Why Is Madden Better or Worse Than ESPN?

[playerX]

They are both great games, and I will buy them both this year. However ESPN is sounding better than Madden this year. They have First Person Mode where your actually inside the player's helmet and can see the same amount of space that an actuall football player does. In my opinion it's better than pricing hot dogs, and etc. But they are both good games in their own ways.

[TexasJedi]

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soxfan2525 said:
also if u have gotten ncaa 2004 this yr then i wud say u maywant espn for a change of gameplay where ncaa and madden are very similar but do have their differences

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This is my thinking as well. It would be nice to have a change of pace and since NCAA captures the college game so well, I think from the looks of it that ESPN captures the pro game well.

[margan]

ESPN has me more excited. Madden looks cool and all, but right now NCAA has me hooked and I may just want something different for the pro game.

[whosgotcha]

Overall I preferred NFL 2K3 to Madden 2003. I preferred Madden 2002 to NFL 2K2. When I played Madden 2002 and 2K2 the deciding factor was Maddens franchise mode. 2K2's franchise mode was almost nonexistent in comparison.

With the addition of a well developed franchise mode, superb graphics and good gameplay I found myself exclusively playing NFL 2K3 against the computer. The only reason I didn't play against human oppenents in 2K3 was because all of the local people I played with preferred Madden 2003.

I played Madden 2003 against human opponents in a seven member league. The league was running well until members began exploiting flaws in the AI. then the play became unrealistic and it proved to be unenjoyable.

The thing that eventually drew me to 2K3 was the intelligent AI and the ability to make plays with a defensive player. It was not perfect of course but the teams seemed to play like their real life counterparts. Teams actually ran the ball (successfully to), receivers did not catch everything, star players counted more, game planning and strategy were also important. I felt like I was actually coaching and playing against varied opponents with distinctive flaws and abilities.

[Teddy_Long]

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margan said:
ESPN has me more excited. Madden looks cool and all, but right now NCAA has me hooked and I may just want something different for the pro game.

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Believe that, playa.

[njskillz]

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jjoe said:
I'm not a huge pro football gamer (I like the college game), but I'm considering giving it a shot this year. Just curious, for those who like (or don't like) Madden, why is it better (or worse) than ESPN? Seems to me like the graphics weren't as good as 2k3 last year (all players with big heads). Chime in.

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You sound like the classic "casual" gamer so you would be wise to go with Madden. It really doesn't require any football knowledge and it has a huge fun factor. Add to that the ability to build your own stadiums, set prices for concessions (although I have yet to figure out who is buying the stuff), and a host of other non "on the field" related aspects that seem to appeal to the "casual" gamer. On the field you have the smoothest player running animations and just so you don't forget who a player is, as a favor from EA, they promise to keep the player models the same for years and years to come. Builds familiarity...

You will probably want to stay away from the Sega/ESPN series. It is directed more towards the "hardcore" football head. It requires an understanding of reading defenses, as well as recognizing formations and making the proper adjustments. You said your familiar with EA college game but you would have to throw that knowledge out the window. The "when all else fails, chuck it long" mentality of EA's football games doesn't cut it in the Sega series. Although at times flawed, the DB/WR interaction is unmatched in any football videogame. This is as a result of the vast amount of animations coupled with the size of the player models. Because of your familiarity with EA college game, the one and only area you would be disappointed in would be the running animation in the Sega series. Specifically open field running. EA's running animations are the standard which all other football games must be judged. Fortunately, the Sega Series (NFL2K3 and beyond) more than makes up for the obvious running animation flaw with ultra realistic tackling animations, lineplay animations, etc.

Again, if your looking for a realistic, hardcore NFL football gaming experience, go the Sega/ESPN route. If you just want to play a fun, casual game of football with loads and loads of family fun features, Madden is the game for you.

[sanders]

For all you yearly Madden players how is the difficulty in Madden. Do you find there are a lot of money plays?

With the new videos I think I may rent this years Madden to give it a shot before I buy my yearly football game.

One thing I seemed to notice about Madden in the vids is that you can run beside a defender and he is well within reach to get you but he just decides to run along side you trying to catch up and doesn't jump or reach for you so you can run right past him.

The only reason I'm thinking of Madden is the owners mode looks well done and the game has some serious polish. The only reason I hated Madden before was the "running in mud" feel when trying to get you guy to change direction and when you wanted to go from side to side he would do a this big half circle to get there.

[mark1726]

I prefer NCAA2004 to Madden for EA's football titles. The thing with EA football is that they are good games, but the playbooks/formations are all so similar that playing a lot of both gets repetitive after awhile. At least playing with NCAA2004 there are so many teams that you get a different feel playing each game, going up against Miami is a lot different than playing Rice. Madden doesn't separate teams well, at least in the past, so going up against Tampa plays out almost the same as facing the Bengals, that makes it boring after awhile. I think NFL2k3 replicates team differences better than Madden and that is why I prefer it for the pro game.

The fanchise mode looks great though, especially coupled with owners mode. I was planning on only buying NCAA2004 and ESPN, but the franchise mode in Madden may draw me in. Now if only I had the time to play all three.