Alright, boyz!! Here we go...Madden 08 First impressions

[Travis]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I'm still liking this game quite a bit. The pace is perfect... FINALLY!

Mizzoubballfan is Mr. Negative, not sure why any of you listen to anything he writes anymore.

He's playing it on the ps3 for peat's sake, it's probably a choppy mess.

I'm loving how people are ragging on the PS3, but through 4 preseason games and 1 regular season game in superstar mode, I've had 0 chop/lag/issues. Very limited play time so far to be sure, but in general I like the overall feel of NCAA more right now, the announcing is one of the bigger noticeable negatives to me right now for Madden. That said, I'll be playing both quite a bit from now until the end of the season, probably almost exclusively the single player modes in both.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

I didn't have the sound on when I watched it, but I saw a couple of guys basically run through the wall and just keep going.

I had Zach Thomas do that the other day. I guess he is taking the Brick Wall defender thing too far.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by rowech

That's hilarious.

He has some points but you know what? He bought another copy. If people really want to stop them from putting out stuff like this then they need to stop buying stuff.

Also, the advent of patches being so readibly available for all games has to make designers lazy. If they need to fix some things but they're going to go past deadline then they can just patch it later rather than pushing deadlines back.

Just to be clear, I did not drop a dime for a copy of Madden. Haven't in 4 years and I'm not about to right now. But I have played them all during that time period.

[rowech]

Just played my first game thanks to the guy across the street. Liked it but didn't love it. I might just have to play more but I really like NCAA better. Bills against the Bengals (I told him I'd take a bad team sine he had only played a couple of times) but I thought the colors were too bright. Don't know if it was because it was a nightgame or what but it was damn near blinding.

Gameplay is basically NCAA but just a bit faster and I think you have to do a lot more in-game coaching/adjusting than ever before. It's much more thinking involved than prior versions.

Not sure if I'll buy it or not but I can't see any reason not to if you like the NFL.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by rowech

Bills against the Bengals (I told him I'd take a bad team sine he had only played a couple of times)

So which team were you?

[rowech]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

So which team were you?

I'd like to think the Bengals are better than the Bills at least.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Interesting video of Madden '08.......

http://loot-ninja.com/2007/08/15/mad...has-some-bugs/

You have a weird voice.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Richard Weed

Wasn't going to buy it today, but with this deal, it's $48 plus tax for the 360 or PS3. Less if you go old gen.

http://www.maddenmania.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=167054

Edit--That's a 20% off coupon for Toys R Us.

Thanks for this. Used it on my way home from work. FYI, you can also get 50% off any other game at TRU for buying Madden. The girl at the counter told me about it, but said it can't be used for any sports games so I didn't bother going back for another (plus it was the one in Times Square which is a madhouse). Looked online and it looks like the only sports games exempt are the 08 titles (would've been nice to pick up Fight Night 3 for $15). Oh well, still a great deal.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Travis

I'm loving how people are ragging on the PS3, but through 4 preseason games and 1 regular season game in superstar mode, I've had 0 chop/lag/issues. Very limited play time so far to be sure, but in general I like the overall feel of NCAA more right now, the announcing is one of the bigger noticeable negatives to me right now for Madden. That said, I'll be playing both quite a bit from now until the end of the season, probably almost exclusively the single player modes in both.

Well, at least you're happy.

[Anthony]

i'm about 75% throught my first game, i'm Giants vs the Cowboys in week one of my franchise mode. it plays excellent. only 1 INT. turned the INT setting all the way down, bumped up knockdowns to 90. had 2 long pass plays to Burress. it's a challenge to run, but when i pull off a nice 10 yard gain it feels like i earned it. playing on All Pro. the radio announcer is not as game breaking or annoying as others are making it out to be. one great touch is the Sprint Half Time, it lists all the key plays and if you hit "A" you can activate the replay. that is wondeful. too bad no highlights.

just one game, but this is the most fun i've had in madden in about 3-4 years. i'm sure the game will show it's true colors eventually, but so far so good.

