Hey Dopers! I haven’t seen any Madden threads around, and the buzz on the game is starting to get going. The release is less than two months away (Aug. 14th), and some new features are making me excited for this game like I haven’t been in years.
Anyone on the Dope play Madden? EA has announced that this year’s Madden will have an online franchise mode that seems pretty sweet. EA has done a great job updating the fans via Twitter and blogs on all the work that has been done to redevelop the game from the ground up. I haven’t bought a Madden game new in at least five years, and I’ll definitely get this one on day one. A lot of work has gone into redesigning the fundamental physics of the game to bring about a more realistic feel (check out this blog post for an example of the types of changes being made to improve gameplay).
And, if anyone does play, would anyone want to join up on an online franchise? I’ll probably get the 360 version of the game, but I have a PS3 in case most people play that instead. Let me know! Otherwise, anyone have anything to say about Madden in general? Fire away!
I’ve contemplated getting it. I didn’t get it last year, the first year possibly ever that I didn’t play a Madden game. I’m down for an online league if we get more participants. I’ve got a 360, by the way.
I got it for the 360 on Friday and got around to trying it today. I like the new feel of the game a lot. It seems like it handles smoothly, but EA still has trouble with some animations locking out control of a player for too long. Overall, I’d say it’s the best playing Madden yet though!
I went home for lunch and furthered my Franchise through its preseaon some more. So far I am loving it. The controls and features are very different than 09 and more like 08. Do they have two Madden development teams leapfrogging with different design philosophies or did they just not get positive feed back on some of the controls in 09?
It seems like it. I can’t imagine that’s the case, though. I think they really do go through a lot of feedback from the top Madden players with a lot of this stuff, too.
Edited to add: A gaming messageboard that I visit (25 years and older) is looking to get a league going. Let’s merge the two?
I have madden '09 - I got it in a package deal for free when I bought my xbox. I haven’t played it much. I tried playing it online 3 times. First time I got my ass kicked fair and square something like 37-3.
Second game started with my opponent purposely taking 3 sacks in a row, and then on fourth and 26, before the snap, Kyle Orton slowly walked forward, ghosting through my defensive line, until he was about 30 yards past the line of scrimmage. Then the ball was hiked (by the center at the line of scrimmage) and magically appears in Orton’s hands, 30 yards past the line of scrimmage, who then runs for a touchdown. I quit after that.
Third game - I decided to try a ranked game. I got rejected by a few players at first (maybe because of my 0-0 record?) until I found someone to play with who also had a 0-0 record. It was a fine game, he was leading 27 to 15 at the end of the game. He had the ball, and with 7 seconds on the clock he called a time out. My camera then randomly panned across the field… indefinitely. I left the game sitting like that for 15 minutes before I turned it off.
So, what was his deal? Was he trying to grief me by beating me and then forcing a “did not finish” game on me? Or maybe he killed all games before they ended so that he could maintain a 0-0 record and keep playing rated matches against new players? Maybe both?
Is this the typical Madden online experience? With that, and the silly netcode (you have to check with the server every time you select a play in the playbook? really?), I’m not impressed.
The skinny on your second game is that it’s a known glitch in 2009 that was exploited by players who like (or have to use) cheats to win. It ruined the online experience for a lot of online Madden players.
Here’s a tip. When you start a franchise, trade your best running back and receiver for picks or whatever you need. Then pick up Shagg Makino and Joe Walsh. Sign them to 7-year contracts. Enjoy having a stud offense.