Well, I got it the day it came out. The graphics (for the Xbox 360) are very very good. I’m impressed by a lot of things it does and how it plays. I like the new blocking scheme, and I like how the focus is on the running game this time around.
The AI cornerbacks no longer have eyes in the back of their heads. If they’re not looking at the quarterback, they won’t inexplicably make a play on the ball. I also like how they’ve (optinally) got rid of the passing cone, although I like the idea of looking to one side, making the defenders act there, and passing to the other side. I always said that they should have kept the idea, but simplified it. Tap the reciever to look in that direction, then hit the button again to throw there. Hold down the right bumper and hit the button for a pump fake to that receiver. Additionally, I love how they’ve come back with hidden hall of fame players. They get released as your progress in the game goes along.
Now, for what I DON’T like:
Franchise mode has no more fantasy draft. Are you kidding me? Gah! That was what you do with the game months down the road to kill time! Not only that, but if you go to check on your progress for the game, it automatically unlocks the hidden players, which are then released in the free agent pool for all games after that. Yeah, starting off a franchise and picking up Sammy Baugh, Barry Sanders, Steve Largent, Jack Ham, and Ronnie Lott reeeeeally bolsters your roster (they’re all 25 years old, by the way, FYI for contractual queries). There’s no way to start a franchise and exclude these Hall of Fame rascals.
Well, if anyone has it and wishes to brag about their accomplishments or what they like/dislike, have at it.
I don’t have much experience with the 360 version, but I did check it out at a friend’s house recently. I didn’t like it very much, though I didn’t get enough time in on it to notice some of the finer details.
I do know that some of the meat is still missing from the XBox/PS2 version. It doesn’t have all of the game modes that the others do. That may not be a big deal, but if they didn’t have enough time to implement those simple things, then did they have enough time to tweak the gameplay and make it realistic?
Why did they screw with the play calling menu? I realize they screwed with it last year on the 360 version too, but I don’t really count that game in the pantheon of Madden installments. Total hack job, IMHO, but I digress. I’ve gotten so used to the classic menu with 3 plays where you use for the left one, X for the middle one and O for the right one. Was it really necessary to change that?
I also hate hate hate hate HATE the generic radio announcer. His voice sounds distant, robotic and tinny. Why not Madden and Michaels? The game feels so cold without them. I realize that Madden’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it is his game.
Overall, the game feels like a cheap Madden knockoff to me. The play menu and announcers are a couple of the little things that always made Madden Madden. I realize that it’s necessary to freshen up a franchise every now and then, but don’t mess with tried and true methods. I was never one of those kids that bought the Sega Sports versions of NFL football, and I don’t want to start now.
I forgot to add that I’m currently playing a franchise with 4 of my roommates on the PS2 version, and I’m enjoying it immensely. (Though that damned eyes in the back of the head thing LOUNE mentioned is annoying.)
Haven’t played on PS2 or old Xbox, but if I compared this to last year’s Xbox version, I’d say the gameplay on the 360 is better…I’d say it’s noticable. I won’t say that it’s markedly better or significantly better only because it’s new and there’s room for improvement, but it’s better. No blind gazelle leaps from corners who are out of position, playing the wrong zone, and looking at the cheerleaders to pick off your perfect pass. That alone is worth the freakin’ money.
I completely forgot about the announcer. I’m not sure who he is or what he does, but I’m not a giant fan of his, either. I’d think that the 360 could be good enough to get every home team’s announcer on there (which would beeee really fuckin badass). I DON’T miss Madden, but I do miss Michaels.
Hot routes are harder to do. They’ve added more variety, but you’ve gotta switch to the receiver (at the line of scrimmage, of course) and hit a button (I’m still not sure of how to do it), then hit a corresponding direction on the analog sticks (they tell you what route you get for each direction, which I like). The blocking assignments are nicer, and if you motion a reciever whose route moves through the line of scrimmage, he cuts his route short and becomes a blocker. That’s good for a stealth blocker sometimes if it looks like a blitz is coming and you haven’t the time (or gumption) to change it or wanna give an odd look.
You can’t start now, because of the ridiculous exclusivity agreement that EA signed with the NFL a couple years back instead of actually attempting to keep their product at the top of a free market. It offends me as both an economist and someone who thought ESPN NFL 2K5 was a significantly better game than any of the recent Maddens have been
re: the thread itself… um… it’s still alright, mediocre, fun enough, whatever. I don’t buy the game since I don’t own any of the newer consoles, but I end up playing it a decent bit every year when a friend/roommate gets it and my competitive instinct overrides my “Hmmm, it wasn’t really that great last year” memories. It’s still not good enough to force me to buy a PS2… and I’m the kind of crazy NFL fan who would do that if the game was good enough.
I feared that the Madden games would slip upon their cornering of the market. I remember that news coming out last year. ESPN’s games were doing a good job of biting into their sales because they dropped their prices significantly. Apparently, EA made them a deal they couldn’t refuse, which I would think would be a MIGHTY big deal seeing as how ESPN is a branch of Disney and ABC. It’s not like you can just buy the Mouse. With that being said, the folks at EA seem to be working on making Madden a better game with tweaks, changes, and such. We shall see in the coming years if innovation grows stagnant for them, though.
Now when does EA buy out ESPN when it comes to basketball games?
EA actually has the ESPN license now, with the option of implementing the ESPN presentation in its games. If you’re talking about EA’s competition, programmed by Visual Concepts and formerly distributed by Sega, that’s actually owned by Take-Two now. EA did approach the NBA in 2004 about a similar exclusivity deal like the one it has with the NFL, but the NBA rejected EA’s initial offer because NBA Live doesn’t own as large a share of the market as Madden NFL does. IGN story about EA and the NBA
