What are your thoughts on this game really?

[kGinGreen]

OS said we could post impressions so I'm going to I guess. I'm not someone who gets too detailed in my impressions, but I enjoy this years Madden somewhat. I think it's a pretty fun title if you dont get into the details too much. It's also not the end all be all by any means, but I think EA did a good job with the presentation. The engine itself is also pretty neat. The game on the surface is pretty next gen. I like what EA did in that regard. What takes away from it for me are still all the same Madden issues that have plagued it for years. The AI can still be easily outsmarted and takes poor angles, poor collision detection and outright cheese a lot of the time. You will see players jump routes that arent humanly possible. You'll see the ball go right through a player. You see a blocker somehow shift 5 yards and block a guy. The difficulty levels are also absurd. On all pro its too easy. On all madden blockers stick to you like glue. It's cheesy but fun I guess. Some of the animations are good. Others look ridiculous. The player models some look great others not so much. I like the controls. EA's controls are always pretty simple but intricate and responsive. I like the engine itself. The tech in the game is pretty good as far as hwo the game is running. Hard to explain. It just looks nice and runs nice.. The speed of the game is good. The commentary is horrible. Some of the cutscenes are really repetitive and bland. The wildcat and running to the outside and passing to the outside is ridiculous and overpowered. The cpu still runs inexplainably out of bounds which speaks for the AI. It's still MAdden. If you hate Madden you will hate this game. If you like Madden you will like it.

All in all I give the game an 8..... Maybe a 7.5. It's a jump in the right direction ala NBA Live last year compared to the year before imo. Its better than that. Fight Night is still the best EA title i've played because it's simple and just fun. They had a lot of time to work on it and it shows. No thats' not perfect either and the AI is pretty basic but it works for the most part. 2k on the other hand takes a different approach with their AI but has their own issues. 2k tends to take a more sim approach. EA really hasnt yet. Which is a shame because i think the engine EA is using and the money they have they could have the best of both worlds. Neither company has really done that yet. I do question if EA understands the sports they are making titles for though. They are more about fun and it being a game vs realistic. EA to me seems to be more about selling games vs actually making a realistic representation of the sport.

My two favorite sports games this past year are nba 2k9 and fight night round 4 so you can't really say i lean either way. Both those games have issues as well. But the package is pretty good. Outside of THE SHOW no game has really captured and perfected a sports game imo.. I dont play nhl or fifa so i cant really comment. But for me Madden is a step below the titles i mentioned. NBA Live is a step below that.

I also think OS is usually really good with their reviews but dropped the ball this year on Madden.

[fourthreemafia]

Re: What are your thoughts on this game really?

For the first few days, I gave this game a 9...now Id say 6.5.

Some of the issues this game has are inexcusable. I can handle things like draft info being left out and some other little imperfections, but how the hell do you jack up pursuit angles so bad? Or covering the flats? How does blocking not only NOT get better, but gets worse? How are simmed stats so jacked up? I mean, if games from last gen can do all this stuff better, its time to go back to the drawing board.

I will admit, I am having SOME fun with Madden. Every other next gen Madden Ive ranked in the 3-5 range, so even 6.5 is an improvement. I just cant overlook some of the nonsense in this game. Simple, pop warner football fundamentals dont even seem to make this game in some instances.

Its pretty easy to tell that most, if not all the people that work on Madden dont really know much at all about the game of football and may not even really be NFL fans. This isnt meant to bash anyone, but if at least a some of these people were NFL fans and knew the game , I guarantee we wouldnt be getting this every year. Alot of times, its just laziness. In most cases though, these people simply dont know how the real game works, and thats why I dont have a ton of faith in Madden ever getting where it needs to be.

Sorry for the rant...but everything I said is true.

[CapnKill]

Re: What are your thoughts on this game really?

I don't care for it too much.. but it is the best NG Madden to date, for whatever that is worth.

These are the things that bother me the most:

1. Lack of camera angles, or custom cam.
2. Players float, they don't seem connected with the turf
3. Tackles don't feel like tackles, they're too soft.
4. Deep Ball is very difficult to pull off.
5. Way too many bugs, everywhere.
6. Inability to configure controls
7. I have to pay $5 to play All Madden Ranked
8. Worthless stats... like they said QB THA is meaningless, since Short Accuracy, Med and Long are what matters... so why the **** do you not take out THA then?!
9. DBs running routes for the WRs
10. DBs defending and jumping routes without even looking at the WR
11. Hit stick toned down too much
12. Still forced to press A before playmakering defenders.
13. RCing is still there (only have to deal with this vs Humans)
14. Running animations are HORRIBLE. Guys look like they're 50 years old and constantly gassed.

Things I like:

1. Its pretty
2. You can get hit while throwing now, which is nice
3. Man coverage is better
4. Players finally have a bit more weight to them... momentum wise.

I give this game a 5 out of 10 at this point.

