NFL 2K5: Will Own Your Soul; Madden just continues to get old - bigsmallwood's Blog

bigsmallwood's Blog

NFL 2K5: Will Own Your Soul; Madden just continues to get old

Posted on December 21, 2009 at 10:27 PM.

(42)

"Winning isn't everything it's the only thing" is a harsh reality in today's dog eat dog society. Vince Lombardi the author of this quote was a football coach who took the worst team in the league, the Green Bay Packers, and made them into a perennial powerhouse. He was and still is considered to be one of the best coaches ever to coach in the sport of football. His statement holds true in today's game because it is both the athletes and the coach's goal to be the best in their profession"

Which brings us to NFL 2K5's domination over Next-Gen Madden. We are nearly 6years into Next-Gen football and Madden is still measured against 2K5. Why is this? Lets GET FOCUSED! And Lets examine this situation:

Presentation
After 20years, ownership of the ESPN license, and an exclusive NFL license that keeps 2Ksports and others from making an NFL game with official likeness and players, YET there is poor presence of it in their game.

2K5's presentation is still the standard. FULL ESPN integration through out the game! Everything from Chris Berman and the Half-time show down to Suzy Kolber, to the after the game interviews!!!

Look at Madden 10's Extra Point and then go watch 2K5's ESPN Half-time Show....you are guaranteed to NEVER want anything less than 2K5's and you will wonder why Madden is still dragging its feet on doing what should have been years ago!

Madden 10 flaunted the Blue Angel Jets flying over the Super Bowl and opening day.....NFL 2K5 had this in its game for a whopping 5years now. And speaking of the Superbowl, look at 2K5s.....when you play or watch it....it looks SPECTACULAR! Teams run on the field out of the Giant NFC/AFC Helmets, The Commentary speaks about both coaches as they trot out on the field....there are camera men moving around.....the highlights are Super Bowl worthy when they show your team not only celebrating on the field, but going inside the locker room, where you see players going wild!!!! The whole Atmosphere surrounding 2K5 is STUNNING to say the least.

Madden on the other hand is far from being where they need to be in the presentation department. They made a few strides this year with the addition of chain gangs and the officials deciding if you scored a TD or came up short....but ultimately Madden is still consistently coming up short!

Gameplay

Winning isn't everything, its the Only thing.

In this aspect of the game NFL 2K5 wins....and it wins BIG! Madden has seemingly refused to address the Mario running by WR's/Running backs.....WR/DB interactions are horrendous, the offensive and defensive line play leaves much to be desired, why don't blockers BLOCK the Defenders they are supposed to!!!! Trying to get a sack in Madden w/o cheesing is more of a challenge than it should be! you can place Wes Welker as your OT to block Albert Hanyesworth and he will win everytime....Yes this is very sad, because it proves that the problem lies withing Maddens programming. Try the same thing with 2K5 and watch how Welker would be dominated....2K5 STILL shows new animations and the outcome is determined by your playcalling.

We know what the issues are with Madden...the question is WHY haven't they fixed it? And when are they going to address it? Patch #2 for Madden 10 has done little to give any type of faith that these issues will be addressed any time soon.

How does 2K5 have ALOT of replays!!!! And an option to tone them down if you feel there is too much....yet, Madden 10 will rarely show a replay after you score a TD.....even if its of epic proportions....record breaking or otherwise. The replays need a massive OVERHAUL and there is no reason why there is no accompanying commentary describing the Highlights.

In 2K5 you can manually assign a double team really easy and also hot route your defender to counter the offense and what they are trying to do against you on the field. Meanwhile, in Madden, you are able to call Defensive audibles, but not to the level of complexity that NFL 2K5 offers.

Winning isn't everything, its the only thing.

2K5 clearly thought about winning when they made this game. They were not making excuses about a 1year dev cycle or saying that gamers should appreciate any "gimmicky" features....they went out and used 32 NFL players of all DIFFERENT levels and you can tell the difference between SuperStars in 2K5 rather than in Madden where most teams play the exact same, you cannot really tell the difference between Larry Fitzgerald and some rookie out of South Idaho State. Madden needs to adjust the way they Mo-Cap and also they need to change the way they approach the differences in the way teams play. Sliders can't fix everything.

Why do the defensive backs go into that weird and unrealistic animation where they miss the interception and you catch the ball*FREEZE* instead of you going on to score a TD or pad your YAC stats.....you are SUCKED back into a tackle by the same defender who missed the INT and whose momentum should have carried them forward not into some Matrix style animations....you have NEVER seen this in the 2K series.

the CPU in 2K5 will sit on the ball once they have a huge lead in order to milk the clock....Madden will continue to throw the ball and give you a chance to get the ball back!

The Commentary in 2K5 will highlight if Randy Moss is struggling they crew will highlight it!!! In Madden its barely noticed. The commentators will use a telestrator in replays to highlight penalty calls and big blocks on certain plays!

Notice a theme? Anything that Madden does, 2K5 does it far and away better. Madden does have some bright spots, but it is nowhere near where it should be. AP2K8's gameplay on the field is better than 2K5's....so what does that say for Madden?

Why does Madden not seem to want to win? 2k5 put out a classic game all the way around( even though it had a few flaws....not bad for the pre-patch era)! Madden seems content putting out the same game year after year and continuing to create "old" features and paint them as new. We all want Madden to be a WINNER, however after placing a stranglehold on the NFL License, thus eliminating 2k5, SCEA Football, NFL Fever, NFL Gameday and a slew of other NFL games that showed promise.....Madden MUST deliver. We cannot keep giving them a pass year after year, and the game is still full of bugs and a failure to launch every year. I challenge the developers to step up to the plate and truly MAKE us forget about NFL 2K5.

