Review of Madden and ESPN after a month

[Jistic]

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Kanobi said:

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PrimeTime21 said:
Presentation 8.8- Nice menus the best thing about it is the turtorials that help you through the game.

Graphics 6.0- Take off a point for every year it's been the same and it's been the same since 2001. The poor graphics equal poor collision and that just takes away from the realness.

Sound 8.5- Nice songs Madden and Al sound good together but hearing the same things every other play gets annoying. How many times a game does Al say that one was almost intercepted? EVERY PASS PLAY

Gameplay 7.0- Never seen anything like it! Super LBs and super DBs who are far away from your receiver not even looking back and when the pass is thrown they turn on a dime and jump to intercept your pass! The running game is ruined with the poor collision as you may be behind a lineman and there's 5 defenders in front of you and you somehow fall through everybody and get a first down! Too many times a game you get tackled by players just laying there.

Lasting Appeal 8.5- This game has lasting appeal if you like playing online or with franchise. Depending on which version you have for online if you have Xbox you can just forget it.

Overall 7.8- This game has not done anything major this gen or even use half the power of the consoles. Madden has been spend a little on making the game & a lot on promoting the game. The major question i ask is how can people shell out $50 every year for a game that looks and plays like it did in 2001?

Prensentation 10- They really did it this year using the ESPN license to the fullest. Chirs Berman at the Half, and pregame, user friendly menus, and NFL Primetime you just can't top that.

Graphics 9.8- The best i've ever seen in a football game. Notice the steady improvements every year. This game has the best stadiums and crowds. Add a lil bit of gut on the lineman and this would be a 10. Just look at the show effects they're perfect.

Sound 9.8- The commentators on this game are better than any other duo in a video game. crowd and the hits sounds great.

Gameplay 9.8- Is this a game or real life? This is the best sim you can find in any football game to date. Real interceptions, accurate passing, and a solid running game.

Lasting Appeal 10- Online leagues depending on which version you have are pretty good. The franchise is cool and when you're done with that there's a new challenge in First person football

Overall 9.9- Take a look at the first NFL2K and take a look at it now and you'll see the biggest imrpovement in a football game since 2000. This game is worth every dollar and you'll be happy just play it on legend against a friend or online.

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wait a minute! lol! neither one of those final scores are fair, man. I think you scored Madden too low in the graphics to department. I think it deserves a 7.5 because bodyscale sliders for player models...even though they aren't that great...each player has a unique build and thats SOMETHING that adds to the look of the game a bit. The helmets and facemasks on players are done well. Grass textures are decent. However, the crowds and stadiums are a joke and the overall player models aren't that good. Still, graphically, Madden is better than a 6.0

Lasting Appeal:
I also think the lasting appeal score, even at 8.5, is too low. The sheer amount of options in Franchise Mode along with the compatiability with NCAA (which alls adds its dynasty options) gives Madden about a 9.6 in terms of lasting appeal. For those who enjoy Madden's gameplay and can tolerate the dead presentation, the game will be fresh for quite some time.

You scored it way too high in Presentation also. From the Menus to the in-game setup...Madden Blows serious Chunks. I'd give it a 6.5 at best. The Tutorial is nice and all but everywhere else the game is horrifically boring. How guys are still playing and manage to deal with multiple years in Owners Mode is beyond me but more power to em.

Gameplay -
Madden is better than a 7.0, man. I'd give it an 8.0. Its not a bad game at all but when compared to espn ...everything in Madden seems outdated. Even with slider adjustments, Madden just doesn't capture the essence of nfl football quite like espn does.


Overall Madden is better than a 7.8, man. I'd give Madden an 8.5 simply because of the replayability it has due to the crazy amount features and options in the game. The dated Gameplay
along with piss poor presentation is whats hurting the overall experience of Madden. Look for EA to make drastic gameplay, graphical, and presentation upgrades next year. Expect them to try and catch up with VC's efforts in these areas. Madden 2005 should be a pretty tight game all around.

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Your espn scores are high in a few areas.

Graphically ESPN is awesome and the player models are cool but they're way too generic across the board. A Bodyscale slider system like Madden's would do the trick and ultimately result in the best player models ever seen in console game thats made for both X-box and PS2. I'd lower that 9.8 to about a 9.4.

Lasting Appeal - of course if you're an online-a-holic the lasting appeal for espnfl is great because of league play on ps2(full support) and XBL support for xbox. However, the Franchise Mode lacks the depth of Madden's. The draft Class feature sucks balls. The create/edit a player a plyer is a joke compared to Madden's. The create-a-team feature is another bad joke told by VC.

The Rosters aren't that good and are made even worse by the before mentioned edit/create player system. The stat sorting and tracking isn't as deep as Madden's. However, the adaptive CPU A.I. in Franchise Mode and finality of getting fired as a coach will keep guys playing for quite awhile. Also the CRIB offers incentive for replayablity as does the challenge of mastering First person Football...both on and offline.

