A virtual season: the Madden and ESPN stories of the 2004 NY Jets

[talbain]

Quote: Originally Posted by seanmac

the personnel is close enough that I want to see what kind of results the two games produce when I use similar gameplans. Plus it just gives me a nice way to talk about the different elements of the games at length. .

Yeah i got the gist of what you were going for when i re-read your original post. sorry. anyway good stuff and i look forward to the updates

[RaiderKtulu]

You are a braver gamer than I. I can't play both games at once. I tried madden for a couple.. and while it's not bad, certain things threw me off with the controls. Then I go back to espn & try to hit-stick tackle a guy and get burned because there is no hit-stick. So at least for now I'm sticking with espn only. I do wish ESPN's create-a-team was as good as Madden's though.

[VanillaEps]

Bump, this is a great post. Keep it up!

[HMcCoy]

^ Ya..this thread kicks ***, and I hate the jets(Dolphin fan).

Keep goin'

[SEGA_LOYAL_FAN]

Great read keep it up.
BTW Jets suck!
Giants Rule!

Are you doing weekly prep on ESPN? Hell of beast feature if you learn it and use it correctly. From game to game your team doesnt feel the same when you start playing and sometimes forces you to use your second best players.

I also got to see that mysterious boost of speed DB's get in Madden not cool when the game does that IMO(it's still sort of like the "come back AI" in EA games). I'll keep abusing my friends Xbox to play some more Madden when i get a chance but i have no change of heart towards the gameplay/presentation the 2k series has offered.

[sjackso3]

I am also playing both simultaneously with the Saints. So far on ESPN I am 8-5 with the Saints and hanging on for my playoff life. I made no trades or free agent signings prior to starting the season. I had to get a scrub receiver off of the free agent wire when Stallworth broke his arm and went on IR and because of Horn's chronic injuries.

On Madden I had to make a ton of preseason moves due to the poor overall ratings of the squad. Moves that notwithstanding. I am still 6-7 and not going anywhere. Oh well, there's always next year.


Gameplay:

Madden on all-pro is very tough (offensively anyway). The DB recovery is overdone in my opinion. Makes it feel like the computer is cheating and penalizes you making a good read****nning with the Saints is an inconsistent nightmare. Maybe because the Saints o-line is average. The llinebackers act like they are all Ray Lewis.

ESPN has issues also. DB's ocassionalyy take dumb angle to the ball and miss int's but I guess that happens in real life but it can be frustrating. It doesn't happen a lot but they will totally blow a coverage every now and then. I like that better than Madden's db's that are just too good if that's possible with the make up speed thing. They get out of position too but they just catch up so it isn't as noticeable.

I agree about pre-snap. Madden has a ton of options, which I like. ESPN has a ton too, not as much as Madden but a lot. ESPN is easier for me to use but that's just my personal preference. I love Madden's franchise but sometimes it seems overwhelming. The menus are laid out better than ESPN but the load times suck. It looks like it loads everytime I hit a button.

The Saints are much better on ESPN than Madden. Games on ESPN seem more "organic." I've had a couple of games on ESPN where I was down by 14 in ESPN going into the fourth and I was able to come back. I love this. I've had games where I blew out the opposing team and games where I lost big to an also ran. On Madden I get down to a team by 14 or more late in the third quarter and it's over due to the super human defense.

I am not crazy about the "fake momentum" in ESPN. Madden is better in this regard. Madden however feels sluggish. Especially in the running game. The first Fever had this down cold. Why no one copies the original Fever's "quick and sharp momentum" model is beyond me.

Madden's models move smoother but ESPN's are gorgeous and have 50 times as many animations so I guess it's a matter of pesonal preference.

Franchise:

The weekly prep is way cool but the menus could be better. Madden on the other has a lot of cool mini games in preseason but I don't like the way it just works with one player at a time. Suggestion to ESPN. I love your weekly prep. Keep everything the same but make the position drills, scrimmages, and 7 on 7's "live action." If a user chooses them, allow the user to increase the ratings of the offense or defense collectively. For instance, 7 on 7 passing wher if Brooks completes 70 % of his throws the QB and receivers all get a pool of bonus ratings points that can be assigned as you wish. (ie, you earn 15 points after a seven on seven, give 5 to Brooks, 5 to Horn, 3 to Stallworth and 2 to McCallister or the TE).

Madden's franchise for the most part if fine the way it is. I'd like more dynamic player progression in season however. Still it has a ton of options and the free agent and trade AI is spot on. Someting ESPN is sorely lacking. The newspapers are a nice but I prefer SI in NCAA. Tony Bruno show is cool to have playing in the background. Also the owner stuff is very nice. I could care less about setting the price of hotdogs but relocating or building a new stadium is great. I would like more control over the finished product of stadium's design however.

Cool features in ESPN's franchise: I love how on ESPN if a team's focus and morale is poor they will underperform. Horn could be wide open on a fly route but if the focus is off somebody misses a block, Aaron overthrows him or he just drops it or something else goes wrong. This is how I got blown out by the Cardinals!!! I went too soft on them during weekly prep and we underestimated the opponent. Next week I kicked some butt. I challenged my squad and we upset the Buc's. Genius!!

