Madden NFL 18 Retail Impressions

[BigSexy]

Presentation could be a hell of a lot better, especially for offline CFM. Names of created players aren't said, at least to my knowledge. Jarvis Landry broke the single game TD record and not a word was said about it. Little to no team backstories are given after Year 1 in CFM. Super Bowl still features no Halftime show; I wouldn't care if they got some nameless blonde chick to stand on a stage while somebody said "And this was just a few minutes ago during the *insert brand name* halftime show."

I know 2K is the go-to when comparing sports games, but their commentating system was beautiful. You had Chris Webber, Kenny Smith, and Brent Barry alongside Kevin Harlan depending on where you played. If Madden could implement a regional commentating system, that'd keep the commentary from getting stale.

If Tony Romo could give a preview of the next play, that'd be amazing.

I'd also like to see a panel, similar to that of NFL on FOX or CBS. Get some retired players and coaches and a third party host to talk storylines before each game. Offense allowed eight sacks the week before? Talk about how their zone blocking can be tweaked. Defense had two touchdowns? Talk about how important it is to have defensive scores.

It doesn't have to be this formula, but anything's better than what we have now. I like Gaudin and Davis, but there's infinite room for improvement.


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[khaliib]

Quote: Originally Posted by BigSexy

Presentation could be a hell of a lot better, especially for offline CFM. Names of created players aren't said, at least to my knowledge. Jarvis Landry broke the single game TD record and not a word was said about it. Little to no team backstories are given after Year 1 in CFM. Super Bowl still features no Halftime show; I wouldn't care if they got some nameless blonde chick to stand on a stage while somebody said "And this was just a few minutes ago during the *insert brand name* halftime show." I know 2K is the go-to when comparing sports games, but their commentating system was beautiful. You had Chris Webber, Kenny Smith, and Brent Barry alongside Kevin Harlan depending on where you played. If Madden could implement a regional commentating system, that'd keep the commentary from getting stale. If Tony Romo could give a preview of the next play, that'd be amazing. I'd also like to see a panel, similar to that of NFL on FOX or CBS. Get some retired players and coaches and a third party host to talk storylines before each game. Offense allowed eight sacks the week before? Talk about how their zone blocking can be tweaked. Defense had two touchdowns? Talk about how important it is to have defensive scores. It doesn't have to be this formula, but anything's better than what we have now. I like Gaudin and Davis, but there's infinite room for improvement. Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

Good stuff here!!!

They do have the framework in place though with Backstories throughout CFM, it's just a buried mechanism due to how it's presented, placement and no audio.

The "Tweet" mechanisms does a decent job with the going on in your CFM (again no audio) through storylines.

Again, the framework is there, just got to improve on it.

Definitely pay attention to the Tweets leading up to the draft, some interesting storylines/Backstories of Draft prospects being presented (I've never paid attention to them until the other day)

Adam Shefer noted a 1st round RB dropping in the draft to "off field" issues.

Issue is (as I've noted in the Concerned CFM thread) that loaded rosters are not in line with the Draftee rating levels, so this programmed Backstory is buried on a Teams the depth charts and not allowed to play a role in the CFM.

- I'm creating a roster to be in line with the Draft rating levels so that the Backstories can have a role (3000 players is a lot)

[sccavs64]

Quote: Originally Posted by DeuceDouglas

This has pretty much been my exact experience. I think I'm on a run of at least 7 games in a row where there has been a non-offensive score. I started up a game against the Broncos a little bit ago and quit in the first quarter. First it was this: Okay it happens, whatever. Then they get the ball back and this happens: They kick the FG and then I return the ensuing kickoff for a TD. They get the ball back and I sack them on back-to-back plays to start the next drive and I turned it off. I'm over trying to make it work for now. Maybe later down the road but as it stands right now I don't feel like I'm playing football. The only semblance of defense is sacks and turnovers. It doesn't feel like the patch did anything to make players smarter or even better in coverage. I played a game yesterday where Marcus Peters got beat twice by Luke Kuechly playing TE in man coverage. Every game is high scoring and has a ton of huge plays. It's the exact same issues that led to me putting down 17 so quickly and this year has the added problem of QB AI. I really would like to start a CFM but when I sit down to play an hour and a half game I don't want to have to deal with that stuff in pretty much every game. Hopefully the next patch will touch on some things and I can get back into it but I'm about to take a couple weeks off because it's not enjoyable at the moment.

