Re: Madden 09: Make or Break Season
Speaking personally, my problems with the game are a lot more extensive than the presentation and bug issues the game had in '08. It doesn't feel like football. It doesn't even feel like Madden football, which was the staple of the gameplay last gen imo. My big issues:
Players feel like they have no weight - not sure why, but all the work Tiburon put in establishing a limited physics system last gen was seemingly completely abandoned next gen. Tackles almost feel random.
Poor animations - We're three years into next gen and the QB anims are as goofy as it gets - flat out horrible, period. While the range of animations has improved, that's only when you compare it to previous next gen Madden games. Compared to APF or even 2K5, the animations are still relatively stiff and awkward looking. Lateral movement is depicted poorly. It's improved from what '06 was, but that's not saying much.
Rock/Paper/Scissors approach to AI - Madden gameplay. This beats that. That counters this. On a base level that's true, but the system has long needed additional depth. Players play too similarly.
QB play - Sorry have to stress how poorly a job they've done w/the QBs next gen. Even the hilarious stuff we'd see last gen where QBs would face the wrong direction and still throw accurate passes was better than what they've done next gen. They animate poorly. They all seem to have the same drop back animation. They run awkwardly. They throw awkwardly. They display weird high school level mechanics, which I don't know most high school QBs have. The RB anims are better, but still aren't anywhere near where they should be.
Player interaction - always been a big issue w/the series. While they took a step forward with the way they have the animations flow (I forget the fancy name they came up with for it), it's still far behind what was done in APF. Even in NCAA 04/06 (last gen) or 2K5 imo. DBs and LBs knock down passes that in real life they'd have no play on - which forces you to play the game less like you would see in a real football game (high school, college, pro... even pickup ball) and more like a Madden game.
I could go on but those were biggies off the top of my head. Throw in the other significant issues like the limited number of gameplay sliders, lack of team/player sliders, and extremely poor presentation (which is supposed to be vastly improved this year - again, not difficult to do when what came before it was so poorly done). That's not even touching on whatever bugs the game had, like the excessive turnover issues. Last year was an improved effort over what came before it, but again - that's not saying much imo. If you like the gameplay that's cool - because I'm sure the game will continue to progress forward. I just feel the game should be a lot further than it is right now.
Speaking personally, my problems with the game are a lot more extensive than the presentation and bug issues the game had in '08. It doesn't feel like football. It doesn't even feel like Madden football, which was the staple of the gameplay last gen imo. My big issues:
Players feel like they have no weight - not sure why, but all the work Tiburon put in establishing a limited physics system last gen was seemingly completely abandoned next gen. Tackles almost feel random.
Poor animations - We're three years into next gen and the QB anims are as goofy as it gets - flat out horrible, period. While the range of animations has improved, that's only when you compare it to previous next gen Madden games. Compared to APF or even 2K5, the animations are still relatively stiff and awkward looking. Lateral movement is depicted poorly. It's improved from what '06 was, but that's not saying much.
Rock/Paper/Scissors approach to AI - Madden gameplay. This beats that. That counters this. On a base level that's true, but the system has long needed additional depth. Players play too similarly.
QB play - Sorry have to stress how poorly a job they've done w/the QBs next gen. Even the hilarious stuff we'd see last gen where QBs would face the wrong direction and still throw accurate passes was better than what they've done next gen. They animate poorly. They all seem to have the same drop back animation. They run awkwardly. They throw awkwardly. They display weird high school level mechanics, which I don't know most high school QBs have. The RB anims are better, but still aren't anywhere near where they should be.
Player interaction - always been a big issue w/the series. While they took a step forward with the way they have the animations flow (I forget the fancy name they came up with for it), it's still far behind what was done in APF. Even in NCAA 04/06 (last gen) or 2K5 imo. DBs and LBs knock down passes that in real life they'd have no play on - which forces you to play the game less like you would see in a real football game (high school, college, pro... even pickup ball) and more like a Madden game.
I could go on but those were biggies off the top of my head. Throw in the other significant issues like the limited number of gameplay sliders, lack of team/player sliders, and extremely poor presentation (which is supposed to be vastly improved this year - again, not difficult to do when what came before it was so poorly done). That's not even touching on whatever bugs the game had, like the excessive turnover issues. Last year was an improved effort over what came before it, but again - that's not saying much imo. If you like the gameplay that's cool - because I'm sure the game will continue to progress forward. I just feel the game should be a lot further than it is right now.
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