Article from Total Pro Sports. http://www.totalprosports.com/2010/0...han-the-nfl/2/
What do you guys think? Obviously the author is NOT a sim player.
The NFL is great. But the NFL as played in the Madden franchise of video games has surpassed it. It's time the real NFL fired their human players and made the switch to a 100% digital league. It would do wonders for the salary cap. Am I being serious. My heart says no, but this acid I took says yes. Either way, here are 9 ways in which Madden is better than the real NFL.
1. GameFlow
GameFlow serves to shorten game length in Madden through the use of strategic assumptions so that players can spend more time playing and less time flipping through the playbook and waiting to line up. If only the NFL could adopt such a strategy. Between TV timeouts, coaches milking playclocks, halftimes, and slow offenses, an investment in an NFL game is always a three-hour affair punctuated by sporadic action.
While Madden strives to be as real as possible in most aspects of the game, I don’t think anyone playing the game in GameFlow mode will miss the 20 idle seconds that can be eliminated between plays.
Further, GamePlay mode simplifies Madden so that first-time players can just pick up and run with a preset strategy. In real football…not so much.
2. Gus Johnson Calls Every Game
While Gus Johnson may get into the booth for CBS every week or so, in Madden ’11, he’s bringing his unbridled enthusiasm to every contest. How far we’ve come since the snoozefest days of Pat Summerall calling our video games. While previous incarnations of Madden had Pat to their detriment, now we get upset that in the real world there’s only so much Gus to go around.
His audio is a little choppy in Madden, but I’ll take a compromised Gus Johnson calling a game over anyone else. The man could keep you on the edge of your seat for bass fishing, for God’s sake. Short of splicing Johnson’s genes, I don’t think there is a reasonable way to allow the NFL to catch up here. In a video game, he can jet from Tampa Bay to Minneapolis in a matter of seconds.
In the real world, he may not be beholden to the Madden Cruiser, but it’s unlikely that we’re gonna get Gus for more than one game a week. Alas.
3. GamePlanning
Most of the people playing Madden would make lousy NFL coaches. To be an NFL coach, you need ice water running through your veins. You can’t second-guess your instinct and you need to be looking about six moves ahead, even as the clock dwindles and nothing seems to be working.
That doesn’t sound like most of the Madden gamers I know. The guys I know start to visibly shake when asked “paper or plastic” and can’t scratch their *** without running it through committee. Madden, though, has taken this into account. GamePlanning allows gamers to pre-select a shortlist of plays in different scenarios in order to streamline playcalling in crunch time. You can look cool and composed without slowing down for a second.
Should any of these characters get tossed into an actual 2-minute drill on the road, they would be curled up in the fetal position, fighting tears. Advantage: Madden ’11.
4. Boosts
Realism is over rated. Video games are supposed to be escapist, so allowing players to get a “boost” during online play in exchange for Madden coins sounds like a pretty fun twist, rewarding players for meeting the challenges of Madden. When I’m in the game lobby, I avoid those “boosted” players like the plague, but if you’ve got it, flaunt it.
One could counter that “boosts” do exist in the NFL, but shrunken testicles shouldn’t be the price to pay, so let’s give Madden the edge on this one too. Sorry, Lyle Alzado.
5. Super Bowl Celebration
Ironically, the Super Bowl trophy presentation is one of the most depressing events of the entire season. It’s last call and the lights have come up. The hoisting of the Lombardi trophy is inspiring for one second, then that voice starts bouncing around in your skull. “This is the longest possible time until more football.” I feel creeped out just discussing that moment.
Well, with Madden ’11, one needn’t concern themselves with the tragic end to the season. A new season is mere moments away. So sit back, relax and enjoy a simulated Super Bowl celebration that puts the real one to shame. And, oh yeah, Obama’s there too. Tip back some bub with the President, give him a hug, and then get your next season on deck. No off-season in Maddenland, folks.
6. Offense-friendly AI
Nobody wants to deal with runaway offenses that can’t be contained, but if the football watching population had to pick between more offensive production or stingier defenses, they would go with the offense, hands down. Who can blame them? A defensive slugfest is a sight to behold…every once in a while. But most fans don’t want to see 20-14 games week in and week out.
