I think Madden deserves some slack.

[BezO]

Quote: Originally Posted by DCAllAmerican

I wonder if the streets (non-internet message board dudes) think Madden has been garbage as of late

I can only speak for folks I know and the concensus is that next gen Madden sucks. But alot of my friends are ex-athletes(not pro) like myself, so I doubt their/our opinion is consistent with the remainder of the masses.

IMO, many NFL fans don't have a very good grasp of football. Some folks that watch football faithfully don't understand what a LB's reads may be, or what a QB should be looking at, ect. So they have no idea what to expect from a simulation of football that makes the claim EA makes.

I remember pointing out to a friend of mine the problem with the DE/OT interaction after he spent an entire game manually rolling out & scrambling with the QB. It was a shock to him. Until then, he thought he was just killing me with his QB. It took my explaination and cheesing him with the same tactic for him to realize EA had some work to do.

A lot of folks that think they know the game are really only familiar with the history. They watch all the time. They can reel off stats from 1979. They can name every Super Bowl champ. But they are no where near as familiar with the intricate strategies & responsibilities. They don't know what a 3-4 NG's responsibility is. They don't know where the A gap is.

All that to say, I doubt the streets feel the same way about this game as we do. I think even some of the hardest core Madden fans on this site are not on top of the strategy & responsibilities of players enough to know how bad some of the programming in the game is.

[blklightning]

we just want our last gen features. until that happens, madden will get no slack.

[DonRSD]

Quote: Originally Posted by BezO

I can only speak for folks I know and the concensus is that next gen Madden sucks. But alot of my friends are ex-athletes(not pro) like myself, so I doubt their/our opinion is consistent with the remainder of the masses. IMO, many NFL fans don't have a very good grasp of football. Some folks that watch football faithfully don't understand what a LB's reads may be, or what a QB should be looking at, ect. So they have no idea what to expect from a simulation of football that makes the claim EA makes. I remember pointing out to a friend of mine the problem with the DE/OT interaction after he spent an entire game manually rolling out & scrambling with the QB. It was a shock to him. Until then, he thought he was just killing me with his QB. It took my explaination and cheesing him with the same tactic for him to realize EA had some work to do. A lot of folks that think they know the game are really only familiar with the history. They watch all the time. They can reel off stats from 1979. They can name every Super Bowl champ. But they are no where near as familiar with the intricate strategies & responsibilities. They don't know what a 3-4 NG's responsibility is. They don't know where the A gap is. All that to say, I doubt the streets feel the same way about this game as we do. I think even some of the hardest core Madden fans on this site are not on top of the strategy & responsibilities of players enough to know how bad some of the programming in the game is.

good post.
i play for the "chess match" of the game. may the best strategist win

2k gave me this faithfully(even with its downfalls) so much miore than madden ever has

why doesnt madden make the game for us HARDCORE/SIM guys then add new stuff fopr the casual gamer?
its ao easy yet ea wont do it

long live 2k!!!

[BezO]

Quote: Originally Posted by therizing02

Unfortunately, I don't think that's what it's about. If it was, the Madden Nation crowd would probably have to abandon the game because it would require thought and football knowledge and understanding to be successful at the game.

Easy. Keep the lower levels for folks that want to roll out & throw it up, and reserve the higher levels for those that want to play realisitcally.

But, IMO, anyone that can figure out the glitches and minipulate the game like I've seen is cabable of learning how to play with football strategy. Tournament-style players use those tactic because they work. It took effort to figure them out. If the game was made so actual football strategy gave you an advantage, folks would learn that just as quickly.

And maybe instead of Tron Mode, EA could put some football tutorials in the game, expand on the Replay feature, and teach the game.

[LAKE4742]

Quote: Originally Posted by DonRSD

why doesnt madden make the game for us HARDCORE/SIM guys then add new stuff fopr the casual gamer?

That'd be great! Because Madden IS SUPPOSED to be a sim game, right?! Problem is.........
IT'S NEVER BEEN A SIM GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PlyrzNumber1]

I used to buy Madden every year, back when there were choices: Gameday, QB Club, 2K, etc

Something about not having choices anymore really bothers me. It bothers me more when I'm fooled over and over again by clever marketing.

It's amazing how much money this game makes. Given the amount of millions EA spends on exclusive licensing, and marketing; plastering their product seemingly everywhere (including expensive spots on primetime sporting events) you have to wonder how much "investment" is being made in other (pro-consumer) areas of the game.

It's maddening how NFL 2K5, built on a far superior hardware, with a fraction of the budget, is still comparable to the latest iterations of Madden. How in the hell is that possible?

[/end rant]

I miss the days of being excited about video game football, I really do.

[DonRSD]

Quote: Originally Posted by PlyrzNumber1

I used to buy Madden every year, back when there were choices: Gameday, QB Club, 2K, etc Something about not having choices anymore really bothers me. It bothers me more when I'm fooled over and over again by clever marketing. It's amazing how much money this game makes. Given the amount of millions EA spends on exclusive licensing, and marketing; plastering their product seemingly everywhere (including expensive spots on primetime sporting events) you have to wonder how much "investment" is being made in other (pro-consumer) areas of the game. It's maddening how NFL 2K5, built on a far superior hardware, with a fraction of the budget, is still comparable to the latest iterations of Madden. How in the hell is that possible? [/end rant] I miss the days of being excited about video game football, I really do.

you know what i usually get madden @ midnight, this year im not as i culd care less.

ill get it the next day after work and MASTER maddne the 1st day & game i play as its the same thing as last years.

someone please tell me when you played ncaa 09 that you already knew EVERYTHING.....figures why the instruction booklet is 3 pages. i cant even take it to the bathroom to drop a load as by the time i get "settled in" the instruction book is done

[TombSong]

Perfection in a game is 90% of the game doing what you expect it to do. A glitch here and there that does not take away from the overall game experience or leads to cheating can be overlooked.

1. First mistake made by EA "decision makers" is to release the first next gen version(06) with 80% of the last gen features left out of it.

2. This is speculation but this engine I believe has run its course.

This is my opinion but we see the phrase "new game engine" but in my opinion what we are seeing running is "ported last gen engine." Reason I say this is how do you create a new engine and have the SAME identical problems of the last gen engine ?

I think they do there best to add on to the old engine and mod it to get some different looks to it/animations but at its core its still doing the same thing and I dare say it looks like some things are so meshed together that if you make a change in one area to try and fix something you break another part of the game or unbalance it.

If I am wrong I am sorry but thats just how I see it at the moment.

I think the devs are held hostage to this game engine for whatever reason.

Here hoping the future proves me wrong.