Madden 20 Presentation and Graphics Review

[ChaseB]

Quote: Originally Posted by loveinanelevator

Sideline to sideline it looks great. What stretches just outside the sidelines, is the stuff of horror and ignored in an article on presentation. Not mentioning the lack of refs in an article on presentation also seems like a fairly large omission. Presentation also includes the cameras, and the lack of any relevant editions to them. Custom cameras are probably a dream until next gen. At the very least give us the ability to make minor edits (Zoom/Height) like FIFA does. The defensive camera view needs some work. Would love to use it but I always give up far more big gains. Would prefer something farther away that zooms in on the action one a handoff or catch is made.

Fair enough on sidelines and lacking refs. The sidelines were a focus earlier in the generation for them, but it seems all EA games, probably due to the engine they use, don't have the memory to tackle it in terms of how they split out memory during a game. It probably is a programming thing at this point where they need to redistribute memory or just wait until they have more during next-gen. (And yes, I saw your videos below, and I also remember what APF 2K8 did as I'm someone who has pointed it out on this very site in past years.)

Quote: Originally Posted by Sheba2011

Overall I am pleased with the Presentation/Graphics, is it perfect? Of course not but it is much improved. There are some things I would love to see improved even further though including: Commentary: In franchise mode it is just okay. I hear too many repeated lines and one of the biggest problems I have always had with using real broadcasters is pace of play. They read/write their lines the way they always have, for a real NFL game so it sounds authentic. The problem is the pace of play in Madden is a lot quicker and you end up having huge plays that are completely missed by the commentary because they are still talking about something else. For years I have wanted Madden to just hire a few voice actors like 2k did back in the day. They can record many more lines of commentary and they can better fit the pace of the action. They never will though because they like having recognizable names. Jonathan Coachmen: He is largely a wasted opportunity. The halftime "show" is over before it even begins and still just looks and sounds like it was added in at the last minute. This is one area that completely kills the presentation for me. His commentary is often disjointed and robotic sounding too which makes it even worse.

I can almost guarantee EA has more hours with their guys than 2K did at the time. The voice actor line was a fair thing until they got dudes who live in-state. They have plenty of hours with the guys they have now, it would be an argument more about either how they spend the hours or how they implement the content at this point. In fact, I think your argument sounds much more like an implementation argument than an hours argument.

Quote: Originally Posted by Therebelyell626

After playing the NHL 20 demo, I can honestly say maddens presentation lags behind that game, the show, Nba 2k, fifa, and even wwe at this point. Competitive and MUT players just skip through the presentation elements so I doubt they will work on it anytime in the near future. Everything about madden is designed to be quick and get you through games quickly. Immersion and presentation are just not the direction they are focusing with this series.

If you go on the NHL forum, I think you'll mostly hand-waved away for this comment. I don't think NHL presentation is bad, but it's not very deep or anything, and the franchise mode is routinely ripped on as well in there. I'm not sure if maybe this is just a case of you not playing NHL as much as Madden, and thus just by default it seems better, or you legitimately feel this way while playing both a lot (both are valid opinions, just curious).

Quote: Originally Posted by therealsmallville

I wouldn't mind seeing the Good Morning Football crew doing a wrapup type show in franchise. I like how they're implemented in QB1, but it would require a hell of a lot more work for a franchise feature so I don't know if that's a possibility. I think another awesome feature would be bringing back something similar to the old Tony Bruno show, but instead use an in-house personality that you already have access to -- The Rich Eisen Podcast. I'd like to have this playing while I muck around in franchise menus, and to have it continue while I'm in practice doing drills and stuff. And with todays technology, it shouldn't get (as) stale as the Bruno show did. Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

As is stated at points in the article, I think hands down the biggest thing missing is anything trying to bring you more into the world beyond just what's happening between the lines that day. So I'm with you on wanting a show of some sort.

Quote: Originally Posted by El_Poopador

There's no reason EA can't implement a proper halftime/postgame show, especially with the ESPN license. It's by far one of the weakest presentation packages in any game. Even NBA Live has a full halftime report. As dead as the horse already is, NFL 2K5 is the gold standard for true broadcast presentation. Two console generations later and we don't have anything remotely close to that level of immersion.

I think we have had it in the form of NBA 2K and College Hoops 2K at various points, but if you mean football, then fair. It's odd to me that basically no franchise has tried to get back to the point that NFL 2K5 was at across every sports game overall. EA's NCAA Football franchise was maybe heading that way and College Hoops was close, but then both were canned.