The physical rehab feature is great too as I was able to keep Horn back on the field even though he has tendinditis. His rating fell from 92 to 67 but he is still my man on a key 3rd down when I need a big catch. However, he is so slow that he can't run past anybody. So now he's a possession receiver. Again, genius!!!

In regards to Madden, I find myself less interested in Madden's mini dramas with some player wanting out of his contract every five seconds. I mean it's okay but I don't like the emphasis on the individual over the team even in a video game.

Presentation:

No contest. ESPN is way better than Madden in this regard. Sportscenter, custom soundtracks in game, ESPN overlays on everthing, spot on announcing... I could go on and on. Madden seems like it still has presentation form Maden 2001. EA needs to work on this for the next gen.

One criticism however. ESPN needs to do a better job of getting the "details" right for the Saints. They invert the helmet stripe on the alternate uni's and they are still using the Saints old home turf. Not a game killer but it is annoying

Overall:

I am having more fun with ESPN "in season." I suspect that Madden will give it a run for it's money in the "off season" with all of the options it offers. Both games are great. But for $19.99 I say get ESPN if you have to choose only one.

[seanmac]

Nice impressions. On with the season:

ESPN Week Three: Jets (2-0) at Dolphins (1-2)
Final Score: Jets 7 Dolphins 3

NYJ 0 7 0 0
Mia 3 0 0 0

Jets Dolphins
9 1st downs 9
234 Total yards 201
170 Passing 147
64 Rushing 54
21 Pass plays 32
18 Rush plays 17
3 Turnovers 1
08:26 Possession 11:34

The heavens opened up and offenses were shut down for most of this showdown between bitter AFC East rivals. Miami opened the game with what seemed like a golden opportunity, as Zach Thomas stepped in front of Chad Pennington’s first pass and raced all the way down to the New York eight yard line. But the Dolphins couldn’t crack the Jets red zone defense, and the subsequent field goal proved to be their only points of the game. The only Jets score came in the second quarter, one play after a Ricky Williams fumble gave the Jets good field position, as Pennington recovered from his earlier miscue to hit Santana Moss on a 61 yard bomb that put the Jets up for good. The Dolphins made things interesting at the end, mounting a drive that reached the New York four, but Donnie Abraham jarred loose what would have been the game winning touchdown with a crunching hit on Chris Chambers, preserving the win for New York.

Impressions: I’m going to hold my impressions until after the next game, when I’ll add up the stats for the quarter mark and see how things stand.

Game- This one was very sluggish, whether because of the rain or because of my constant bouncing back and forth with Madden. AJ Feeley got the start, but he couldn’t do much. Dewayne Robertson had a breakout game, netting two big sacks in the first half to snuff out Miami drives. The ball ended up on the ground a lot, as Ricky Williams fumbled once and the normally surehanded Curtis Martin dropped two (one recovered). There was at least one instance of really weird DB AI at work, as Reggie Tongue was caught backpedaling while facing the wrong way, thus closing on the ball while keeping his back to it (but not making the play, whereas he was in great position had he been facing the right way).

Madden Week Three: Jets (2-0) at Dolphins (1-2)
Final score: Jets 24 Dolphins 17
NYJ 0 3 0 21
Mia 0 3 7 7

Jets Dolphins
272 Total yards 338
200 Passing 207
72 Rushing 131
35 Pass plays 17
17 Rush plays 14
0 Turnovers 1
11:37 Possession 8:23

Another storied chapter was added to this rivalry, as Miami engineered one of the late game collapses that they are famous for, surrendering 21 points in the last three minutes after dominating for most of the game. Despite strong efforts from Travis Minor (13 carries for 130 yards) and Jay Fiedler (12-17 for 217 yards), the Dolphins showed the lack of gumption they are famous for. The game appeared early when, trailing 10-3 with 3:06 left in the game, the Jets decided to go for it on fourth and goal from the Miami three and failed to convert. On the next play, Fiedler beat the blitz and hooked up with David Boston on a 96 yard touchdown that seemed to salt the game away at 17-3. But Chad Pennington was not to be denied. Operating out of an empty backfield (shades of Vinny Testaverde in 2000), and making use of the no huddle, Pennington moved his offense down the field methodically. He found Moss in the endzone for a five yard touchdown to pull within a single score as the two minute warning sounded. The Jets lined up for an onside kick and recovered it. The crowd was quiet as Pennington made his way back onto the field. Soon after, he found little used rookie Jerricho Crotchery on a deep fade that set up the Jets at the Miami seven. Then it was Anthony Becht’s turn, as he nabbed the equalizer while getting sandwiched between two defenders. On the ensuing kickoff, the ball was popped loose by a vicious hit and David Barrett scooped it up and returned the fumble for the winning touchdown with twenty seconds left on the game clock.

Game- Well, this was the most fun of any of the games so far. The summary pretty much gives a good idea of how things went. I would point out that the onside kick was very well done, as it got a nice, high bounce that allowed my coverage team to make a play on the ball. Great game.

[seanmac]

Bump. Just so I don't have to track this down later. I'll be posting the next week later tonight, hopefully.