[Groundhog]

You guys are really making me want this game. Thankfully it's not released on the 360 over here in Australia until later this month, so hopefully by that time this thread will have turned in to complaints and dismissive posts regarding the numerous bugs and errors that ruin the game for you all.

[techguy]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Other people on other sports boards are saying the same thing, so it isn't that crazy. Other than the interception problem (which people claim is greatly reduced with 0 interception sliders and knockdowns at somewhere around 75-85), the majority of people seem to love the gameplay. Of course, that could change as people have more time with the game. I've decided I'm going to take the plunge at lunch today. If it takes my mind off things tomorrow, that alone may make it worth the 60 dollars.

Rowech, I think 99% of people who complain about too many interceptions are worried about the CPU throwing too many. With NCAA, I don't mind when I throw 3 or 4 in a game, because it is usually due to bad reads on my part. I hate that the CPU throws so many which is the only thing that stops that game from being a great game for me.

Knockdowns also affects the defensive line in knocking down QB passes at the line too if its set to high.

To lower INT- It's a combo of INT, Knockdown and QB accuracy sliders.

Getting good result with INT at 0, Knockdown at 60 and QB accurracy to 70

[techguy]

Originally Posted by RawIsDan

Well, I just found out the PC version does have the Accelerated clock. Might pick this up for S&G.

Early reports , people are saying its exactly like Madden 07 with a little roster update For the PC Version.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

i'm about 75% throught my first game, i'm Giants vs the Cowboys in week one of my franchise mode. it plays excellent. only 1 INT. turned the INT setting all the way down, bumped up knockdowns to 90. had 2 long pass plays to Burress. it's a challenge to run, but when i pull off a nice 10 yard gain it feels like i earned it. playing on All Pro. the radio announcer is not as game breaking or annoying as others are making it out to be. one great touch is the Sprint Half Time, it lists all the key plays and if you hit "A" you can activate the replay. that is wondeful. too bad no highlights.

just one game, but this is the most fun i've had in madden in about 3-4 years. i'm sure the game will show it's true colors eventually, but so far so good.

Cool. I've read a few other people whose opinion I generally trust are using 0 interceptions and 90 knockdown setting. That is what I'm going to start off with tomorrow when I start playing.

[Sweed]

Seems the 360 impressions thread died so I'll copy my first impression post here and add a few more thoughts.

Picked it up last night at Wal Mart. Played one game this morning with my Rams vs the Browns (wanted to make sure I had a chance to win ). All-Pro, default sliders except for INT's and knockdowns set to 0.

1.Game speed seemed faster than NCAA (only rented ncaa for a couple of days). Not a bad thing more like stepping up from college to pro ball. When I first fired the game up I thought it might be a problem but it only took a few plays to adjust and then things felt right.

2.Looks great, playing at 720p on a 27" CRT HDTV.

3. Five min quarters and only one INT in the game with my Rams getting it (cpu controlled player, not me) and I'd guess two balls knocked down. Probably about 25 passes attempted between me and the Browns.

4.Running felt good with Jackson with a good variety of run results. Caught behind the line a couple of times, some good 5-8 yard gains, and broke off a 32 yarder up the middle late in the 4th qtr.

5.Controlling lobs and overall touch on passes, hard or soft, seemed much easier than ncaa .

6.Radio announcer does suck. I'm considering turning him off and just listening to the stadium PA.

7.I let Madden suggest the plays and he did a reasonable job though he'd occasionally call the same play three times in a row. Maybe not a bad thing since the play was working. Not sure if you can have the team's coach call the plays like last year where it sounded like you were getting it through the QB's headset.

8.I did win 10-0 TD came to Holt on a crossing pattern from the 11 yd line.
Cool thing was I didn't see the safety immediately change direction as the ball was coming off Bulger's hand like in previous years on the ps2. He was moving away from Holt as Bulger released the ball and actually took a second \moment to be able to react and move towards Holt. Seemed like in years past everyone almost immediately honed in on the ball.

