So I am feeling inspired to write this thread because I have been as vocal as i can without running the risk of being banned about the product EA has been giving us in the form of Madden football on this console generation. Madden 18 has been no different, broken promises, broken game play, legacy issues, missing features, fresh paint rehash again and again.
My friends and I had been talking about maybe setting up a ncaa football 14 online dynasty league....and as we are getting people interested I decided to set up an offline dynasty with updated rosters and a slider mix between JoshC and the Os community set.
before I go any further, I feel inclined to tell you all that I bought ncaa footballl every year...and i would play it...every year until madden came out. at that point i was 2 or 3 seasons through my dynasty and I had my draft classes saved and I didnt touch the game again. I dont think I ever played it much passed August, and i never came close to playing it as much as Madden. for me it was always about getting my football fix before madden came out and getting some draft classes.
with NCAA 14 it was no different, I played it until madden came out..and then when pS4 came out in November, i didnt touch my ps3 again. so when I played the game recently...i was completely shocked and surprised!!
THIS GAME IS SOO MUCH BETTER THEN MADDEN 18, and it really isnt close.
In fact...NCAA 14 gives so many features that madden just simply does not...and it blows my mind. im going to break down a few different aspects of each game and give you my thoughts on each and which game wins each.
1.Presentation:
MADDEN: the madden team has tried hard to get this right, yet they fail, commentary is finally decent, but that is it. the replay packages they show make no sense and are ugly and you cant hardly see whats going on in the play, the play calling screen takes up the entire screen and you cant even watch highlights. you can not feel the difference between home and away games or from regular season games to playoff games. their is NO atmosphere. EA own the espn license, yet refuses to use its tv package.
NCAA: I forgot how good the commentary was, but not only that, the pregame and halftime are so much better than maddens, flow better, not to mention the in-game breaks to check out scores from other games around the league. The ESPN tv package is used so perfectly. the crowd and atmosphere is extremely noticeable on big plays, and scoring plays and crunch time...the crowd gets so intense and i love it!! the play caling screen is on the bottom which allows you to see full replays above without anything in the way. stat banners pop up more frequently for different players and highlight packages showcasing a defensive performance or offensive performance (or lack thereof) show their faces also.
Presentation Winner: NCAA 14
2. Sliders, Penalties, Fatigue Autosubs:
Madden: Madden 18 continues its growing trend of sliders not working, or even not working as they are supposed to. This year they did patch in the qb accuracy slider to work after it didnt for 3 months after the games release. and even then you have to move it quite a bit to even see any results. several sliders dont even work, or dont seem to work as intended/we arent 100% sure what they do (pass reaction and coverage sliders) heck defensive holding is listed as a penalty, yet clint came out and said it is disabled...even for sim mode...because it isnt "fun". fatigue and autosubs still dont work correctly. so you have to end up having running backs have 30 carries a game.
Ncaa 14: maybe EA is using some old code because the fatigue and autosubs issue is present in this game as well, its the exact same. the advantage in ncaa 14 is the ability to have 2 different difficulties for offense and defense via sliders as well as having more sliders, and more sliders that work.
Sliders, penalties, fatigue and autosubs Winner: Ncaa 14-
both games arent good here, but ncaa wins with dual difficulties and sliders that actually work.
3. Franchise:
Madden: Madden 18 decided to leave CFM untouched this year besides draft boards. in a game that has the absolute worst franchise options as far as depth and content, this was their decision. we were thrown the classic "next year" line. when games like NHL, MLB the show, NBA 2k continue to give us extremely deep and fulfilling franchise options. their is zero skill or strategy required to run a franchise in madden. you throw your money at free agents, you can either trade your draft picks for talent or use the fairly easy scout system to find good players. no offensive or defensive coordinators, no coaching carousel, nothing in depth. even relocation is boring with the same prebuilt stadiums year after year and same prebuilt unis. like we cant even make our own unis.and the progressions system...based on xp...based on drive goals that dictate how you play?? someone needs to be fired for that nonsense idea.
