OS Roundtable: Looking Back at Football Edition

[RaychelSnr]

When it comes down to it, talking about football in the previous generation involves talking a lot about Madden and NCAA Football and then a little bit about other companies' attempts to have meaningful unlicensed football entries into the marketplace.

Is football gaming in a better spot to end this generation than it was at the beginning? What was Madden's biggest problem this past generation? We discuss all of this after the jump...

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[Joba15700]

I will never buy a Madden football game again. E A cares nothing about their consumers, so why should we make them richer..

[Blitzburgh]

Nice read! I only wish the NFL would get blasted by these type of comments 24/7 and then maybe they will realize how this exclusivity is not what the consumer wants.

[boomhauertjs]

If 2k would've just made AP2k8 fully customizable and saved money on licensing of legends, it probably would have turned a profit.

[FreAk47]

Re: OS Roundtable: Looking Back at Football Edition

The one thing I feel has never been represented by Madden, is truly organic animations and physics. Anything should be able to happen on any given play, and no two plays should be identical. With Madden you repeatedly see the same tackle animations, same blocking animations, and there is never a sense that any given play can surprise you with something amazing. Just really a lack of any "Wow" factor, everything is the same old same old Madden.

[ghettogeeksta]

Re: OS Roundtable: Looking Back at Football Edition

Madden is so far behind, I would have never thought Madden would be in the state that its in now. Eight-nine years ago I thought Madden would play and look almost like real life by now. Im pretty sure that was their goal since the beginning at EA Sports, to make sports games as realistic as possible. Somewhere along the line (around the time EA purchased the exclusive NFL license) that goal dissipated.

[GiantBlue76]

Madden - the JV participant in a varsity world...

[wordtobigbird]

Re: OS Roundtable: Looking Back at Football Edition

Madden can only win when compared to older Maddens. Madden compared to other football and other sports games will lose in almost every category. Hopefully this can change soon.

[malky]

DT says it all:

DT: Presentation. All football presentation was sorely lacking this entire generation. I'm a huge advocate of keeping NFL 2K5 in the past, but when a game from the original Xbox still has the best presentation from any NFL game ever, something is wrong. This goes for commentary as well.


Its like he is reading my mind and millions of others, PLEASE 2K FOOTBALL come back!!!... that is all

[wordtobigbird]

Re: OS Roundtable: Looking Back at Football Edition

MC: There are many, but if I have to chose one I will say that it's the aspect of individual team identities. For example, when you play Madden NFL 25 against the Chiefs, you should expect, and have to gameplan for, a large dose of Jamaal Charles and Alex Smith trying to carve you up in the short passing game. When playing the Saints, it's all about Drew Brees and his weapons over the middle and out of the backfield. What I'm getting at, I guess, is a higher form of artificial intelligence combined with real life statistics and play-calling tendencies. Signature styles, if you will.

This. If they improve the play calling AI on Next Gen it will do a lot to making the game more fun and will be easier than other huge changes to the engine or whatever else. Hopefully this is high up on the priority list.

[slick589]

Re: OS Roundtable: Looking Back at Football Edition

This. If they improve the play calling AI on Next Gen it will do a lot to making the game more fun and will be easier than other huge changes to the engine or whatever else. Hopefully this is high up on the priority list.

AI is one thing but the animations need to be there also. The stuff you see in madden isn't the stuff you see irl in relation to movement, interaction, and animations.

[wordtobigbird]

Re: OS Roundtable: Looking Back at Football Edition

AI is one thing but the animations need to be there also. The stuff you see in madden isn't the stuff you see irl in relation to movement, interaction, and animations.

Without a doubt. Personally, I'd want them to start from scratch with an entire new engine but that's not realistic. Speaking realistically, they could get the CPU to actually call the correct plays for the style of offense with the same animations and it would be a huge improvement to the game.

Especially because they have multiple teams that work on different things. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the player sense and AI improvements do for next gen.

[royounggoku]

Re: OS Roundtable: Looking Back at Football Edition

Yea it's probably gonna be unanimous that we will never be in a good spot as long as that exclusive license is in place, especially when in the hands of an inferior product.

[royounggoku]

Re: OS Roundtable: Looking Back at Football Edition

WARNING: I'm posting a video of All-Pro 2k8 PLEASE nobody catch feelings. Mute the video if you like because he's pretty much praising 2k throughout but please I encourage even the most hardcore of Madden fans if you enjoy football PLEASE fully look at this video objectively and give your thoughts.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Y4o1plULQM0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I'm not saying there aren't quirky things happening, players to do make weird jerky cuts at times but it is by far overpowered by the beautiful gameplay. THIS is the kind of thing that needs to be seen and I don't know if it can happen without something drastic like an overhaul to the engine.

[wordtobigbird]

Re: OS Roundtable: Looking Back at Football Edition

Preface, I have never played 2k8.

Less than a minute and half in and I am wow'd by 2 post play things in a row.

- At 1:15. After the whistle blows two guys get into it. One is pushing the other and they start pointing into each others faces.

- At 1:22 on the next play, the defender makes a tackle for loss. He lays out like hes dead for some reason lol but after that his teammate walks up to him and gives him some celebratory chest punches.

Makes me kind of sad that I didn't play it and that Madden doesnt have it.. :/