I'd have to give espn's lasting appeal a 9.4 because overall it provides a fresh experience each time you play because of the solid Gameplay and Top Notch presentation. However, the lack of depth and polish with most of the off-field options hurt its score here.

Overall - I don't think espn is a 9.9...its more of a 9.4. The game has made some serious strides since last year and the gameplay is the best there is . However, there are some off-field issues that still need alot of improvement. More depth to Franchise Mode along with polished off-field options would seal the deal for this series next year resulting in likely a 10.0 score overall....especially if VC adds more to he presentation and Gameplay as well. Reserve your copy of nfl2k5 NOW, folks.

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Kanobi, even though I still think that you definitely have a bias (or should I say preference) to Sega, I give you credit for being more open minded. You seem to have been more open in this years games. I don't need to waste time arguing which is better, but wanted to give you props for trying.

Now Primetime on the other hand

[mjb2124]

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rubisco43 said:
Review of PrimeTime21 after a month:

He's an ESPN fan-boy.

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When will these type of people give up??? We play a different game - who cares?!?!?!

[DocHolliday]

That was the most biased review I have ever seen!! I hate this guy. What a joke. Why even post this here? Post it in the ESPN Everything is fine with the game as long a you edit all the players even kickers then make sure you dont run certain plays and dont run all the time forum. Loser.

[PrimeTime21]

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Whaaaazuuuuup said:
is this clown serious?!! he should play MADDEN 2001 (Eddie Goerge on the cover) and then play this year version. their two aren't even on the same planet. after that review, i've lost all respect for this guy i regards to what he has to say on the OS forums!



and so we don't get it twisted, i like both game (MADDEN a lil' better). i've got franchises running in both games...

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Before i posted this i played Madden 01 and Madden 04 on two TVs at the same time. In the graphic department i zoomed in on the player models in Madden and ESPN and there shouldn't be that much of a difference but there is and it's a shame. People like to boost Madden scores because it's Madden but if you took that the same game and calle it NFL Gameday 2004 it would get a 7.7. I like the presentation in Madden it's pretty damn good IMO. Matter fact i saved replays from both games to back up my statements and i'm gonna upload them so you can see a real interception vs a super unreal interception and the bad colission vs the good. online leagues are better than any franchise mode. I think franchise will be great when they bring it online. I don't think ESPN graphics are a little bit better than Madden it's a lot better and over a 3 years span Madden has looked the same and the PS2 and Xbox can produce double or even triple the graphics they provide.

[robdub]

I've had both games, and I think ESPN Football blows. I am not really biased towards one company or game, but I felt myself getting tired of ESPN real quick... I still thought, through all my boredom, that I'd give it a try. Sure, the presentation is something that we've never seen, but that quickly loses it's shine.

The graphics in ESPN suck... The running motions are horrible, and each player looks like they have a square block for chests. Madden blows ESPN out of the water when it comes to graphics.

How about ESPN getting the uniforms right? The Seahawks' uniform is done poorly, they aren't even the right color combinations! I can't respect a game that can't even get something as simple as the uniforms correct.

Madden 2004 is worth the price in the Franchise and Online Play alone. Never have we seen a game with such a deep franchise. Yeah, ESPN tried with their franchise mode, but it sorely lacks. Madden also has training camp, which is another plus.

I think your review was biased as hell, but that's okay, because it's your opinion. You liking ESPN more than Madden has no lasting effect on me.

I'd give Madden a 9.2 overall, while ESPN stumbles with a 6.8 overall rating. Neither games are close to perfect, but Madden is much more polished!

[TigerKnee]

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robdub said:
Madden blows ESPN out of the water when it comes to graphics.

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Your credibility goes right out the window after that.

[TigerKnee]

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Kanobi said:

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PrimeTime21 said:
Presentation 8.8- Nice menus the best thing about it is the turtorials that help you through the game.

Graphics 6.0- Take off a point for every year it's been the same and it's been the same since 2001. The poor graphics equal poor collision and that just takes away from the realness.

Sound 8.5- Nice songs Madden and Al sound good together but hearing the same things every other play gets annoying. How many times a game does Al say that one was almost intercepted? EVERY PASS PLAY

Gameplay 7.0- Never seen anything like it! Super LBs and super DBs who are far away from your receiver not even looking back and when the pass is thrown they turn on a dime and jump to intercept your pass! The running game is ruined with the poor collision as you may be behind a lineman and there's 5 defenders in front of you and you somehow fall through everybody and get a first down! Too many times a game you get tackled by players just laying there.

Lasting Appeal 8.5- This game has lasting appeal if you like playing online or with franchise. Depending on which version you have for online if you have Xbox you can just forget it.