Fortunately, neither did the guys behind Madden ’11. Though it’s not gaudy, the offense gets a slightly easier go of it here, which drums up the excitement factor not only for the gamers playing Madden, but also for the poor souls that have to watch people play Madden. God help them. And may God bless Madden football.
7. Resettable Injuries/Exhibition Mode
Again, this is matter of preference, but I only want realism up to a point. I would like to have the option to catch my gaming opponent off-guard by having Phillip Rivers run a bootleg from 4 yards out without having to worry about his problem ankles or a third concussion for the season. Let his mom worry about those things. Let me worry about punching it in for 6 so I can scream at some kid in Vancouver over a headset.
The exhibition games are the best way to play head-to-head cause you can beat your stars like rented mules with no repercussions the next game. I’m guessing Chris Johnson would get so many touches he’d make 2008 Larry Johnson look like a fullback. A “fun” game of football shouldn’t require me to count concussions for my virtual team.
8. The All Time Teams
Can anyone argue against the wonder that is the “all-time” teams? If you’re a Charger fan, do you want to see Dan Fouts handing off to LT? And not 2010 LT, but 2007, fantasy-draft-prize LT. You don’t need to answer that; we all know the answer.
Sadly, we live in a world where the laws of time and aging preclude us from realizing Randall Cunningham launching balls to TO, but again, it’s fantasy land on your video game console, so go ahead and play with Theismann without having to worry about cracking his leg again.
9. Player Intelligence; aka, The Flozelle Adams Effect
I doubt there is an NFL coach out there that would rather coach a real NFL team than a Madden team. The digital players are hard workers, don’t often pull a Haynesworth and bitch about your new defensive scheme, and, above all, they can follow simple instructions. Not always, mind you, but most of the time.
False starts happen, but not as often. Routes get run properly and at full speed. Playing with a Madden team is like playing with a team of obedient robots.
Further, because the NFL wants to look better in Madden than it does in real life, players don’t get picked up on weapons charges outside Atlanta-area nightclubs, and they rarely run dogfighting rings. Madden is the NFL’s idea of Utopia.
What do you guys think? Obviously the author is NOT a sim player.
The NFL is great. But the NFL as played in the Madden franchise of video games has surpassed it. It's time the real NFL fired their human players and made the switch to a 100% digital league. It would do wonders for the salary cap. Am I being serious. My heart says no, but this acid I took says yes. Either way, here are 9 ways in which Madden is better than the real NFL.
1. GameFlow
GameFlow serves to shorten game length in Madden through the use of strategic assumptions so that players can spend more time playing and less time flipping through the playbook and waiting to line up. If only the NFL could adopt such a strategy. Between TV timeouts, coaches milking playclocks, halftimes, and slow offenses, an investment in an NFL game is always a three-hour affair punctuated by sporadic action.While Madden strives to be as real as possible in most aspects of the game, I don’t think anyone playing the game in GameFlow mode will miss the 20 idle seconds that can be eliminated between plays.
Further, GamePlay mode simplifies Madden so that first-time players can just pick up and run with a preset strategy. In real football…not so much.
2. Gus Johnson Calls Every Game
While Gus Johnson may get into the booth for CBS every week or so, in Madden ’11, he’s bringing his unbridled enthusiasm to every contest. How far we’ve come since the snoozefest days of Pat Summerall calling our video games. While previous incarnations of Madden had Pat to their detriment, now we get upset that in the real world there’s only so much Gus to go around.His audio is a little choppy in Madden, but I’ll take a compromised Gus Johnson calling a game over anyone else. The man could keep you on the edge of your seat for bass fishing, for God’s sake. Short of splicing Johnson’s genes, I don’t think there is a reasonable way to allow the NFL to catch up here. In a video game, he can jet from Tampa Bay to Minneapolis in a matter of seconds.
In the real world, he may not be beholden to the Madden Cruiser, but it’s unlikely that we’re gonna get Gus for more than one game a week. Alas.
