More Links

IStillDoWhatIDo · 05-13-2008, 09:09 AM

I'm hearing a lot of people threaten not to buy Madden this year for various reasons. This would be the first Madden I didn't buy. Is there one particular feature or issue that is your boiling point, where you say "if they don't (or do)have _______ in the game this year, then that's it!"

or are u just going to evaluate the complete package?

IStillDoWhatIDo · 05-13-2008, 09:10 AM

Well, for the record, the more I see, I am leaning towards buying it, but I am going to rent it first. it's sad that I have to spend 5 or so extra dollars of insurance just to make sure the game is good.

There is no one boiling piont feature for me, but what is most crucial to me, is that the game FEELS different, better, and FUN. FUN is my main concern.

I want a game, like the old days, where me and my friends can play NON-stop, and only stop because it's late or we have dates. I want a game that makes me throw my controller and punch holes in the wall like I used to. I want a game, where me and my friend bet cash and it can go either way depending on how the ball bounces. I jsut want fun.

opd897 · 05-13-2008, 09:19 AM

It's not so much what features are in this year as what bugs are not, i.e. too many interceptions, no fatigue and franchise glitches, all of which have been next generation issues for EA's Madden. Gameplay is obviously very important too and I hope they forget about any new gimmicks until they iron out the issues. I rented last year and ended up not buying and like you, I will do the same this year.

mdgoalie37 · 05-13-2008, 09:47 AM

Not having in-game saves and accelerated clock - features I had in Madden 2005 are infuriating to me. I was leaning, against my vows from last year and my better judgement, towards picking this game up on release day just as I have done each of the past 15 or so years. Now I seriously doubt that will happen. How they can't include a feature that I was able to use 4 years ago on a PS2 is beyond my understanding.

BrianFifaFan · 05-13-2008, 10:05 AM

I'd say that I'm not "threatening" to not buy it, but am really wondering if it's worth a purchase. Coming into this year, having bought the 3 previous less-than-fulfilling titles, I had some really high expectations. Especially as EA is trotting out all the 20th Madden hype. And seeing as I've seen what can be done for a EA game in Fifa08 and NHL08. I really thought that EA/Tiburon would have had this huge secret that they had a "new" Madden. Not so. Some half-way presentation upgrades and some tweaking of the IMO broken, last-gen and a half engine. And to add on that, a focus on further taking the game away from a single player experience to an online one, which further makes the game less desirable to me and my offline, franchise mode ways.

Then we get a new mode that appeals to "new" or "less-talented" gamers. That's cool for them, but is really useless for me. That all takes development time and disc space. Here's something that makes that whole arguement about limitations weak for me. Anyone who has played Fifa can see how Tiburon is full of it. Their old-as-dirt AI is nowhere near EACA's Decision engine for Fifa. And NHL's AI is miles ahead too. That's what makes it soooo frustrating to watch Maddens OL/DL suction dance. And dumb DB AI. Like a guy on the EA boards was complaining about, the DB's don't play the ball, they play the man and then magically superman to make a play. How hard is it to program players to do basic football things? No Tiburon keeps trying to tweak the engine and mo-cap animations to cover the fact that the basic AI can't do fundimental things. It's really time to get to the next level on the AI and earn the money that we pay extra this gen.

I'm sorry, I don't feel my extra 10 bucks should go to subsidize the costs EA incurred in gaining the exclusive license. I want my money to be used to help develop a true next-gen engine. I don't want 2k9/Madden. I want Madden to smash all that 2k5 ever made me hold dear. I want Sunday Matchup with "Mass-Effect" level lip-sync. And U-Cap emotion on the players faces after a good or bad play. And I want solid football. Not 2k football, NFL football. Not Madden Football, NFL football. That's why I'm pondering not buying. And I will say this: I'm starting to understand he heartburn of the PC players, after personally buying 13 of all of the Maddens ever made, I really feel that Tiburon is slighting all of the loyalty of myself and others in the design decisions of this gen. Maybe I'll show the same loyalty. I don't know yet. I'm watching and waiting. And trying to give credit where it is due. But I'm not going to give them a "pass" anymore. And maybe my money will go other places. Madden is kind of up and down for me.But I am really feeling Head Coach so far. Sad huh?