Overall 7.8- This game has not done anything major this gen or even use half the power of the consoles. Madden has been spend a little on making the game & a lot on promoting the game. The major question i ask is how can people shell out $50 every year for a game that looks and plays like it did in 2001?

Prensentation 10- They really did it this year using the ESPN license to the fullest. Chirs Berman at the Half, and pregame, user friendly menus, and NFL Primetime you just can't top that.

Graphics 9.8- The best i've ever seen in a football game. Notice the steady improvements every year. This game has the best stadiums and crowds. Add a lil bit of gut on the lineman and this would be a 10. Just look at the show effects they're perfect.

Sound 9.8- The commentators on this game are better than any other duo in a video game. crowd and the hits sounds great.

Gameplay 9.8- Is this a game or real life? This is the best sim you can find in any football game to date. Real interceptions, accurate passing, and a solid running game.

Lasting Appeal 10- Online leagues depending on which version you have are pretty good. The franchise is cool and when you're done with that there's a new challenge in First person football

Overall 9.9- Take a look at the first NFL2K and take a look at it now and you'll see the biggest imrpovement in a football game since 2000. This game is worth every dollar and you'll be happy just play it on legend against a friend or online.

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wait a minute! lol! neither one of those final scores are fair, man. I think you scored Madden too low in the graphics to department. I think it deserves a 7.5 because bodyscale sliders for player models...even though they aren't that great...each player has a unique build and thats SOMETHING that adds to the look of the game a bit. The helmets and facemasks on players are done well. Grass textures are decent. However, the crowds and stadiums are a joke and the overall player models aren't that good. Still, graphically, Madden is better than a 6.0

Lasting Appeal:
I also think the lasting appeal score, even at 8.5, is too low. The sheer amount of options in Franchise Mode along with the compatiability with NCAA (which alls adds its dynasty options) gives Madden about a 9.6 in terms of lasting appeal. For those who enjoy Madden's gameplay and can tolerate the dead presentation, the game will be fresh for quite some time.

You scored it way too high in Presentation also. From the Menus to the in-game setup...Madden Blows serious Chunks. I'd give it a 6.5 at best. The Tutorial is nice and all but everywhere else the game is horrifically boring. How guys are still playing and manage to deal with multiple years in Owners Mode is beyond me but more power to em.

Gameplay -
Madden is better than a 7.0, man. I'd give it an 8.0. Its not a bad game at all but when compared to espn ...everything in Madden seems outdated. Even with slider adjustments, Madden just doesn't capture the essence of nfl football quite like espn does.


Overall Madden is better than a 7.8, man. I'd give Madden an 8.5 simply because of the replayability it has due to the crazy amount features and options in the game. The dated Gameplay
along with piss poor presentation is whats hurting the overall experience of Madden. Look for EA to make drastic gameplay, graphical, and presentation upgrades next year. Expect them to try and catch up with VC's efforts in these areas. Madden 2005 should be a pretty tight game all around.

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Your espn scores are high in a few areas.

Graphically ESPN is awesome and the player models are cool but they're way too generic across the board. A Bodyscale slider system like Madden's would do the trick and ultimately result in the best player models ever seen in console game thats made for both X-box and PS2. I'd lower that 9.8 to about a 9.4.

Lasting Appeal - of course if you're an online-a-holic the lasting appeal for espnfl is great because of league play on ps2(full support) and XBL support for xbox. However, the Franchise Mode lacks the depth of Madden's. The draft Class feature sucks balls. The create/edit a player a plyer is a joke compared to Madden's. The create-a-team feature is another bad joke told by VC.

The Rosters aren't that good and are made even worse by the before mentioned edit/create player system. The stat sorting and tracking isn't as deep as Madden's. However, the adaptive CPU A.I. in Franchise Mode and finality of getting fired as a coach will keep guys playing for quite awhile. Also the CRIB offers incentive for replayablity as does the challenge of mastering First person Football...both on and offline.

I'd have to give espn's lasting appeal a 9.4 because overall it provides a fresh experience each time you play because of the solid Gameplay and Top Notch presentation. However, the lack of depth and polish with most of the off-field options hurt its score here.

Overall - I don't think espn is a 9.9...its more of a 9.4. The game has made some serious strides since last year and the gameplay is the best there is . However, there are some off-field issues that still need alot of improvement. More depth to Franchise Mode along with polished off-field options would seal the deal for this series next year resulting in likely a 10.0 score overall....especially if VC adds more to he presentation and Gameplay as well. Reserve your copy of nfl2k5 NOW, folks.

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This man speaketh the truth.

[PrimeTime21]

Another month is up and i completely stopped playing Madden. ESPN Football is STILL a 9.9. People say the players look flat last time i watched a fottball game the chest area looked flat