiver fairly often, as they've got a great shot of breaking free of their defender. My drives usually consisted of one passing play for 40+ yards, or a handful of shorter passing plays followed by one-yard runs on the goal line. You're able to take control of a receiver at the line of scrimmage, an interesting feature in theory, but I found that running custom routes didn't work out, as the AI Quarterback would still toss it according the original play route. It's also not a good idea to rely on the Coach's pick when selecting your play--the selections are awful, such as running plays in third and long situations.