P.S. My latest round of criticisms come on the heels of the latest round of "clarifications." I really need some good, appealing news. Some hidden features not announced to get me hyped again....

IStillDoWhatIDo · 05-13-2008, 10:13 AM

yea, you want TRUE next gen NFL football. It's funny that madden has abused us to the point where we aren't even asking for Next Gen football, we're asking for what USED to be there lol smh.

TurboTitan · 05-13-2008, 10:27 AM

They dont have time for in-game saves or accelerated clock.....but THANK GOD they got Mascot games in there!!!

RGiles36 · 05-13-2008, 10:52 AM

Let me first start off by saying this is a good topic.

Now, I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I'm definitely not buying Madden '09. At this point, I'm not sure. It's hard to do more than just sit on the fence when you're consistently starting to hear about what EA DID NOT add this year (accelerated clock was a biggie for me).

If I have a boiling point, I'd have to say it's the O-line A.I. logic. I don't really get pissed off but it plucks my nerves when they stand there and let defenders run right past them. Or, they play like high schoolers and continuously get thrashed by the D-line. There's really some bad programming there.

05-13-2008, 09:09 AM	#1
IStillDoWhatIDo Pro OVR: 9 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: DC	boiling point I'm hearing a lot of people threaten not to buy Madden this year for various reasons. This would be the first Madden I didn't buy. Is there one particular feature or issue that is your boiling point, where you say "if they don't (or do)have _______ in the game this year, then that's it!" or are u just going to evaluate the complete package? __________________ fool me once... shame on me. Let's get the fantasy football section poppin! http://www.operationsports.com/forums/fantasy-football/ Last edited by IStillDoWhatIDo; 05-13-2008 at 09:23 AM.

05-13-2008, 09:10 AM	#2
IStillDoWhatIDo Pro OVR: 9 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: DC	Re: boiling point Well, for the record, the more I see, I am leaning towards buying it, but I am going to rent it first. it's sad that I have to spend 5 or so extra dollars of insurance just to make sure the game is good. There is no one boiling piont feature for me, but what is most crucial to me, is that the game FEELS different, better, and FUN. FUN is my main concern. I want a game, like the old days, where me and my friends can play NON-stop, and only stop because it's late or we have dates. I want a game that makes me throw my controller and punch holes in the wall like I used to. I want a game, where me and my friend bet cash and it can go either way depending on how the ball bounces. I jsut want fun. __________________ fool me once... shame on me. Let's get the fantasy football section poppin! http://www.operationsports.com/forums/fantasy-football/

05-13-2008, 09:19 AM	#3
opd897 MVP OVR: 10 Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Kansas	Re: boiling point It's not so much what features are in this year as what bugs are not, i.e. too many interceptions, no fatigue and franchise glitches, all of which have been next generation issues for EA's Madden. Gameplay is obviously very important too and I hope they forget about any new gimmicks until they iron out the issues. I rented last year and ended up not buying and like you, I will do the same this year.

05-13-2008, 09:47 AM	#4
mdgoalie37 MVP OVR: 11 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Philly	Re: boiling point Not having in-game saves and accelerated clock - features I had in Madden 2005 are infuriating to me. I was leaning, against my vows from last year and my better judgement, towards picking this game up on release day just as I have done each of the past 15 or so years. Now I seriously doubt that will happen. How they can't include a feature that I was able to use 4 years ago on a PS2 is beyond my understanding. __________________ "It's a dog-eat-dog world and I'm wearing Milk-Bone underwear." -- Norm Peterson