9.Like last year I hate the halftime\end game stat screens. Why when we have high def tvs do they only show 2 columns of stats for a player and waste half of the screen? Sure as you move to each player his whole line is shown at the top but with high def why not show 8+ rows of stats for everyone across the screen?

10.Not fond either of having to hold a trigger button down to switch between stat categories. Give me a simple left\right up\down without having to use two hands to change.

11.Pregame presentation is lacking but the on-field game makes up for it. I really had fun playing my first game where usually there is some frustration. It usually sucks when you first start trying to find the right slider so you don't get sacked every play or have all day to throw. At least for my ability the default blocking\pass rush seemed to work well along with run blocking. Of course this could change as I get used to the game.

12.As Kodos said there are several small injuries that keep players out for short periods of time. Seemed realistic enough but of course will have to play
a lot more to really know.


13. One frustration is EA's stupid "you must have a gold membership" to get roster updates. I mean seriously WTF! I just paid $60 for your game and you want to charge me to update it? Free roster updates is the one reason I'll buy the ps3 version next year if they get it up to 60fps. I guess I'll wait until I know the update is out and buy a 1 month Gold subscription card, I can do that can't I? I mean I'd rather spend $5, or whatever a one month card is, than $50 for something I won't use.

Perhaps it's a "new toy" effect that will wear off but I think I'll be happy with the game playing a franchise. My first priority is enjoying the on-field game with the franchise\financial\player development secondary (that's what fof is for).

Started a franchise with the Rams and I'm 0-3 in the pre-season.
All-pro level
9 minute qtrs (not getting enough plays, only 90-100 total per game, so will try 12 minutes next game)
Ints:0
Knockdowns: 50 (will try moving this up some more)

Struggling a bit with the passing but like others it's my decision making and not the game. Still really liking the running game for both me and the AI. Playing San Diego and LT ran like LT, really tore up my defense.

I'm not seeing the AI throw a lot of picks against me. Perhaps it's because I don't jump in and control my DB's. I let the AI do it as it seems when I do I'm more likely to take them out of position then help my cause. lol

I like the way the play calling works, being able choose by formation\type etc.
Once I get more familiar with the play book 9 minute qtrs may end up being enough. Right now I spend a good amount of the play clock finding a play.

As far as getting into the franchise\financial stuff all I've done is resign Bulger to a 4 year deal and Little for 3 years, both stuck firm on what they wanted. Bulger wanted approx 36mill and and I gave it to him as it seemed a fair price. Sitting here now I don't recall what it took to get Little. Looked at what other possible FA's would want and their asking prices seemed reasonable with the exception of old linemen like Steussie who wanted a contract that would take him to his 40th birthday.

[MikeVic]

I've played 3 games on All-Pro on the Wii so far... and I'm really liking the results. Very realistic stats using default sliders and 5 minute quarters so far.

[Travis]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Well, at least you're happy.

Not sure if you meant that to be patronizing, but while I've never worked in the industry or anything like that, I'm certainly not afraid to say if the game sucked or wasn't working well just because I own only one system. As I said above, I don't have a lot of hours put in so I'm still getting a feel for it, but these threads seem to degenerate awfully quickly into a big pissing match between backers on both sides while any attempt at offering constructive feedback on the PS3 side gets met with the equivalent of a pat on the head and the suggestion to run along and play quietly.

That said, I'm just prickly tonight because I didn't play that well at ball, so I should probably just be quiet, enjoy one more game and go to bed.

[Richard Weed]

Originally Posted by Logan

Thanks for this. Used it on my way home from work. FYI, you can also get 50% off any other game at TRU for buying Madden. The girl at the counter told me about it, but said it can't be used for any sports games so I didn't bother going back for another (plus it was the one in Times Square which is a madhouse). Looked online and it looks like the only sports games exempt are the 08 titles (would've been nice to pick up Fight Night 3 for $15). Oh well, still a great deal.

