Re: Only 2 1/2 Weeks to EA Access and No Gameplay... Concerned?
1) Madden has "looked" vaguely the same for years...the only time the game is a HUGE visual leap anymore is when a generation leap occurs. This was not always the case...back in the PS2 generation, there was a huge leap from '03 to '04 and again to '05 and then even '06....the capabilities of the game were having to catch up to the hardware and they were really getting better results visually every year.
2) Early game-play footage is a joke unless the person or persons playing are of the exact same persuasion and style as yourself...case in point the nonsense that DID make it out of EA Play with clowns running 4 verts and heaving up bombs was a total waste of bandwidth to me while I am sure others found it very interesting.
3) Most of the features that are advertised that excite me - coaching adjustments, ID the Mike, Line play, WR/DB interactions - that is almost impossible to see in gameplay unless the on-screen cues are shown AND the person capturing the video commentates on EXACTLY what they were trying so you could see it yourself in real time...if someone is trying to use coaching adjustments to go for more strips or fumbles and they don't get it or nothing appears on screen because the other player goes down or OB without taking a hit...does that mean the game is "broken" or does it mean the mechanic is situational and that you can't see it in a 5 minute clip montage video?
4) Madden is Madden. The field view and gameplay camera is tweaked and the ZOOM and All 11 cameras change subtly each year, but the standard is the same as it was all the way back in the beginning - the "god" camera of seeing the whole field and the ESP-like ability to move WRs to specific animations instead of route-based passes and timing as the default.
5) That means despite all the other things that slightly alter the game play and the on-field results - as far as what was "money" in the previous game and is now "locked down"...the overall experience of playing Madden is a known quantity and it is NOT changing fundamentally this year any more than it last year or any of the previous 5...the next "real" change? Whenever PS5 gets announced and a game is developed for it...and even then? The game is what it is and it is going to play just like previous versions...the only thing amazing after all these years? The fact that people seem to always say the exact same things and never pick up on it.
The only thing that can fundamentally CHANGE Madden gameplay is a total revamp of the passing mechanics and that would take away from the thing that most of their 7 million customers like...namely being able to throw for 350 yards and 5 TDs in a game that has 16 minutes of actual timed plays instead of 60. For all the realism and desires that get listed here year after year after year, decade after decade now, the basic game of Madden is the same as it was on the Sega Genesis once they removed the 3 passing windows.
QB drops in the NFL are timed to WR routes and route combos. On the 3rd step, if a slant is called as the primary target, that ball is coming out as soon as the QB's back foot hits the field...on deeper routes, like 15-yard dig route, the full 7-step drop and step-up into the pocket may be required...higher risk, higher reward potential, but also a huge increase in degree of difficulty. Madden cannot even come close to replicating this....and the things it DOES allow, year after year after year (scrambling around 10-15 yards behind the LOS, throwing passes that the target cannot see yet CAN react to and slide into or morph into a catch animation?) are totally ridiculous.
All of that said, Madden is not football the same way FIFA is not Soccer or NHL is not hockey or NBA is not basketball. It is what it is and no more or no less. Seeing other people play it - whether today, or next Thursday or on the 22nd - will not change that. It's a $60 game that many people play for 9-10 months in a year, some even year-round...but it is not moving towards more realism until the camera view and the passing mechanics are ripped out, rewritten and completely changed. That much I KNOW is not in M18, so my decision to have already bought the GOAT edition on download was not based on some great advance in Madden...it was simple...I like to play with the largest possible base of players and that is no longer possible on M17 today and in 3 weeks it would be far worse.
So bring on Madden 18, with or without videos or other people playing it...I know the basics of what to expect, all that's really left is to see how much the options impact results this year and how long it takes for the online and H2H communities to tear it apart with glitches and money plays and more....but the best 2-3 weeks of the year (those FIRST 2-3 weeks after release) they are coming soon!
1) Madden has "looked" vaguely the same for years...the only time the game is a HUGE visual leap anymore is when a generation leap occurs. This was not always the case...back in the PS2 generation, there was a huge leap from '03 to '04 and again to '05 and then even '06....the capabilities of the game were having to catch up to the hardware and they were really getting better results visually every year.
2) Early game-play footage is a joke unless the person or persons playing are of the exact same persuasion and style as yourself...case in point the nonsense that DID make it out of EA Play with clowns running 4 verts and heaving up bombs was a total waste of bandwidth to me while I am sure others found it very interesting.
3) Most of the features that are advertised that excite me - coaching adjustments, ID the Mike, Line play, WR/DB interactions - that is almost impossible to see in gameplay unless the on-screen cues are shown AND the person capturing the video commentates on EXACTLY what they were trying so you could see it yourself in real time...if someone is trying to use coaching adjustments to go for more strips or fumbles and they don't get it or nothing appears on screen because the other player goes down or OB without taking a hit...does that mean the game is "broken" or does it mean the mechanic is situational and that you can't see it in a 5 minute clip montage video?
4) Madden is Madden. The field view and gameplay camera is tweaked and the ZOOM and All 11 cameras change subtly each year, but the standard is the same as it was all the way back in the beginning - the "god" camera of seeing the whole field and the ESP-like ability to move WRs to specific animations instead of route-based passes and timing as the default.
5) That means despite all the other things that slightly alter the game play and the on-field results - as far as what was "money" in the previous game and is now "locked down"...the overall experience of playing Madden is a known quantity and it is NOT changing fundamentally this year any more than it last year or any of the previous 5...the next "real" change? Whenever PS5 gets announced and a game is developed for it...and even then? The game is what it is and it is going to play just like previous versions...the only thing amazing after all these years? The fact that people seem to always say the exact same things and never pick up on it.
The only thing that can fundamentally CHANGE Madden gameplay is a total revamp of the passing mechanics and that would take away from the thing that most of their 7 million customers like...namely being able to throw for 350 yards and 5 TDs in a game that has 16 minutes of actual timed plays instead of 60. For all the realism and desires that get listed here year after year after year, decade after decade now, the basic game of Madden is the same as it was on the Sega Genesis once they removed the 3 passing windows.
QB drops in the NFL are timed to WR routes and route combos. On the 3rd step, if a slant is called as the primary target, that ball is coming out as soon as the QB's back foot hits the field...on deeper routes, like 15-yard dig route, the full 7-step drop and step-up into the pocket may be required...higher risk, higher reward potential, but also a huge increase in degree of difficulty. Madden cannot even come close to replicating this....and the things it DOES allow, year after year after year (scrambling around 10-15 yards behind the LOS, throwing passes that the target cannot see yet CAN react to and slide into or morph into a catch animation?) are totally ridiculous.
All of that said, Madden is not football the same way FIFA is not Soccer or NHL is not hockey or NBA is not basketball. It is what it is and no more or no less. Seeing other people play it - whether today, or next Thursday or on the 22nd - will not change that. It's a $60 game that many people play for 9-10 months in a year, some even year-round...but it is not moving towards more realism until the camera view and the passing mechanics are ripped out, rewritten and completely changed. That much I KNOW is not in M18, so my decision to have already bought the GOAT edition on download was not based on some great advance in Madden...it was simple...I like to play with the largest possible base of players and that is no longer possible on M17 today and in 3 weeks it would be far worse.
So bring on Madden 18, with or without videos or other people playing it...I know the basics of what to expect, all that's really left is to see how much the options impact results this year and how long it takes for the online and H2H communities to tear it apart with glitches and money plays and more....but the best 2-3 weeks of the year (those FIRST 2-3 weeks after release) they are coming soon!
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