Re: Are You Losing Interest In Madden More And More Each Year? - SeventhWard's Blog

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Re: Are You Losing Interest In Madden More And More Each Year?

Posted on October 21, 2010 at 03:57 AM.

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Re: Are You Losing Interest In Madden More And More Each Year?
I voted yes. What follows is a 860+ word post to explain why. You wanna skip me, I understand.

Like someone pointed out earlier - I still have interest in football gaming, hence I'm on Operation Sports - but it's my interest in Madden that is starting to fade.

I am a video game fan FIRST. I was so hardcore into Madden 10 and Madden 11, I hunted them down and got them BEFORE they were released. I was a fanboy. Now at this moment in October, Madden 12 is a potential rental for me.

A myriad of reasons drive my frustration but the main culprit is a VERY dirty word around here and insulting to the developers, however I must use it because it perfectly encapsulates my emotion -- laziness. Madden 11 is a good playing game, yet for every positive step it takes toward being something elite (forgive the choice in words) - there's a flaw I perceive as laziness, something that "slaps you in the face" as downright wrong, that slowly erodes away at it's sense of quality as a game.

A few examples, first being AUDIO and Gus Johnson. I feel his implementation into Madden 11 sucks. He's a great voice, but it's being driven by the same scripting and technology as last-gen games. As a result, the commentary is stilted and robotic. The clips are poorly edited in places and pre-game storylines are broken with no mention of a fix, 4 patches deep. The "slap in the face" is hearing Cris Collinsworth use the name "Tom". Gus Johnson is a 'back of the box' feature to sell Madden 11 and no-one bothered to edit Cris' clips to reflect the changeover from Tom Hammond. As a GAMER, when I'm trying to suspend my disbelief and get into what I'm playing - things like this destroy the game's universe.

Another example is LIGHTING and NCAA. This year, Tiburon trumpeted their "new" lighting system for Madden in a marketing blog. Yes, Self-Shadowing and better Contrast do make the game look better. Rex Ryan really pops off the screen now. However, after being IN Madden 07 - Progressive Lighting is gone baby gone with no mention of ever being back in. I can play an afternoon game and go well into the 4th Quarter with a bright sunny sky. On earth, NFL games take 3 hours. In Madden, they're frozen in time. The "slap in the face" comes from right down the hall from where Madden is made. Next-Gen NCAA has had progressive lighting for two years. (Although it's a quick and dirty version that changes every quarter, unlike the TRUE per-play light progression from 07). To NOT include things like this, which ground the game in SOME form of pseudo-reality...ESPECIALLY when your other game does it running on an identical engine...not only begs to be perceived as at worst "laziness" or at best a "questionable creative decision".

Example 3 is the Ultimate Slap in the Face as it has nothing to do with laziness as it has to do with greed. It's the ever-increasing role of MONEY in Madden. Sadly, buying the game for $59.99 is no longer enough. When I play Madden 11 I am constantly being sold something else. Whether it's "Boosts" for my franchise, packs of "Coins" to "Purchase Madden Moments" or "Scouting Reports", or the sheer atrocity of the ponzi-like Madden Ultimate Team, "monetize the consumer" has been programmed into the developers' heads from up high and as a consequence, creativity and innovation have suffered while gamers like me have been totally alienated and forced into a bitter disagreement.

This one is the most heartbreaking of all, man. In a world where we're being constantly bombarded with messages for us to consume, video games used to be an escape. First came a little product placement, but like in a movie, a soda poster or billboard won't distract me - it may even HELP immerse me. On the other hand, Pop-up ads? There's no excuse! They may justify it by saying "you watch a real game, you see ads". Doesn't matter what you spray on poop, either - it'll stink regardless. Toning them down isn't a solution when something shouldn't exist to begin with.

Forgive me, Mods. I know not being constructive is a no-no around here but this thread inspired me to vent feelings I've bottled in and if read with an open mind, AND in consideration of my passion for the subject, I feel I'm being VERY constructive.

