As we all get to spend more and more time with Madden 08, there is one thing that becomes more and more clear:  Generally speaking, we just don’t like the game.  Yet ultimately it is football, it is the NFL, and it is the only option in that regard for those who wish to play such a game online, so we game on.  For all of the complaints that have been kicked around since August as to why this game just doesn’t have “it,” after a recent online game it occurred to me that perhaps the main flaw this year is that there has just been too much control taken away from the player.

Think about it for just one minute.  From the perspective of someone who made the switchover from Playstation 2 to Playstation 3 Madden for the 08 version, it hit me like a ton of bricks.  The reason I enjoyed previous iterations so greatly was because, first and foremost, they provided a fair football simulation.  Sure, there were some ridiculous aspects that have been fixed from one generation from the next. 

For example, “money plays” were overly effective in the past to the extent that they could work multiple times a game, even if that means tossing up a jump ball on a post route to a tight end in double coverage.  The odds are that the tight end would come down with the ball or it would simply be deflected.  Interceptions weren’t prevalent enough to be wary of at times.

Tacklers would also wrap up a ball carrier in a tackling animation only for other defenders to dive at the same player with no effect.  Seconds later, defenders were pulling themselves up off of the turf while the ball carrier was running down a clean street to a touchdown.

One thing that you could take solace in is that you knew, generally speaking, the player that won the game did what they needed to do to be victorious while the player who lost just couldn’t take advantage of the same opportunities.  He who won deserved to do so.  Is that still the case as gamers venture into the ‘next generation’?

Defense a Spectator Sport in Madden?

Unfortunately, not always.  Playing defense in Madden has always been somewhat of a spectator sport.  Many would simply choose plays randomly and maybe control, if anything at all, a defensive lineman.  There were also a good handful of more dedicated individuals who would try their hand at manually controlling a linebacker, safety, or even corner.  With the lack of ‘fluidity’ in next generation controls, manual control is far less prominent than ever before and unfortunately, it’s not the result of a learning curve.

Even if you didn’t control any players manually in the past, to successfully run a defense you had to at the very least call appropriate, strategic plays.  With the “superhuman” defensive artificial intelligence that rears its ugly head all too frequently in next generation, appropriate play selection isn’t a requisite any longer; almost any play will do under any circumstances.

So, if an opponent is dominating you defensively, how much of it is truly their doing?

On offense, fumbling continues to be an issue at the most unfortunate of times and with great regularity.  Sure, covering up the ball minimizes the issue, but doesn’t that blur the line a bit too much between fun vs. realism?  Should we really have to cover up when anticipating impact with a defender in the open field, as opposed to using the highlight stick or a stiff arm?

When covering the ball up fails us and the ball still falls to the turf, what more is there to do?

Making the fumbling issue that much more profound is the disappearing/reappearing offensive line.  Now, I’m no programmer so I can’t begin to explain why, but sometimes the offensive line blocks as it should; an occasional missed block, but for the most part holding up well when they proper plays are called.  Other times, however, the line could just as well be on the bench as it disintegrates regularly at the snap of the ball, leaving the defensive line and any blitzers come through virtually untouched.  That obviously stifles one’s rushing attack and causes great pressure when the quarterback drops back to pass.

When your opponent stifles your rushing attack under such circumstances or forces a large number of sacks and interceptions, how much of it is truly their doing?  An even better question would be is there anything you could do to avoid it?

Again, the unfortunate but realistic answer is “no.”  Let’s assume for one second that while on offense the line does hold up and allow your quarterback a nice pocket to step into.  Here is perhaps the most baffling problem of all.  On the occasion that this does happen and you do wisely step into the pocket (as, you know, quarterbacks do in real life), the ball actually sails far over the head of the receiver or falls drastically short of its intended target.

All of the fundamentals of passing the football are followed, yet the ball still seems like it was a Hail Mary tossed up with a prayer by a quarterback being driven into the turf by a snarling defensive end.  When you throw these passes and they are consequently picked off, that is a fatal blow to any team.  Consider the high rate at which interceptions are returned for touchdowns and the fact that, once again, the entire situation is beyond the user’s control, and a most frustrating game results.

Winning the Turnover Battle 

This may be stating the obvious to some.  “Duh…the game has issues,” you may say.  But one of the fundamental principles that I have built my Madden game upon over the years has been winning the turnover battle.  If you take care of the ball and force some turnovers along the way, you should be in good shape at game’s end.  At the end of a game I had played online recently, my quarterback (Big Ben Roethlisberger, to avoid any idea that I was playing with a realistically terrible quarterback like Alex Smith) finished with six interceptions.  The worst part of it all?  Four of them were a result of silly ol’ me stepping into the pocket before the throw.

As we all look toward August of 2008 and the release of Madden 09, there is quite a long list of improvements to be made.  Perhaps at the top of that list should be giving control back to the user so that, regardless of whether they win or lose, they can shut off their console with the satisfying feeling of having earned or lost a victory and forget the feeling of having a victory given or taken by the infamous “Madden gods.”