OS Roundtable: Where does EA Football Stand at the End of This Generation?

[ColtCrazy]

I enjoy Madden 25…it's my favorite of this gen. But what is that really saying? Unless I hear unanimous reports that xbox one/ps4 versions are steps ahead, I'll happily stick with Madden 25 and not go forward. The game is good, but flawed. And maybe that's as good as we are going to get.

[illiterateoption]

I think it depends on which game your using as the foundation moving forward. If they use NCAA14, and incorporate some of the FUN thats found in that game over to Madden then we might have something.

NCAA 14 as it is now is a ton of fun for me. So much so that it may keep me form Madden 25 until I hear more positives. NCAA 14 has brought me back into Dynasty mode in such a way that I haven't been since NCAA 2004.

The thing with Madden, even the later iterations (12 and 13) that are at least playable is that they are laborious to enjoy. I feel like its alot of work to sit down and enjoy a franchise game of madden, if that makes sense.

[tril]

Quote: Originally Posted by RandyBass

Bravo Jayson Young. However if the analogy you used were to take place within Madden, then the punt probably would have just carried on into the end zone with the physics of a basketball and not a football. 1st and 10 at the 20.

LOL!!!!
true!!!

[DBMcGee3]

The most frustrating thing to me is that EA knows what people think, and they simply don't care because they have these exclusive licenses behind them. They can throw around their buzz words and pretend that old features are new, but when the game comes out every year, they know it sucks just like we do, and they are totally ok with charging the same retail price as other games that are far, far superior. I am in year 3 of my EA boycott, and it just keeps getting easier with each crappy game they make.

[PJ33]

Compared to improvements made in other sports titles I give Madden a 4/10 this generation. I have played every version of the college and nfl series on this generation of consoles and have not seen the improvement put into the other sports titles that other companies are doing.

Defensive line play is horrible. I can try to run away from a blocker in Madden 25 and still get stuck unable to move because the lineman has me in a block animation. I thought this was all fixed...

The presentation improvements have been minimal. I went back last night just to check the difference between last gen and this gen. Not trying to sound like a homer but 2k5 had the presentation down with graphic cuts during play selection, replays where they circle the blocks or holds or facemasks. A halftime show with replays. A weekly show with highlights through the league. How has none of that made it to this generation?

Another issue I have and it drives me nuts is the challenges. In Madden 25 I have a guy pick off a pass near the numbers (he was about 5 yards in bounds) he gets stuck with one leg in the air and skates out of bounds. I challenge the play thinking there is no way possible he didn't get two feet down from where he was on the field and sure enough I lose.
The other instance was a guy standing two feet on the white line recovering a fumble and I challenge that and am wrong again as apparently you can stand out of bounds and recover the ball in madden.
Again,. last gen 2K gave you the option to even challenge different aspects of a play. My game I played last night I threw a little flare pass and the receiver catches it gets hit and fumbles and the other team recovers. Madden would have given me the option to only challenge the fumble. I was able to overturn the call on the last gen by choosing to challenge the catch.

I could go on and on about the little things that some how didn't make it in this generation that drives me nuts, and scares me from wanting to even give the next generation a try. Until there is competition I doubt we see any drastic improvements. EA will just push out another hype video as they did in 06 and get everybody to buy it.

[rtkiii]

I still enjoy M13 - I played it for about 6 hours the other night as a player. I feel that game was a success and a step in the right direction. If they tweak a few things in presentation and sloppy after plat animations I think madden could be a great game...but they seem to struggle with the presentation.

[kjcheezhead]

Jayson young couldn't have said it any better. Looking at the situation it appears they are about where they started this gen and are choosing to build off this broken game. They are starting inside there own 5 and facing the 2000 ravens defense. It doesn't look good.

[jhogan3132]

I don't know why but it seems like I have enjoyed NCAA much more than Madden over the last few years and that's strange seeing that they are very very similar.