Yeah, my wife picked up Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer for my youngest son. Not a game I would've picked out, but not a bad deal.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Travis

I'm loving how people are ragging on the PS3, but through 4 preseason games and 1 regular season game in superstar mode, I've had 0 chop/lag/issues. Very limited play time so far to be sure, but in general I like the overall feel of NCAA more right now, the announcing is one of the bigger noticeable negatives to me right now for Madden. That said, I'll be playing both quite a bit from now until the end of the season, probably almost exclusively the single player modes in both.

I've read a couple comments and posts at various boards about the ps3 version and it seems like the opinion varies widely from "looks great" to "choppy mess". Makes me wonder if there's some other contributing factor that might be affecting things (like maybe those getting choppy graphics having full hard drives or something along those lines).

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Travis

Not sure if you meant that to be patronizing, but while I've never worked in the industry or anything like that, I'm certainly not afraid to say if the game sucked or wasn't working well just because I own only one system. As I said above, I don't have a lot of hours put in so I'm still getting a feel for it, but these threads seem to degenerate awfully quickly into a big pissing match between backers on both sides while any attempt at offering constructive feedback on the PS3 side gets met with the equivalent of a pat on the head and the suggestion to run along and play quietly.

That said, I'm just prickly tonight because I didn't play that well at ball, so I should probably just be quiet, enjoy one more game and go to bed.

No, I was actually pointing my comments to MBBfan and in jest as I can't really get too mad at him because he is a Mizzou fan and all.

Honestly, if you're enjoying it, that's great. NHL 07 is at 30fps and I love it.

[Kodos]

The magical defenders who are not looking at the QB but know when he passes are annoying.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Cool. I've read a few other people whose opinion I generally trust are using 0 interceptions and 90 knockdown setting. That is what I'm going to start off with tomorrow when I start playing.

second game, Giants vs Packers. Manning threw 4 ints. 2 of which were to Al Harris, who was covering Burress (who can jump 1 mile in the air, i swear some of his catches are ridiculously awesome). Harris i believe is a lockdown CB, so it makes sense. 1 other INT was cuz i'm on a SDTV and couldn't see a LB got the jump on my 3rd WR who ran an out pattern. the other INT was due to me throwing in coverage and the ball got tipped and one DB wound up getting it. so in none of these scenarios was it a crappy DB or uber LB coming out of nowhere to get the int. and Manning isn't a top 10 QB so i can live with that.

he countered those 4 INTs with 1 miraculously entertaining 80+ throw to Burress. Burress jumped really high in such a perfectly timed catch - Harris mistimed his diving tackle (it was hilarious - he dove for Burress while Burress was in the air, completely missing him) so that by the time Burress landed Harris was on the ground. Burress turned on the thrusters and took it all the way home. i watched the replay like 3 times, that's how entertaining it was.

i've lost all 3 games i've played, but i'm having fun and when i win it'll make it that much more rewarding. i haven't went up against any uber RBs yet, so far i'm holding RBs to a little less than 100 yards, although Thomas Jones of the Jets ran it in for 2 td's against me.

[Anthony]

i can't seem to invite my online friends to play. it's always greyed out, all i can do is send them a message. what do i need to do?

[CleBrownsfan]

I'm mostly playing with the Browns so this may be the reason - but I can not run the football! I've played 6 or 7 games and my longest run was one 10 yard gain. I carry the ball around 20 times and the I haven't hit 80 yards for a game. Any suggestion?? What's the key to running the ball?

[Maple Leafs]

Really was looking forward to picking this up. I haven't played Madden in a few years, but with a new 360 I'm looking to get back into it. The INT thing is depressing, since that tends to be my top pet peeve in previous versions and it sounds like it's worse, but I like the sound of the new running game.