05-13-2008, 10:05 AM	#5
BrianFifaFan Semi-retired OVR: 50 Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Dayton,OH Posts: 4,144 Blog Entries: 7	Re: boiling point I'd say that I'm not "threatening" to not buy it, but am really wondering if it's worth a purchase. Coming into this year, having bought the 3 previous less-than-fulfilling titles, I had some really high expectations. Especially as EA is trotting out all the 20th Madden hype. And seeing as I've seen what can be done for a EA game in Fifa08 and NHL08. I really thought that EA/Tiburon would have had this huge secret that they had a "new" Madden. Not so. Some half-way presentation upgrades and some tweaking of the IMO broken, last-gen and a half engine. And to add on that, a focus on further taking the game away from a single player experience to an online one, which further makes the game less desirable to me and my offline, franchise mode ways. Then we get a new mode that appeals to "new" or "less-talented" gamers. That's cool for them, but is really useless for me. That all takes development time and disc space. Here's something that makes that whole arguement about limitations weak for me. Anyone who has played Fifa can see how Tiburon is full of it. Their old-as-dirt AI is nowhere near EACA's Decision engine for Fifa. And NHL's AI is miles ahead too. That's what makes it soooo frustrating to watch Maddens OL/DL suction dance. And dumb DB AI. Like a guy on the EA boards was complaining about, the DB's don't play the ball, they play the man and then magically superman to make a play. How hard is it to program players to do basic football things? No Tiburon keeps trying to tweak the engine and mo-cap animations to cover the fact that the basic AI can't do fundimental things. It's really time to get to the next level on the AI and earn the money that we pay extra this gen. I'm sorry, I don't feel my extra 10 bucks should go to subsidize the costs EA incurred in gaining the exclusive license. I want my money to be used to help develop a true next-gen engine. I don't want 2k9/Madden. I want Madden to smash all that 2k5 ever made me hold dear. I want Sunday Matchup with "Mass-Effect" level lip-sync. And U-Cap emotion on the players faces after a good or bad play. And I want solid football. Not 2k football, NFL football. Not Madden Football, NFL football. That's why I'm pondering not buying. And I will say this: I'm starting to understand he heartburn of the PC players, after personally buying 13 of all of the Maddens ever made, I really feel that Tiburon is slighting all of the loyalty of myself and others in the design decisions of this gen. Maybe I'll show the same loyalty. I don't know yet. I'm watching and waiting. And trying to give credit where it is due. But I'm not going to give them a "pass" anymore. And maybe my money will go other places. Madden is kind of up and down for me.But I am really feeling Head Coach so far. Sad huh? P.S. My latest round of criticisms come on the heels of the latest round of "clarifications." I really need some good, appealing news. Some hidden features not announced to get me hyped again.... __________________ Note to Tiburon Marketing: A great product sells itself, no "back of the box" features required! (See Fifa...) Last edited by BrianFifaFan; 05-13-2008 at 10:16 AM.

	MLB The Show 24 Review: Another Solid Hit for the Series
	New Star GP Review: Old-School Arcade Fun
	Where Are Our College Basketball Video Game Rumors?

05-13-2008, 10:13 AM	#6
IStillDoWhatIDo Pro OVR: 9 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: DC	Re: boiling point yea, you want TRUE next gen NFL football. It's funny that madden has abused us to the point where we aren't even asking for Next Gen football, we're asking for what USED to be there lol smh. __________________ fool me once... shame on me. Let's get the fantasy football section poppin! http://www.operationsports.com/forums/fantasy-football/

05-13-2008, 10:27 AM	#7
TurboTitan Pro OVR: 6 Join Date: Jun 2004	Re: boiling point They dont have time for in-game saves or accelerated clock.....but THANK GOD they got Mascot games in there!!!

05-13-2008, 10:52 AM	#8
RGiles36 MVP OVR: 34 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Newark, DE Posts: 3,972 Blog Entries: 2	Re: boiling point Let me first start off by saying this is a good topic. Now, I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I'm definitely not buying Madden '09. At this point, I'm not sure. It's hard to do more than just sit on the fence when you're consistently starting to hear about what EA DID NOT add this year (accelerated clock was a biggie for me). If I have a boiling point, I'd have to say it's the O-line A.I. logic. I don't really get pissed off but it plucks my nerves when they stand there and let defenders run right past them. Or, they play like high schoolers and continuously get thrashed by the D-line. There's really some bad programming there.