NCAA 14. I totally had forgot how crazy this game was. every team has head coaches, offensive coordinators, defensive coordinators. and all earned xp based on team performances that could be used to unlock coaching upgrades in their coaching tree. the more upgrades, the better the coach, the better your players play, more recruits want to sign with you etc. adds a awesome in depth aspect that you can grind towards for several years, or go out and hire a coach with all that stuff already if you can get enough prestige. not to mention the recruiting was extremely well done with so much you can do each week before you even play your game. and we got teambuilder, where if we want to make different unis for a team or make an entirely new team...we can make them exactly how we want them!
Franchise mode winner: Ncaa 14 (its not even close)
4. Graphics:
Madden: Madden 18 introduced the frostbite engine to power its graphics and boy does this game look good, especially in 4k. the details are truly astounding as well as the lighting and the colors. It might be the bets looking sports game to date.
NCAA 14: obviously ncaa 14 was made on last gen, so its graphics do not compare to that of current console games. but dont be fooled, NCAA 14 graphics still hold up. is it on the same level as madden 18? absolutely not. but this is still a very good looking football game with tons of detail.
Graphics Winner: Madden 18
Gameplay:
Madden: Madden 18 gameplay has potential but it desperately needs a new engine powering it, 1 that works without needing a ton of bandaids put over it to make it look an operate acceptably. the game still gives you a sense of the game "cheating" to keep it close, plus robo qb, and a game that doesnt allow you to use schemes and football knowledge to win, its really about dice rolls and money plays. defense is ignored. no stunts or anything upfront on blitzs, we have zero control over how our pass rushers go after the qb. we cant contorl if they bull rush, spin, swim, anything...we have to play a button mashing mini game. (really EA...really?? what are we...8?) blocking is atrocious, the gameplay is so animation driven and its animations are lackluster. qb animations for audibles, hurry up, moving around in pocket and throwing on the run are pathetic.
NCAA 14: this completely shocked me. but I found sooo many things I been wanting to see in maddens gameplay...in this game!! for starters, when rushing the passer, you control it with the R stick, meaning i can control if i want to spin, swim, bull rush, etc and which way. i have complete control...and its so fun and amazing and feels great!! another aspect this game gets right is when calling plays from the line of scrimmage as a qb. in madden, every single audible gives us the "madden point" the qb literally just points at forward somehwere...for any change we make. lets change this route to an out route, point forwad, running back stay in to block, point forward, call an entire new play, point forward...like seriously madden devs...have you never watched a game of football in your entire life of what qbs do at line of scrimmage when making changes?? NCAA gets this!! qbs will turn and look different directions and do different animations. heck they will even walk over to both sides of their offensive line and shout out adjustments....its so beautiful and satisfying!i found an example, skip to the 1:30 mark https://youtu.be/kjFqZlR7vrA
outside of that, player movement feels better, their weight and movement just feels when controlling ball carriers. passing is so much better than madden, overthrows and misfires that look realistic, scrambling and moving around in the pocket that is simply beautiful. passes that are tight spirals, wobbles, ducks, and the travel speed of the football is more accurate and creates and allows for more variety of wr catch animations as well as db break on ball and pass break up animations. I have seen soo much that I havent in madden.
Gameplay winner: Ncaa 14
guys NCAA 14 plays great football, better than madden 18. it offers more depth, longer replay, a better and more true to life experience. more things to do. and a better feel while playing it. I simply could not believe what i was seeing and feeling while playing.
I honestly cant believe that we dont have sooo many of these features in Madden 18...but it hit me as too why. MUT. EA caters to the online competitive community. its their cash cow. NCAA didnt have a mode like that, they didnt have a special type of crowd they needed to build the game towards. they didnt have to try and build 3 different play styles and claim sim mode has penalites and then it doesnt...and remove defensive holding from the game.
yes the graphics arent as good as madden 18, but if you can get past that...this game with sliders. and the fact we still have a community putting out updated rosters makes this game better than madden 18. in fact until madden can get their ish together. I have found my football fix, I wont need to by 19 and be disappointed by a broken game with missed promises or comparing the year to year improvements and features added in other games such as nba 2k or even nba live!
if you guys havent. i am telling you....go pick up this game for your football fix!! i know so many of us simply buy madden because we love football and we have no other options...but guys. this game plays so great...so amazing.
its funny it took me 4 and a half years of crappy madden next gen gameplay to appreciate a game I barely played when it came out in july of 2013.
I would love any thoughts or comments you all might have! thanks!!
01-08-2018, 05:34 PM