Madden was like a great girlfriend, I hate to see us break up - but it's the things she's doing that's killing me inside. If only she would change her behavior and go back to acting the way she USED to circa 04 and 05 - when she was innocent and pure (and had competition) - maybe I can open my heart, and wallet, to her again. Until then, I've met somebody new. She's content with the $60 I gave her and she does all the little things that matter to me. So what if she's a basketball game. She's set the standard of what I expect from now on.

Comments

# 16 LucianoJJ @ Oct 23

Great post seventhward!

# 17 marc68 @ Oct 23

Hell, if 2k starts making football, they could put Madden on the shelf like Live.

# 18 phillypiddles @ Oct 23

i didnt buy madden 11 i feel like a year off was best

# 19 HiTEqMETHOD @ Oct 23

Madden has been slowly dieing for me. I bought '06 thinking it was going to be the greatest thing ever (or at least that's what the game trailers implied) and it was so bad I couldn't believe it. Every year since then Madden gets better but I'm still waiting for the game EA promised us in 2005.

# 20 himynameisangel @ Oct 23

"Example 3 is the Ultimate Slap in the Face as it has nothing to do with laziness as it has to do with greed. It's the ever-increasing role of MONEY in Madden. Sadly, buying the game for $59.99 is no longer enough. "
This is what really did it for me. I bought every Madden since 97. Even in 04 i bought 2K5 and even thought it was better than madden, but I still bought and played madden more than anything else that year. Even in 05 with FINALLY getting an xbox 360 i still bought the $60 half game known as Madden 06. Every year, EVERY single year there I was every mid August Monday at 11:50pm at Gamestop anxious to go home and play till 4am cause I knew I was gonna call into work the next morning. But, aside from all the the pre-existing "new" features every year, aside from the glitches, repetitive gameplay, crappy announcers, what did me in was actually being primpted to pay MORE, not for something cool like more stadiums, different helmets, something to make the game better, but for some generic franchise "cheat" or WR "attribute boost". How shamefull. Whats more shamefull is that EA developers have said this is now the standard and future in video games. Whats next? Will we have to pay $60 for just a basic play now function, and $20 for each addition game mode? How bout charging $10 per season in franchise mode? Games like GTA4 and Call of duty do this because it gives a freshness to a game that has (COD)unlimited gameplay or that had (GTA4) a very long and intriguing story. I played Live, MVP baseball, FIFA, and everything. Even the most loyal Madden fan has to admit, it seems like after EA bullied 2K out of the football sim genre, theyre content were they are.

# 21 mcpats @ Oct 23

I actually enjoyed the gameplay of Madden this year for the first time in the next-gen series. I thought they did a great job getting the game to feel responsive. The problem is that the game has no depth. I've never been a big online player, I prefer to immerse myself into the franchise modes. After one season in franchise I lost interest and have no desire to pick it back up. It just feels like a string of exhibition games. Perhaps Madden in its current form is great for online play against other human opponents, but for the franchise freaks it's been a dull series. I know I won't pick up another copy of Madden until that mode is new and fresh, which kills me because I think they nailed the gameplay this year.

# 22 superjew887 @ Oct 24

agreed.

Although I feel there are some issues you neglected to bring up (degraded franchise mode, poor simulation engine, etc.), it just adds on to the poor quality of Madden over the years

# 23 10yard-Fight @ Oct 24

great read and i totally agree. After playing the demo before i even bought the retail version of the game i decided this would probably be my last madden

# 24 10yard-Fight @ Oct 24

Breesus... I love it! lol

too bad my dolphins didn't take a chance on him instead of culpepper. smh

# 25 malgrneyes @ Oct 24

As a Madden fan since the Genesis days, EA have grown stale over the years with Madden. It seems like roster updates over the years with a touch better graphics. Gameplay still suffers to me as if an arcade style played. Maybe competition would better serve the football genre as I became a 2k fan of football since 2k5.

# 26 H to the Oza @ Oct 24

nice post, im already sick of Madden and refuse to buy it until it gets a complete overhaul. Maybe some lipo, tummy face, boob job, glute implants, and the most important of all, a new face, the current one makes me wanna vomit its THAT disgusting.

For me it all comes down to gameplay, with it, theres no way in hell im gona waste my money. Anddd you guessed it. same old crap year after year (which is good in a way because it lets me focus on NHL/NBA 2k). Smarten up EA

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