3. GamePlanning
Most of the people playing Madden would make lousy NFL coaches. To be an NFL coach, you need ice water running through your veins. You can’t second-guess your instinct and you need to be looking about six moves ahead, even as the clock dwindles and nothing seems to be working.That doesn’t sound like most of the Madden gamers I know. The guys I know start to visibly shake when asked “paper or plastic” and can’t scratch their *** without running it through committee. Madden, though, has taken this into account. GamePlanning allows gamers to pre-select a shortlist of plays in different scenarios in order to streamline playcalling in crunch time. You can look cool and composed without slowing down for a second.
Should any of these characters get tossed into an actual 2-minute drill on the road, they would be curled up in the fetal position, fighting tears. Advantage: Madden ’11.
4. Boosts
Realism is over rated. Video games are supposed to be escapist, so allowing players to get a “boost” during online play in exchange for Madden coins sounds like a pretty fun twist, rewarding players for meeting the challenges of Madden. When I’m in the game lobby, I avoid those “boosted” players like the plague, but if you’ve got it, flaunt it.One could counter that “boosts” do exist in the NFL, but shrunken testicles shouldn’t be the price to pay, so let’s give Madden the edge on this one too. Sorry, Lyle Alzado.
5. Super Bowl Celebration
Ironically, the Super Bowl trophy presentation is one of the most depressing events of the entire season. It’s last call and the lights have come up. The hoisting of the Lombardi trophy is inspiring for one second, then that voice starts bouncing around in your skull. “This is the longest possible time until more football.” I feel creeped out just discussing that moment.Well, with Madden ’11, one needn’t concern themselves with the tragic end to the season. A new season is mere moments away. So sit back, relax and enjoy a simulated Super Bowl celebration that puts the real one to shame. And, oh yeah, Obama’s there too. Tip back some bub with the President, give him a hug, and then get your next season on deck. No off-season in Maddenland, folks.
6. Offense-friendly AI
Nobody wants to deal with runaway offenses that can’t be contained, but if the football watching population had to pick between more offensive production or stingier defenses, they would go with the offense, hands down. Who can blame them? A defensive slugfest is a sight to behold…every once in a while. But most fans don’t want to see 20-14 games week in and week out.Fortunately, neither did the guys behind Madden ’11. Though it’s not gaudy, the offense gets a slightly easier go of it here, which drums up the excitement factor not only for the gamers playing Madden, but also for the poor souls that have to watch people play Madden. God help them. And may God bless Madden football.
7. Resettable Injuries/Exhibition Mode
Again, this is matter of preference, but I only want realism up to a point. I would like to have the option to catch my gaming opponent off-guard by having Phillip Rivers run a bootleg from 4 yards out without having to worry about his problem ankles or a third concussion for the season. Let his mom worry about those things. Let me worry about punching it in for 6 so I can scream at some kid in Vancouver over a headset.The exhibition games are the best way to play head-to-head cause you can beat your stars like rented mules with no repercussions the next game. I’m guessing Chris Johnson would get so many touches he’d make 2008 Larry Johnson look like a fullback. A “fun” game of football shouldn’t require me to count concussions for my virtual team.
8. The All Time Teams
Can anyone argue against the wonder that is the “all-time” teams? If you’re a Charger fan, do you want to see Dan Fouts handing off to LT? And not 2010 LT, but 2007, fantasy-draft-prize LT. You don’t need to answer that; we all know the answer.Sadly, we live in a world where the laws of time and aging preclude us from realizing Randall Cunningham launching balls to TO, but again, it’s fantasy land on your video game console, so go ahead and play with Theismann without having to worry about cracking his leg again.
9. Player Intelligence; aka, The Flozelle Adams Effect
I doubt there is an NFL coach out there that would rather coach a real NFL team than a Madden team. The digital players are hard workers, don’t often pull a Haynesworth and bitch about your new defensive scheme, and, above all, they can follow simple instructions. Not always, mind you, but most of the time.False starts happen, but not as often. Routes get run properly and at full speed. Playing with a Madden team is like playing with a team of obedient robots.
Further, because the NFL wants to look better in Madden than it does in real life, players don’t get picked up on weapons charges outside Atlanta-area nightclubs, and they rarely run dogfighting rings. Madden is the NFL’s idea of Utopia.
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