Quote: Originally Posted by El_Poopador

I never got bored of watching 2K5's halftime/postgame shows or weekly wrap-ups. I enjoy watching good highlights, especially when they're presented like we would see on TV.

I definitely got bored watching the 2K5 highlights, but I don't blame them for running out of stuff. It was all shot well, but it was shot well because it was all pre-canned. I mean literally you needed the hard drive on Xbox because they would pre-load the canned replays onto your device and there was a limited number of replays they had that Berman did VO for. In today's environment, it's hard for me to believe they couldn't find a way to one-up that by auto-generating replays for some sort of weekly show if they wanted to invest in it. It just might not be something they think is worth that heavy investment.

As for in-game stuff in terms of a halftime show, beyond getting highlights from games you aren't involved in, it just feels like they haven't invested much in updating the halftime show beyond changing the voice since it was first implemented years back. Again, it might just be low priority for them.

[El_Poopador]

Quote: Originally Posted by ChaseB

I think we have had it in the form of NBA 2K and College Hoops 2K at various points, but if you mean football, then fair. It's odd to me that basically no franchise has tried to get back to the point that NFL 2K5 was at across every sports game overall. EA's NCAA Football franchise was maybe heading that way and College Hoops was close, but then both were canned.

That still blows my mind. Even NBA 2K doesn't even come close to NFL 2K5 in terms of presentation. Their halftime show is pretty awful, even if it is better than Madden's. There are highlights, but they are completely randomized and the commentary has nothing to do with what they're showing.

Quote:

I definitely got bored watching the 2K5 highlights, but I don't blame them for running out of stuff. It was all shot well, but it was shot well because it was all pre-canned. I mean literally you needed the hard drive on Xbox because they would pre-load the canned replays onto your device and there was a limited number of replays they had that Berman did VO for. In today's environment, it's hard for me to believe they couldn't find a way to one-up that by auto-generating replays for some sort of weekly show if they wanted to invest in it. It just might not be something they think is worth that heavy investment. As for in-game stuff in terms of a halftime show, beyond getting highlights from games you aren't involved in, it just feels like they haven't invested much in updating the halftime show beyond changing the voice since it was first implemented years back. Again, it might just be low priority for them.

Yea, I remember reading somewhere about how they did it with 2K5. But it was still a way to immerse yourself in the game. The goal for all of these games should be to replicate what you see on TV. Not just from a gameplay perspective, but also from the presentation. I don't expect perfection on the first try, but EA isn't even trying.

I'm actually enjoying the gameplay for the first time in years with M20, but so little effort goes in to presentation that it really breaks away from the immersion. The commentary is fantastic, but everything else is just bland and uninspired. Even the fact that they're still using the "EA Sports" network branding is disappointing.

[Fredette]

Madden has the weakest presentation of all the big sport videogames (NBA2K, MLB The Show...). Frostbite engine looks great but Madden doesen't use it to it's full potential. Look @ battlefield how great it looks in every aspect (animations, weather effects, faces etc.)

Then we have clippings, bad collision system, crazy physics , lifeless face animations etc. Overall Madden looks amateurish, often silly and not like real american football. Replays are also awful and the feel of the game is something like soulless.

It's time for next gen. Hopefully they kill the old gameplay code and build a new engine designed for sportgames...

[KANE699]

Still waiting for people to notice that the wrinkles on the jersey move when the players twist and turn.

[JKSportsGamer1984]

EA at least add the referees back for field goal attempts & extra points! I don't like them being removed at all but like someone else already pointed out, it's extremely jarring during field goals & extra points. You should at least figure out how to add them back in a title update...

The gameplay is definitely improved but the immersion killers like refs being removed (which is a part of presentation) are hurting the overall experience. It's bad enough we've had to deal with lackluster generic sidelines for so many years, but now you remove refs on top of that? Cut us sim heads some slack EA!

[Agent89]

"Living Worlds" was a flat out lie. *This Frostbite/Ignite thing was all fluff and talk, and EA gets a D grade from me in their next gen effort. * The sheer power of the Xbox One could handle far more than what they put out. *Referees taking resources is purely their flaw in their engine and coding. *They've fallen short in just about everything this decade besides the stadium graphics and fidelity of the player models. *Gameplay and AI fell incredibly short*