Question, especially for the guys who haven't played much in recent years: Is it relatively easy to pick this up and play competitive games right away, or should I expect to have to spend several weeks getting up to speed on the controls, etc? I'd love to be able to sit down a play a realistic game but I don't really have time to go to Madden University.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

I'm mostly playing with the Browns so this may be the reason - but I can not run the football! I've played 6 or 7 games and my longest run was one 10 yard gain. I carry the ball around 20 times and the I haven't hit 80 yards for a game. Any suggestion?? What's the key to running the ball?

Not using the Browns would be near the top of the list.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Really was looking forward to picking this up. I haven't played Madden in a few years, but with a new 360 I'm looking to get back into it. The INT thing is depressing, since that tends to be my top pet peeve in previous versions and it sounds like it's worse, but I like the sound of the new running game.

Question, especially for the guys who haven't played much in recent years: Is it relatively easy to pick this up and play competitive games right away, or should I expect to have to spend several weeks getting up to speed on the controls, etc? I'd love to be able to sit down a play a realistic game but I don't really have time to go to Madden University.

I haven't played since 05 on the PC... and I bought the Wii version this year. I went through the tutorials to learn the Wii controls, and have played three games on All-Pro since then. Won two and lost one. I have the manual in front of me to look up stuff I want to do.

So I'd say you can get into it quickly.

I'll also say that the computer definitely runs a lot more and better.
Game 1: Jamal Lewis was stuffed...

Game 2: Edgerrin James ran a lot for 130 or-so yards and a couple of TDs. Had a high 4s/low 5s average. Lost this game.

Game 3: Ronnie Brown had one really nice 50-something yard run. Ended up with over 100 yards and a 7.6 average (my defense was good after that big run). I also controlled Willie Parker to 103 yards and three TDs, with a 4.something average.

I love how the RBs can break out of a wrap tackle. Makes for some nice-looking runs.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by techguy

Early reports , people are saying its exactly like Madden 07 with a little roster update For the PC Version.

So , can someone who actually has the 08 PC version verify is there accelerated clock or not in this version? For me this is a buy only if it is in the game . No console.

[Icy]

Originally Posted by Galaril

So , can someone who actually has the 08 PC version verify is there accelerated clock or not in this version? For me this is a buy only if it is in the game . No console.

Yes, there is acc clock in the PC version, same that was in 07. What is not is the new supersim that is next gen only.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Icy

Yes, there is acc clock in the PC version, same that was in 07. What is not is the new supersim that is next gen only.

I'm guessing that means the Wii version also doesn't have this supersim thing?

[Kodos]

Heh. Was just reading about the editing bugs over at OS. I guess when you edit a player, two nifty things happen:

1. Their arms blow up to Hulk-sized pythons
2. Their contract changes (for instance, Moss's 1-year deal becomes a 3-year deal)

Good lord. I guess you can get around the Hulk arms by editing a player twice, but it's just ridiculous that this happens at all. Even changing just the jersery number does it. As somebody who likes to edit players and create classic players, this especially sucks. I noticed that Randle El had Hulk arms the other day, but thought it was just EA sucking. And it was, but not in the way that I thought they sucked.

"EA Sports: We find new ways to suck every season!"

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

i can't seem to invite my online friends to play. it's always greyed out, all i can do is send them a message. what do i need to do?

Missed this earlier. If it is the same as NCAA, you need to make it an unranked game to be able to invite a specific person.


With interceptions turned down to 0, knockdowns up at 90, and special teams at 40 across the board except for Kickoff length at 15, I just had a very enjoyable game. I decided to go against the Bears with my Eagles because I figured Grossman is a QB that might be susceptible to throwing too many picks.

Sure enough the game started poorly when Grossman threw a pick on his 4th pass of the game on a slant that was right at Trotter. I thought I might see too many fumbles as Westbrook fumbled his 2nd carry (on a big hit from Urlacher.) However, after that Grossman only threw one other pick when he underthrew a deep ball at the end of the half that Lito picked off and took to the house. i made one stupid throw in the 2nd half that was also picked off, but overall I think these sliders are making a much bigger difference than NCAA's did. I saw quite a few passes that hit the CB's hands and were dropped that would never have been dropped in NCAA. It was only one game, but now I'm going to try taking my Philly team against Peyton to see how different it feels.