Please don't slap ESPN/CBS integration into Madden 10 and feed it to us as Madden 11 (sound familiar *cough, cough* NCAA Basketball *cough, cough*)

2K5 OWNS YOUR SOUL in EVERY CAPACITY....EPSN 25th Year Anniversary is a brilliant mode (aka Maddens Moments inspiration)....2K5's VIP is FAR and away better than Maddens IQ mode where the game becomes more "challenging" (read cheating) the further you move up. From Presentation, to Gameplay, to features (2K5's crib.....classic teams who play LIKE themselves etc.) 2K5 will own you. And while it is difficult, you will be happy once you make the adjustment.

My Advice is to EA Sports Madden brand is this: Winning isn't everything, Its the Only thing....And if Madden is not going to come out EACH and EVERY year swinging for the fences....relinquish the NFL License and let 2K back in the game....because if you see it on Sunday (Off-setting penalties, defensive holding etc) you see it in 2K5.

My Advice to gamers is simple: At least try NFL 2K5......and you should also own Madden 10. But if Madden 11 doesn't deliver.....wait until Next Gen, rather than Next year. It will save you a ton of money, time, and frustration.

And just in case EA Sports reps or my fellow OS gamers severely disagree with my assessments of Madden Next Gen.....here is a word from the man (Madden) himself:

"The only yardstick for success our society has is being a champion. No one remembers anything else. " - John Madden

Madden 11' had better be a Champion. After 6years of chasing NFL 2K5, we expect it.

Comments

# 16 videlsports @ Dec 24

What do you think about the oppertunity about this year's expireing college ea deal? 2k will own when they renegotiate.

# 17 bigsmallwood @ Dec 24

I really hope that 2K jumps on the opportunity to make a College Football game!!!! That would be a great day!!!

# 18 apps80 @ Dec 24

You guys do realize that 2k5 wasn't even as good as Madden05. Played all the 2k sports. With the exception of basketball, none of their games have matched EA.

# 19 blackscorpion11 @ Dec 24

Clearly this is a question of preference, EA style football or 2K style... i just don't see how side by side anyone can say that EA's version of football and basketball surpass 2k's versions.. The differences in realism and presentation is obvious. Although there are many examples, "EA's db's adjusting in mid air and making tackles after a missed int attempt= unacceptable.. youre gonna make the wr freeze after the db misses the pick so that the db can spin around in mid air and make a tackle that defies the laws of physics and momentum?? Strangely BOTH of EA's football games have this animation..ncaa and madden?

I own madden 10 and ncaa 10, madden feels too similar to past years.

# 20 bigsmallwood @ Dec 25

@ Apps80...prove it.....there is no truth to the statement you made...blatant disregard for the truth. I played Madden EVERY year since 1993.....its still not coming even close to 2K5.

@Mj2320 Thanks.....and GREAT input by blackscorpion11. I appreciate it when somebody HIGHLIGHTS a point!

# 21 AC IS ART @ Dec 26

Good Blog. Repetitive, but good blog. Unfortunately "the SIM crowd is a small one. Vocal minority." The reality is most people are content with "next-gen" football gaming. They dont truly want a SIM representation of football. Madden's formula sells and I don't expect a huge leap anytime soon.

# 22 apps80 @ Dec 26

@tinysmallwood I don't need to prove anything. 2k5 wasn't as good as 2k1 on Dreamcast, that proved it for anyone. You obviously have a bias against EA. Madden 05 sold more copies of game it priced $30-40 higher. All of 2k5's sales were based on the price, and once people played it they saw why it was priced that way.

# 23 bigsmallwood @ Dec 26

@apps80......you are pathetic. Take you internet thuggery elsewhere. You are just too gangster for us here @ OS. We are only capable of holding intelligent discussions.....I guess thats not your stronghold.

# 24 apps80 @ Dec 27

Your intelligence was checked at the door when you typed the first letter of this rant. It's not a blog. It's one man's feeble attempt to keep at game that wasn't good at release on the minds of today's players. You offer no proof of anything you write. Sorry if you don't want me around because I don't share the views you didn't provide support for, but it just highlights how fanatic a fanboy you are.

# 25 bigsmallwood @ Dec 28

apps80....Go play somewhere else .......I'm busy.

# 26 apps80 @ Dec 28

Stupid reply to go along with a stupid post. Way to prove my point for me little man.

# 27 bigsmallwood @ Dec 28

Apps08: Why are you still talking? Shhhhh. Thats more like it.

# 28 apps80 @ Dec 29

Awww. I hit a sore point when I made fun of his favorite football game. I'm sorry it's such a bad game little buddy, but you're the idiot for still playing it. You knew it was bad the first time you played, but EA wouldn't let you play in their sandbox and you've spent the last third of your life crying about.
What's the matter, can't think of anything to say?

# 29 bigsmallwood @ Dec 29

You should really go and fall in front of traffic somewhere. And before you do that make sure you get some basic reading comprehension skills so that you can go back and re-read my blog(s) and gain an understanding that I've played Madden EVERY year....but truth is truth. NFL 2K5 is the better game. I have detailed this numerous times lol You are just a customer, now go be a nice little zombie and buy your game.

# 30 apps80 @ Dec 29

So that makes you the ultimate knowledge on the subject? Being someone that has played every Madden puts you in the exclusive club of almost all of the sports gamers pushing 30 or already over, including myself. You know more than the million other gamers who have done the exact same thing you have? Here's 10 bucks, go buy yourself a clue and spend the rest at the arcade son. You need practice.

« Previous 123 Next »

bigsmallwood

Create Your Card Flip Card Over