[Brooklynbks4]

Re: What are your thoughts on this game really?

i love it sure its not perfect has a couple of flaws but it is the best madden on next gen 2 date and i havent been lovin madden like this since the old ps2 days i enjoy the game for what it is rather what it isnt

[WisconsinSports414]

Re: What are your thoughts on this game really?

Meh. It's decent..somewhat fun at times when you use sliders. I like that this year, I can really see and kind of feel the differences in play style between the teams. The Vikings are gonna try and pound the rock with AD, while Drew Brees is gonna be slingin that ball around and passing for 330+ yards with the Saints. I play with the Raiders, and Jamarcus Russell will badly overthrow a pass that would go for six if I were using Tom Brady instead. Acclerated clock is great, and I'm glad they brought it back. But, there still are just too many flaws in too many areas for me to be satisfied. Heck, the clock runs in the game at times when players clearly run out of bounds, and even after an incomplete pass! How can you miss something that basic? Even with slider adjustments, broken tackles on that game are rediculous. And sure, people will say you need to get better at the game -- which is true, but I sure as heck can't remember the last time I saw ANY back be able to 1. Break a tackle. 2. Just power his way through three or four tacklers (linemen and line backers that are usually bigger and stronger) after breaking the tackle. 3. Breaking another tackle after that, and then still have the stamina to sprint 50+ yards to the endzone without being totally gassed and/or caught from behind. Players are able to make picks (human or CPU) without even looking back at the ball, yet the majority of the time will just drop a ball that is thrown right at them. With blocking logic so screwed up, outside runs are almost useless on higher difficulties. That would be fine, since in real life those are hit and miss plays - but in Madden, they are wasted plays, and almost always fail because at least 1-2 offensive linemen just refuse to block. I think the game is much improved, honestly. If they could just improve on those things, I would have no complaints as far as game play. But, me and a lot of people have been saying things along those lines for some years now, so we'll see what happens. Other than that, the commentary sucks..Chris Collinsworth is great, but Hammond is so bad that he just drags them both down. It's a little surprising, since he's decent doing the Notre Dame games, and was great back in the day for the NBA on NBC crew.

[kGinGreen]

Re: What are your thoughts on this game really?

Ea games look and control really good. But are they a realistic represenation of the sport? Not really.... EA's developers come on here and say they are listening but are they? They hyped this game beyond belief which kind of bugs me.. I understand it's marketing and a white lie in a lot of ways and they are speaking the truth as they see it. But are they really listening? I really believe they don't care if KGinGreen buys their game. It's more about creating interest. They don't care if simballler joe or whoever buys the game because it's such a small percentage of sales. Most of us are going to buy it anyways. I rented it this year and wont be buying it.

[Bleak5170]

Re: What are your thoughts on this game really?

I hear a lot of people calling this the best Madden ever, but in all honesty, is that really saying a lot? I love the series but I can't think of a year where there weren't some fairly significant problems. EA worked a lot on the overall presentation and it still sucks! The graphics look nice but everything else is pretty amateurish. Half-time highlights with no commentary whatsoever?

And what is up with players running out of bounds???? Anyone who has been playing Madden for a long time knows this is not a new problem. The real kicker is that this was fixed with a patch in a previous version of the game. EA actually fixed it yet now it's back for some reason. Does anyone at Tiburon even pay attention to what they're doing? The graphics engine could use an update as well. Despite the fact things do look prettier now, on replays you can actually see that the ball isn't even attached to the QBs hand when he goes to pass the ball. And there is tons of clipping with players going through one another and even disappearing into the ground.

One thing which has plagued the series almost since it started is the fact the computer is fantastic at passing but horrible at rushing the ball. CPU quarterbacks frequently have ratings over 130 for a single game, yet running backs struggle to average 3 yards per carry. Luckily this can be alleviated somewhat with sliders.

It's not all bad. The new rushing and passing mechanics are solid and I really like the new slower game play speed. Defensive players are still way too adept at picking off the ball though.

All in all this is a decent game but I can't help but be a little angry with EA for working too much on little details and not enough on A.I. issues (defenders taking horrible angles for instance). Despite the improved game play on the offensive side of the ball, with all the little nagging issues with the game, I can't give it more than a 7/10. A lot of that score is based on the fact that I'm still seeing the same problems I saw 7-8 years ago.

[DirtyJerz32]

Re: What are your thoughts on this game really?

Love it. IMO, best football game to date.

[BHeezy]

Re: What are your thoughts on this game really?

yea it has potential to be great but i dont think EA knows real football. i swear to god, people might not believe me, but the AI does whatever it wants in order to make a play go their way, its like everything is pre planned. like the AI goes"first down on this play" so no matter what a first down will happen. i swear to god i was playing franchise with the 9ers and it was my 15th game of the season and on 3rd and 5, daunte culpepper scrambles and meets patrick willis at the first down line, he lowers his shoulder and TRUCKS PATRICK WILLIS!!!!!!! WOW!!! A 98 OVERALL BEAST IN PATRICK WILLIS GETS TRUCKED BY A QB!!! THAT WAS A HORRIBLE INSULT TO PATRICK WILLIS AND I THINK HE NEEDS TO GO TO EA AND HIT STICK EVERYBODY THAT WORKS THERE...THAT WAS HORRIBLE AND IM EMBARRASSED FOR EA BECAUSE THAT SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN..EVER...

