OS @ E3 Madden 2006 Impressions

[Nza]

I actually got most of my info from http://www.vgsportsinc.com/e3/day2.html ....not sure if they're considered "biased".

The fact remains this OS preview doesn't touch on many gameplay additions at all really. Whilst the author's judgement of a "roster update" could be true, there is no effort in the preview to address many of the new "sub features" and it comes across as reasonably anti-Madden - either address these features and explain why it feels like a simple roster update, or don't make such stern statements if you're not prepared to explore the entire feature set. As I said, time was obviously not in huge supply, but that's no excuse to suggest such a negative conclusion; one which every NFL gamer is obviously very concerned about with the NFL deal...... "nothing but a roster update" feels like little more than a few buzzwords for anti-EA/Madden gamers now days.

Basically, what i'm saying is this preview feels like it draws to a conclusion despite neglecting a load of features - there are plenty more additions not even mentioned here and if you only read this preview, you'd think Madden 2006 was literally 2005 with a roster update, which is always a cute argument, but also always exaggerated.

And i'm not even sure "the same old Madden" is really a valid arguement anyway - of course it is going to be the same, every sport game every year is basically the same as it was last year just with some improvements. When a game sells you don't change it's "feel", and that's not just EA's philosohpy. It just seems like a very easy and cheap card to pull on a game, when in reality it is something you'll find in the entire gaming industry, inside and beyond the sports genre.

[Kramer5150]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cardot

Normally, I would prefer a sports game stick to sports. But I guess in the case of Madden where the game has been perfected, the only option they have is to introduce a new genre such as an RPG element to the game. Maybe next year they could add in a FPS mode....You know, football player by day, organized crime agent by night? For some of the slower fellas out there, that was sarcasm.

How true,how true

[Goffs]

Quote: Originally Posted by Nza

I actually got most of my info from http://www.vgsportsinc.com/e3/day2.html ....not sure if they're considered "biased". The fact remains this OS preview doesn't touch on many gameplay additions at all really. Whilst the author's judgement of a "roster update" could be true, there is no effort in the preview to address many of the new "sub features" and it comes across as reasonably anti-Madden - either address these features and explain why it feels like a simple roster update, or don't make such stern statements if you're not prepared to explore the entire feature set. As I said, time was obviously not in huge supply, but that's no excuse to suggest such a negative conclusion; one which every NFL gamer is obviously very concerned about with the NFL deal...... "nothing but a roster update" feels like little more than a few buzzwords for anti-EA/Madden gamers now days. Basically, what i'm saying is this preview feels like it draws to a conclusion despite neglecting a load of features - there are plenty more additions not even mentioned here and if you only read this preview, you'd think Madden 2006 was literally 2005 with a roster update, which is always a cute argument, but also always exaggerated. And i'm not even sure "the same old Madden" is really a valid arguement anyway - of course it is going to be the same, every sport game every year is basically the same as it was last year just with some improvements. When a game sells you don't change it's "feel", and that's not just EA's philosohpy. It just seems like a very easy and cheap card to pull on a game, when in reality it is something you'll find in the entire gaming industry, inside and beyond the sports genre.

but it is the same old Madden....you guys seemed so irked by this line...i dont know why because it plays exacty the same way and from lookin at some of the vids its the same ol' tackling animations, the same ol' line interaction animations, the same ol' player models.......Fetter did a good job explaining the flashlight passing because thats all i really wanted to know from the impressions....hell he even talked about the running game a bit on how the O-line are a bit smarter when it comes to run blocking

dont really care for the other features, i dont even like playing franchise and this superstar thing feh who cares really (IMO).....ive always played madden against a friend and this flashlight passing has got me a bit excited about the game...i really like this new GAMEPLAY feature.....

one more thing that line about every sport game every year is basically the same..well i dont know the boys at VC sure did a good job upgrading their games....

[Nza]

Who are you refering to by using "You guys" ? And what videos are you talking about? I haven't seen any around myself at all, but I haven't looked terribly hard either.

