On the fence

[2ndBase]

Ok, I'm on the fence. I can go either way for football. I keep hearing ESPN has better gameplay but there are not too many specifics of what makes the gameplay better than Maddens. Its great to have two games this close because it makes both games better due to the comp. But what specifically about ESPN's gameplay is better than Madden's?

[NYJets]

Things I like better is the playcalling. Call the right plays, against the right defense you will do good. Each defensive coverage feels like it should feel, and does what it should do. Madden it's more that certain plays will work a lot, and certain ones are impossible. The ones that work a lot will work no matter what defense is called. Also the game makes you pay for mistakes, instead of catching the ball in triple coverage. Both of those seem to have been fixed to an extent in NCAA though, so hopefully those changes carry over to Madden.

Those are the big things, also the inside running game in 2K is much better than in Madden.

Madden also does a lot of things better than 2K3 did though, so I'm going to try and get both.

[MuffinMcFluffin]

Twice as many animations, good running both outside AND INSIDE the blockers, not too much momentum, good realistic scores if sliders are tuned properly, good fun to play stuff with good fluid animations and graphics, really gotta have good strategy to get by the CPU, smart DB this year, realistic blocking covering around the QB, gang tackles and sideline catches, challenges and 6 options to choose from, great cut-scenes of the crowd, players, the coach, etc., TERRIFIC commentary (you probably will hear something new every other time you turn on the system and play this game... Dan and Peter have very good chemistry working together), similar controls on both offense and defense (on Madden X/A is sprinting on offense and Circle/B is sprinting on defense ), and there are just so many things that I could get into, but you would have to play the game yourself to see it all.

[sportsgeist]

It's kind of hard to sit on the fence when the release of both games are a little over 2 weeks apart. If I was a fan of a title and it was coming out first I would buy it and rent the other title when it released. After renting the other title and you end up liking it you can either buy a new or used copy and play both. Or if you like the rented title better trade-in the one you bought for the rented title.

[Fetter21]

[*]2k's run blocking basically makes Madden look like crap, and that's almost enough reason to get the game right there.[*]On Deffense I always felt like in 2k I'm a lot more in control, I actually have a say in what's going on, so that makes Defense a lot more fun than Madden where I feel like I'm more coaching and every once and a while I get the opportunity to make a play.[*]The playbook for 2k is a lot more realistic and apperently it will be even deeper this year that it was in the past, it's awesome to have pretty much completely different playbooks for each team, not just the same plays with a little variation between the plyabooks here and there.[*]Interceptions, the game will punish you, this is something most people hate, but something I love. Just like in the NFL if you mess up then the ball is gonna be picked off and will be going the other way, this is something that works both ways though since you'll get your share of INTs too.[*]The final reason is change, with Madden they do improve the game, but improvements each year are minimal at best. Sure owner mode will be a great new feature, but as far as the stuff on the field will 2004 really be that much different than 2001? I'm not convinced that it will be, they just tweek the game every year instead of making major improvements that they need. Get some roster updates and throw Madden 2003 in and pretend you're the owner and all of a sudden you've got Madden 2004.[/list]
I know both are great games, and maybe I'm a little too critical of Madden. Madden did an amazing job with their first title on PS2, but it seems ever since then they've been satisfied with what they had and not done much to really improve there game. Somewhere along the way Sega caught up to them in quality of gameplay, as well as passed them up in reality of gameplay. I know they don't want to make major changes that might scare people off, but Madden just has so many things that need to be addressed that they never get to. They know they're going to sell titles if they don't make many changes so I guess they believe why take a chance. Every year 2k gets better as they really try to listen to their critics and fans and improve on the series. 2k3 was amazing and 2k4 appears that it will be mindblowing.

In the end get whatever game will make you happy cause both will be great, but I'll be playing 2k4 and loving it.

[playerX]

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2ndBase said:
Ok, I'm on the fence. I can go either way for football. I keep hearing ESPN has better gameplay but there are not too many specifics of what makes the gameplay better than Maddens. Its great to have two games this close because it makes both games better due to the comp. But what specifically about ESPN's gameplay is better than Madden's?

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i'd go with ESPN, but why not both?

[Cardot]

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sportsgeist said:
It's kind of hard to sit on the fence when the release of both games are a little over 2 weeks apart. If I was a fan of a title and it was coming out first I would buy it and rent the other title when it released. After renting the other title and you end up liking it you can either buy a new or used copy and play both. Or if you like the rented title better trade-in the one you bought for the rented title.

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Or you can do the opposite. Be patient, wait for both games to come out and check out the zillions of opinions that will be on this board. Patience isn't always easy, but it can save you money. Besides, look at some of the NCAA fanatics who were so anxious for their game and have already burned out before the season even starting.

[MuffinMcFluffin]

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playerX said:

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2ndBase said:
Ok, I'm on the fence. I can go either way for football. I keep hearing ESPN has better gameplay but there are not too many specifics of what makes the gameplay better than Maddens. Its great to have two games this close because it makes both games better due to the comp. But what specifically about ESPN's gameplay is better than Madden's?

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i'd go with ESPN, but why not both?

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Because that's $109.14 right there, plus you will take up about 2,900 KB of memory (if you have a PS2) just for Owner Mode and 2K4 Franchise (if all goes as planned, NHL 2003 Franchise and NCAA 2003 Dynasties were 2,000 somethin Kb, so why not an expanded franchise?).