lol are you kidding me? Yikes, those videos are absolutely absurd. If Siemian stood there in the endzone like that and took a safety in real life, it'd be Paxton Lynch time immediately on the next drive. Please tweet those to EA.

Also, while it's not new to 18, but I hate that WR's who run quick routes just stand completely still like idiots for 10 seconds after their done running their route. Just move and find some space, most teams have actual plays for scramble drills if the initial play breaks down, and none of those plays involve everyone standing still watching their QB get sacked.

[RogerDodger]

Quote: Originally Posted by reyes the roof

I like what they're trying to do with the off ball injuries, but the injury system needs tweeking. There should not be an injury timeout and a clock stoppage if a player isn't down on the field. Keep the clock running and just have a notification pop up that says player X has left with an injury

The injury system much like the replay/challenge system need improving imo. I like how NBA 2k deals with injuries. I know which guys are susceptible to specific injuries based on accumulation or severity of previous problems and the injuries they receive are usually contextual and relevant to the action on the court. Madden should be the same. If there's a player on my roster who blew his knee out last season, I should know he's more likely to re-injure that knee and maybe it impacts how much time I play him on his return. Likewise, if I have a QB on my roster who has had a hand injury make it more likely he'll have another.

[sccavs64]

Quote: Originally Posted by RogerDodger

The injury system much like the replay/challenge system need improving imo. I like how NBA 2k deals with injuries. I know which guys are susceptible to specific injuries based on accumulation or severity of previous problems and the injuries they receive are usually contextual and relevant to the action on the court. Madden should be the same. If there's a player on my roster who blew his knee out last season, I should know he's more likely to re-injure that knee and maybe it impacts how much time I play him on his return. Likewise, if I have a QB on my roster who has had a hand injury make it more likely he'll have another.

This sounds great - But, sadly I don't think we'll ever see that. Mostly because it makes way too much sense...

[RogerDodger]

Playing on All Madden has totally changed this game for me. For the better I should add. QB movement for a start. They're still getting sacked but they're not just standing there. I'm struggling on O and D but in a fun way, not feeling like I'm being cheated.

[ehh]

Quote: Originally Posted by RogerDodger

Playing on All Madden has totally changed this game for me. For the better I should add. QB movement for a start. They're still getting sacked but they're not just standing there. I'm struggling on O and D but in a fun way, not feeling like I'm being cheated.

All Madden is great but the cheese started to get to me halfway through my 3rd season. The biggest issue is the CPU knowing your play and always calling an ideal defense. You reach a point where you call the opposite play of what you really want (run/pass) then audible at the line.

I also nearly blew a gasket when I had three FGs blocked in the 4th quarter of a game I lost by 3.

As a whole though AM is superior to All Pro mainly due to CPU QB play. If EA patches the game so QBs play well on All Pro then I'll probably go back to AP.

[RogerDodger]

Quote: Originally Posted by ehh

All Madden is great but the cheese started to get to me halfway through my 3rd season. The biggest issue is the CPU knowing your play and always calling an ideal defense. You reach a point where you call the opposite play of what you really want (run/pass) then audible at the line. I also nearly blew a gasket when I had three FGs blocked in the 4th quarter of a game I lost by 3. As a whole though AM is superior to All Pro mainly due to CPU QB play. If EA patches the game so QBs play well on All Pro then I'll probably go back to AP.

I was expecting to feel like All Madden was cheating me so I’m not surprised you’ve experienced that. I’ve steered clear of AM in past years for precisely that reason.