You seem to suggest the features I mentioned aren't important gameplay features - and the fact you say you play against a friend most of the time suggests to me your after fun and enjoyable gameplay and not necessarily realistically aimed gameplay, which a lot of these in-game features are aimed for - realism. This is my issue with this preview, it barely touches on these and yet, there are quite a few of them, each with the potential to really improve Madden drastically. Read the VGSports preview for an idea on what i'm talking about. The 2006 features to me appear to be heavily biased towards creating a more realistic game, but I can understand if some people don't care for realism....I imagine the majority of football gamers in general probably don't, which is why I find these features quite weird coming from EA....Oline audibles/assignments, adaptive AI and DB shading is not what I was expecting EA to care about this year.

And I don't think VC's yearly updates were any out of the ordinary. They made 2K5 look considerably better than 2K4, but they failed to completely address the jerkey and unpredictable running/player movement. The CPU AI remained poor at best. They practically ruined the franchise mode with its bugs. I don't think VC's additions to 2K5 compared to 2K4 were overly impressive in numbers - people are easily fooled when the graphics engine is enhanced, it creates an appearence of great change....i'm sure the PS2 gamers weren't as estatic about the new features compared to the Xbox gamers.

I was actually a big fan of the ESPN series until 2K5, but i'm a franchise gamer first.

[mercalnd]

Quote: Originally Posted by mrnoobie

one more thing that line about every sport game every year is basically the same..well i dont know the boys at VC sure did a good job upgrading their games....

Yeah, but you have to understand that VC was in a different position. They were trying to gain market share from a company that had a strangle hold on the sports market. They weren't innovating out of the goodness of their hearts as many think. I can guarantee you that if the roles had been reversed (VC with the huge market share and EA chasing) then EA would have been the company innovating while VC would have provided slight yearly improvements.

People try to pass VC's innovations as some sign that they were all about the gamer first but it was just $ they were after just like EA. It's just business. I should point out that this has very little to do with the developers themselves but rather the people who approve budgets for the games.

[jmood88]

Quote: Originally Posted by yoyo

like i said i wasnt here to hear about the greatness of madden i just wanted to see a well done preview of the game.i guess i should have went to madden mania so i wouldn't have saw this " let's kiss fetters a$^ until our lips are sore" posts.

I'm not kissing anybody's *** but I won't go to a biased site and ask for any preview or thoughts on the game.

[jmood88]

Quote: Originally Posted by Nza

And I don't think VC's yearly updates were any out of the ordinary. They made 2K5 look considerably better than 2K4, but they failed to completely address the jerkey and unpredictable running/player movement. The CPU AI remained poor at best. They practically ruined the franchise mode with its bugs. I don't think VC's additions to 2K5 compared to 2K4 were overly impressive in numbers - people are easily fooled when the graphics engine is enhanced, it creates an appearence of great change....i'm sure the PS2 gamers weren't as estatic about the new features compared to the Xbox gamers.

Nobody got fooled by the graphics. And how can you complain about the "same ol madden" line and yet you throw out that "jerky" crap? The running isn't any less realistic than madden, in fact it's more realistic since in espn they don't ice skate on the grass.

[Nza]

I didn't say anything at all about which game has the most realistic running, in fact i'm not drawing comparisons between the two at all (i.e. no need to feel threatened), i'm actually comparing 2K4 to 2K5.

I stated those issues because i'm trying to convey that VC aren't anything special - they too had similiarities between 2K4 and 2K5 and I don't think anyone can actually prove their additions greatly out numbered EA's - it's like some people think they redid the whole game or something because the Xbox version had tripple pass rendering....yet people insist it is EA who are the culprits of not updating enough, when in reality, it is just a mixture of tall poppy syndrome and the fact the series has been in existence for a long time and some people have grown stale of it - that's their issue, you can't expect EA to redo the engine every year for a minority of gamers.

BTW, another few features missing from the preview are head tracking, smart routes, progressive in-game fatigue and "WR Dive" function to avoid hits...probably a few more that other previews are mentioning.