Madden's presentation struggles - Dantecamp21's Blog

Dantecamp21's Blog

Madden's presentation struggles

Posted on September 5, 2010 at 02:24 AM.

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I'm the kind of guy who will always lean towards what a game has to offer instead of focusing on its shortcomings, in other words: I'm Mr. Brightside.

With that said, I've been able to enjoy the Madden series over the years (I've owned each game since 97'). I'm really enjoying Madden 11 right now since Locomotion (combined with Pro-Tak) gave the game a more organic feel.

Today, just out of curiosity, I decided to plug my 360 on an old tube TV and gave my NFL 2K5 copy a fair "standard definition" run, just for old time's sake. I know this has been discussed a thousand times here at OS but boy...what a masterpiece. It's mind-boggling to me that even today, Madden still has such a bare bones presentation when compared to 2K5's brilliance. I don't know what might be holding Tiburon back.

The FIFA franchise sells more because of its global appeal, but Madden still is the flagship game of EA Sports' portfolio. Tiburon has the budget, the personnel, the technology. They should be able to make bigger strides from year to year. It's already the year 2010 and a kick-*** presentation in a Madden game should be a foregone conclusion by now.

It's not even a matter of in-house talent. Michael Young was the art director for NBA Street Homecourt which boasted a jaw-dropping presentation. Guess what? He's the art director for the Madden series since 09.

The motto "Everything you see on Sunday" has been thrown around without the proper care. Madden doesn't have obvious things like starting lineups on its presentation package. That's the first thing people see during a TV broadcast. How can they overlook such a thing? It's just inconceivable that they miss those kind of things during the team's brain-storming of what "we see on Sunday".

I could go all day long about how poorly portrayed (in that regard) the series has been over the years but, once again, I'd rather overlook it and keep playing. Maybe I shouldn't...

Comments

# 1 Dazraz @ Sep 5

EA made alot of boasts about improvements in presentation this year. But after a couple of games you've seen all the animations & cut scenes that you ever will see. Compare this to MLB the Show where I'm still seeing things for the first time.

EA have always been half arsed about their cut scenes/presentation.

I know ultimately it's gameplay that is the main factor of any title but as with 2K5 it's sometimes the little bits of detail that go along way to making a game memorable.

# 2 Dantecamp21 @ Sep 5

They should get rid of canned, pre-recorded cut scenes in favor of real-time ones (using the in-game engine). It just gives the presentation a more organic, authentic feel. Games like MLB The Show and NBA 2K approach their cut scenes in that way and it makes you believe that, at least for a moment, those players have a will of their own.