Football, 5 years after.

[Paytonsplace]

I would like this thread to be an honest critique of the state of football gaming 5 years after the most significant event (NFL exclusive) in football gaming history has taken place. I'd like to evaluate what the consumer has gained and lost. Below you may find how I feel about it. I'm interested in opinions that agree/disagree with what I say. Madden/2K/Gameday/Blitz, it does not matter. What matters is the quality of the representation of our favorite sport

It has been 5 years since the NFL exclusive went to EA. I think it is interesting t o evaluate what we’ve seen in the way of innovation since then.

1. Graphics: This is easy. The PS3 and Xbox 360 has allowed football games to blow us away with fantastic graphics.

2. Animation: Unfortunately, there has not been as much progress here. A careful examination of NFL 2K5 demonstrates that Madden has been playing catch-up here over the last 5 years. Whether it is running animations or tackling, 2K seems to hold the advantage still. Unfortunately, no breakthroughs here, perhaps “Backbreaker” will innovate but right now that seems like vaporware.

3. AI: Unfortunately there has been no advance here. Indeed, the VIP system seems to be the gold standard for AI in football. Madden’s adaptive AI is not adapting. More work needs to be done. There has been no advance here. In fact it seems as though a few steps backwards have been taken.

4. Physics: This ties in with animations and again there has been no significant advance in this area. This year’s Pro Tack system seems like a good attempt however I believe it needs more refinement.

I appreciate what Madden has done for football gaming. I credit Madden with the greatest advance football video gaming has seen, when it debuted on the Genesis. However, the four categories above are among the most important in football gaming and when only one (graphics) has advanced to any meaningful degree over a period of five years… well then what does that say about the health of this hobby?

Look at other games and see what has been done.

[JJ Sticks]

Great post.

[TeamBuilder]

Excellent post.

[H1DR03L3KTRIC]

I liked reading the original post.

[DorneyDave]

Yep, agreed with the original post. I agree, it seems like football gaming has taken a step-backwards in general with this gen. I'm not sure why, and I'll probably never know. Maybe it's because I'm older, but the Madden games on this gen just feel less fun and don't have any life to them...in any area.

Hopefully it can catch up before the next generation of consoles comes out and we all have to start over.

[bang911]

Great post.

Just speaking the straight truth.

[GiantBlue76]

100% agreed. Football gaming has completely gone to crap. Well, NFL football gaming anyway...

[klb835]

#1 .... whoever is blown away by these graphics is blind