My only slight concerns from the 1 game is that it might be a bit too easy to pass for me and it might be a bit too hard for the CPU to run the ball (Benson only had 29 yards on 12 carries), but that should be easy to fix if it proves the case over a number of games.

[Balldog]

Does PC Version have Coach Mode?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Missed this earlier. If it is the same as NCAA, you need to make it an unranked game to be able to invite a specific person.


With interceptions turned down to 0, knockdowns up at 90, and special teams at 40 across the board except for Kickoff length at 15, I just had a very enjoyable game. I decided to go against the Bears with my Eagles because I figured Grossman is a QB that might be susceptible to throwing too many picks.

Sure enough the game started poorly when Grossman threw a pick on his 4th pass of the game on a slant that was right at Trotter. I thought I might see too many fumbles as Westbrook fumbled his 2nd carry (on a big hit from Urlacher.) However, after that Grossman only threw one other pick when he underthrew a deep ball at the end of the half that Lito picked off and took to the house. i made one stupid throw in the 2nd half that was also picked off, but overall I think these sliders are making a much bigger difference than NCAA's did. I saw quite a few passes that hit the CB's hands and were dropped that would never have been dropped in NCAA. It was only one game, but now I'm going to try taking my Philly team against Peyton to see how different it feels.

My only slight concerns from the 1 game is that it might be a bit too easy to pass for me and it might be a bit too hard for the CPU to run the ball (Benson only had 29 yards on 12 carries), but that should be easy to fix if it proves the case over a number of games.

some comments on this:

1. bumping up knockdowns surely feels like it takes passes that otherwise would have been INTs and simply makes the ball bounce off the defender's hands.

2. kickoff rating definitely needs to be decreased. every kick was in the endzone. keep in mind Lawrence Tynes is the Giants kicker, he doesn't exactly strike fear in other teams.

3. the weapon system seems to be a tad distracting. i have mine set to not see the icons, but they do crop up throughout the game. i don't want to turn them off entirely, but i think it introduces a very "cartoony" feel to the game and it looks gorgeous as-is, i don't see why the developers would want to ruin how great it looks with these silly icons. as i stated before, playing with Burress - you can tell just exactly what his special attributes are when he jumps higher than the DB defending him. no need to be hit over the head with an icon.

i like the game a lot. i lost 3 games, but i'm having fun and being on All Pro makes me work for all the great plays i pull off sporadically. it's much quicker than NCAA, you can really tell the diffference. the pass rush is overwhelming at times. i'm trying to consciously not add to the INT totals by just chucking the ball out of nervousness when i see the blitz coming, so i'm taking a lot of sacks as a result. should be that way. QBs should have to make quick reads and not have 10 seconds to go through all their progressions.

[Eaglesfan27]

I agree HA with points 1 and 2. The icons don't bother me, but I can see how they would bother others. With kickoff power at 15 and all meters at 40, the special teams play seems pretty good. We just picked Peyton off 4 times this game, but they threw it a lot more and 2 of them were passes late in the game when we knew they were passing. The game was fun despite the interceptions. I'm starting my franchise now. I'm supersimming all games that aren't my own and controlling all franchises. The supersim each week is certainly time consuming, but I think it might be worth it. It's hard to tell from preseason, but the yardage looks pretty good in my 1st week. Also, someone on OS said that 4 minute qtrs was the perfect length for supersimmed games and they were right. I'm getting right around 120 plays/game with 4 minute qtrs in my supersimmed games.

[RainMaker]

If you haven't bought it yet, here's my breakdown. The good, the bad, and the ugly of this years Madden.