[kGinGreen]

Re: What are your thoughts on this game really?

yea it has potential to be great but i dont think EA knows real football. i swear to god, people might not believe me, but the AI does whatever it wants in order to make a play go their way, its like everything is pre planned. like the AI goes"first down on this play" so no matter what a first down will happen. i swear to god i was playing franchise with the 9ers and it was my 15th game of the season and on 3rd and 5, daunte culpepper scrambles and meets patrick willis at the first down line, he lowers his shoulder and TRUCKS PATRICK WILLIS!!!!!!! WOW!!! A 98 OVERALL BEAST IN PATRICK WILLIS GETS TRUCKED BY A QB!!! THAT WAS A HORRIBLE INSULT TO PATRICK WILLIS AND I THINK HE NEEDS TO GO TO EA AND HIT STICK EVERYBODY THAT WORKS THERE...THAT WAS HORRIBLE AND IM EMBARRASSED FOR EA BECAUSE THAT SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN..EVER...

Yes it does. The game is prescripted. Instead of the cpu just running a play and then branching it has predetermined logic. This is where 2k differs. 2k has their own problems because their AI can be really predictable but its at least just running a play and branching off of that. Player movements and angles are also much more logical. In Madden, This is why you see blockers jump like 5 yards to block a guy or a receiver will burst and blow by a defender unexplicably at weird times. It's also reading your movements so if you move a certain way your blockers and defenders as well respond very unrealistically at times.

[Bleak5170]

Re: What are your thoughts on this game really?

14. Running animations are HORRIBLE. Guys look like they're 50 years old and constantly gassed.

Oh God yes! What the hell happened here? This is the worst running animation I've seen since the early 2K football games, (2K5 was great but I'm sorry, those guys look hilarious when they run).

[Old Mr T]

Re: What are your thoughts on this game really?

I like Madden 10.

I've become accustomed to the inherent Madden problems (speed up, high jumps, blocking AI etc), so I welcome any improvements. This version is a definite improvement.

I am really hacked off with the loss of Madden Classic Cam though. I play offline co-op and on certain run or pass plays the Standard Cam shifts suddenly so that you lose track of your player at a crucial moment. Running accurate pass patterns when the screen is moving is not easy either. I really hope they can patch Classic Cam back. It's been in every Maddens since day one so I'm frustrated that they decide to remove it.

In fact, I hope EA's key feature for Madden 11 is to not remove anything from Madden 10. Only add to the game and stop taking key elements away.

[lendog691]

Re: What are your thoughts on this game really?

I think everyone should withhold judgment on this game until all patches are released and the they come up with a good slider set. That being said every sports game that is released out of the box on the next gen systems has been bad and unplayable to some extent.So i now wait to see if these games are worth buying plus if i wait a month or so i can get it used and save my self a little money and in todays economy that is a good thing.

[Netherscourge]

Re: What are your thoughts on this game really?

Honestly, it's OK.

It's got sharp graphics - I'll give it that. And I like that there's actual gang-tackles in the game, albeit they're not as smoothly implemented as I would like.


But it still lacks a lot of realism that the OTHER game had 5 years ago on older consoles. And the in-game pop-up ads are really irking me.

The running animations aren't too bad - I just wish there was a lot more variety and realism in them. More realistic-looking on-the-spot collision animations, even if there isn't a real physics engine, would have been nice. APF pulled it off, why can't Madden?

And then there's the bugs and glitches... my oh my. Every year there's something wacky going on that slipped by their QA department. Having to wait a couple weeks for a patch is annoying.

I think that my problem is that some stuff we really want is not in the game or a shoddy, weak attempt at getting them into the game was made and is sold to us as a "foundation for the future"... we're 4 years into the Next-Gen of console hardware...how much longer we gotta wait?

Look at Broadcast Camera - it's a standard camera mode and here we are BEGGING EA to patch it in. I fear they'll put it in and it'll bug and glitch something else in the game making us all crazy again.

Meh - it is what it is.

[GiantBlue76]

Re: What are your thoughts on this game really?

I think everyone should withhold judgment on this game until all patches are released and the they come up with a good slider set. That being said every sports game that is released out of the box on the next gen systems has been bad and unplayable to some extent.So i now wait to see if these games are worth buying plus if i wait a month or so i can get it used and save my self a little money and in todays economy that is a good thing.

Really? I think there are some good games out of the box...

Crazy that the bar is now so low that we have to wait for patches. What happened to football gaming????