The Good
-The intro is amazing.
-The running game is improved and some of the new animations make it look more realistic. I was able to run up the middle and to the outside.
-The gameplay altogether is better. It still has the suction blocking and no semblance of a pocket, but it plays more fluid and feels like a football game. It's really hard to explain this but if you pop in last years and this years and play against a friend, you'll just feel better playing this years.

The Bad
-Presentation still blows. The announcing is 10 years outdated for a video game and they still haven't implemented the ESPN features in enough. Why aren't their stat overlays during the games telling me how my star tailback is doing? Why no comparisions between the two QBs? This is crap we had in Madden 99. Give me an ESPN style halftime report, sideline reporting about the latest injury, or a sideline that looks like an actual NFL sideline. The crowd still looks like crap and there are still too many components from the old gen system that are hanging around graphically. This is supposed to be one of the biggest video games out there and in its 3rd version for the next gen, yet the graphics are still miles behind other games.
-Uniforms. I'm not a big uniform guy at all but it's kind of shocking how much stuff they screwed up when it comes to the uniforms.
-Audio sucks too still. This goes for a lot of sports games by all different producers. But why is it so hard to figure out when a crowd should cheer, boo, or shutup. When I break free on a big run the crowd should erupt, the stadium should shake, etc. When my team is down 30 and I get a first down, it should be quiet. When the road team picks off a pass and returns it for a TD their should be a hush over the crowd. Just get the audio team in front of a TV and have them watch some football games over a weekend. I don't grasp why this is such a hard part to implement in a football game considering how much a crowd factors in.
-Franchise Mode still stripped down. Why is it 3 years into this franchise on the 360 and we still don't have functions in the franchise mode that are in the old XBox version? I can understand a rushed launch title, but 3 years is ridiculous. Why was the owner mode in Madden 2004 deeper than the one I'm playing now?

The Ugly
-Turnovers are horrible. I know people will say cover the ball, or make smarter passes, but it's the computer that is making the turnovers. I can get 3-4 picks a game most of the time and the fumbles are just not realistic. While I know the old games didn't have enough fumbles, the fumbles that happen now are not realistic. Add fumbles during sacks, muffed punts, and when a WR gets caught from behind and the ball gets punched out. Running backs rarely fumble in the NFL, and the league average for fumbles in general is under 1 lost a game. When Larry Johnson fumbles 4 times on routine tackles while Damon Huard doesn't after being blindsided 5 times, something is wrong.
-Rings and trophies? I just don't get it to be honest. Why so much effort into something stupid like this?
-Sim stats. Having 15 guys with QB ratings over 100 and no one throwing double digit Interceptions is just pathetic. I don't know how they went from good sim stats to horrible in a few years.
-Stupid mistakes. This game still has stupid aspects to it that never seem to go away. The clock management AI is stupid while the CPU never seems to take chances. 4th and inches at your 34 and they punt. Why can't they throw a hailmary once? Is it necessary to completely abandon the running game when they fall down by a touchdown? They never utilize their weapons properly and never target yours. It's just the same ole coaching AI we had 10 years ago.


I guess I'm torn on this year's version. The gameplay improvements are nice and if you're playing a friend, it's a huge upgrade. It's amazingly fun against a friend. But there is still so much missing for a game in its 3rd run on the 360. The development of this series seesm so slow and for every nice feature they add, they take out one that I liked. By the time this series gets all the features in place that the old gen system had, there will be a new system out altogether. I gave them a pass on the launch title, and even a small pass on last year's, but now it's just getting ridiculous. I shouldn't have to go back to the Xbox to get a deeper game.

So I guess I'm saying that not much has changed. It's still more or less the same game as last year with updated rosters (which have horrible ratings) and some nice gameplay tweaks. The game is only worth it if you are playing against a friend, the CPU is still a joke.

[Groundhog]

http://www.theonion.com/content/info...s_in_madden_08

New Features in Madden '08

The release of the new Madden videogame has become an event in its own right. Onion Sports lists everything players can get excited about in '08, not counting roster changes:

Stupid HB Option play that would never work in real life but somehow works every goddamn time your friend Jacob does it

"Regular Life Mode," where you play in real time as a regular person living a fairly ordinary existence who occasionally gets to watch a football game

Improved cover jinx will force Vince Young to wander the Earth for all time, unable to rest, in an eternal search for a single honest man

"Raise An Athlete Mode," where you act as a parent and must love and nurture your child's talent for 20 years; fatal injuries can be switched off

1,028 new fumble animations, one of which can be seen on every third play

Changed all the damn button controls around yet again so you have to relearn everything for the fourth time in five years

"Union President Mode" lets player withhold pensions from ex-players

When sacked for a loss of more than seven yards while playing the Wii version, television falls on you

New "Bust Mode" allows you to wash out after three disappointing seasons, start a new life as a car salesman or high school coach, and be interviewed about it by Jeremy Schaap

At some point in every Bears game, Jim Belushi shows up for an interview

"Actually Have Fun While Playing Mode," where all of the bullshit features created in the past five years are switched off so you can actually have fun while playing

[Groundhog]

And does anyone else think it was pretty poor form that before 08 had even been released the EA hype machine was already in full effect for 09, talking about all the features being worked on for next year? That's a pretty tell-tale sign IMO.

[Balldog]

I keep reading all over how great the PC version is, I may have to check it out this weekend.

[Groundhog]

Yeah, I'm leaning towards the PC version now as well.

[Galaril]

Is there coach mode for PC?

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Galaril

Is there coach mode for PC?

I believe there's AI vs AI mode, but not certain on coach mode.

[Kodos]

I gotta say, this game is hella fun playing as the Saints. You have an accurate QB, a bruiser back, a Sanders-like back, and solid WRs. I played them against the Ravens and they were kicking ass. Bush has some sweet moves too. Had a lot of fun tonight. I think I may be able to forgive this game's shortcomings, because it's fun on the field. I dropped down to Pro and put the sliders pretty heavy in the CPU's favor. Fumbles weren't too bad, and psychic CBs didn't seem to be around.

[Terps]

I'm liking the game a lot on PS3, no signs of choppiness or stuttering here either. The gameplay is actually solid, but the turnovers are killing me. I have no problem with a lot INT's so far, but there are WAYYYYYY too many fumbles. I played a game earlier and had 5 fumbles between the two teams before the first quarter was over with.

[SackAttack]

I had my first game snagging any interceptions against the Rams last night. Frerotte shat the bed in the second half, and threw three picks, including consecutive picks that Steve Gregory ran back to the house in the 4th quarter. That was fun.

I'm still pissed about their linebacker closing on my punt returner, hauling ass from the 15 to bring him down at their 5, though.

[Icy]

Originally Posted by Balldog

Does PC Version have Coach Mode?

Yes, also the PSP version has it (all the old gen versions have the same features than past year).

[Anthony]

i may have to drop down to Pro too, i haven't won a game yet. Giants aren't that bad. and whenever i decide i want to supersim the rest of a blowout game, the other team seems to score like 40+ points. i guess i may have to bite the bullet and simply play out all my games.

i must suck a lot more than i think i do. thing is, i do pretty good against humans.

[RawIsDan]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I believe there's AI vs AI mode, but not certain on coach mode.

No, the 08 PC version has Coach Mode, but for some assinine reason they don't give us the Sideline Cam unless you watch a CPU vs CPU game.

[Kodos]

I had a funny over-the-top goalline play with Bush. I dove from about the 2, was going up and got hit, which slowed the momentum, but then suddenly Bush was moving forward again and went in for the score. I told myself that the lineman behind him must have given him a shove in midair.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I had a funny over-the-top goalline play with Bush. I dove from about the 2, was going up and got hit, which slowed the momentum, but then suddenly Bush was moving forward again and went in for the score. I told myself that the lineman behind him must have given him a shove in midair.

Or maybe the quarterback did...

(lol USC-Notre Dame role reversal)