Madden 09: Three Point Thursdays

[Methlab]

Great article and great points. I really hate EA for what they have done to football gaming. Football games online have the potential to be some of the best 1 on 1 experiences in gaming, but with the stagnation and corporate mentality of EA, this has not happened.

I live 5 mins away from Tiburon and have gone there more then once. The arrogance there is sickening to me. Nice guys, but extremely cocky about a subpar game.

It's like music, look at Sub Pop and their roster of truly innovative bands then go look at a Major labels and their cookie cutter emo rosters...same type of thing...we need more creativity and forward thinking in Madden for it to become truly special. It is the NFL and should be electric..instead, the game feels sterile and predictable.

[ewto16]

Quote: Originally Posted by distauma

Well I don't play franchise in Madden 08, because admittedly I think it's very bare bones... But I do play a lot amongst friends on local multiplayer, and I have never had so much fun playing an NFL video game before. That includes the Joe Montana games, Playstation Madden games, Blitz games, NFL 2k sports series, and even back to Tecmo Super Bowl. Sometimes I think people complain just because it's EA Sports. I did hate '06 and '07 iterations, but are you gonna tell me 2k5 was the most realistic NFL simulation you ever played? All sports games have aggravating qualities, but human against human Madden '08 is a great game. And that's all that matters to me.

Nope, I haven't played NFL 2K5, so I won't tell you that. I will tell you that the Tecmo games are way better than Madden ever will be, but that is a whole different debate.

I don't complain just because it is EA Sports. I complain because I've played Madden since it first hit the Genesis in like 91 and after Madden 2005, it hasn't gotten any better. It is stuck in this cycle of removing features and adding them back in.

The presentation elements that made the game more visually appealing have all been removed. The radio announcer stinks, which I know is changing, but it took too long to make that happen. Franchise on the PS2 ruled. Why does Franchise on the PS3 stink? So many of the smae exact AI glitches exist in the game that have been in the game for the last 5 years, it is frustrating.

I just want good football. I want football that makes me want to play it every day and be irritated when I don't get to advance my franchise fast enough. I don't want to play football for a month, get bored/irritated with the game, and not pick it up until the NFL playoffs, only to trade it once the playoffs are over because I lost interest again.

I wish EA would just make football fun and addicting again.

[BezO]

Quote: Originally Posted by distauma

Am I the only one who is willing to praise EA Sports for their amazing job with creating realistic ball physics and an infinite amount of animations for tackles and catches and such...

One of a few. Nothing specific comes to mind about the ball physics, but the tackle animations were repetitive & out of context too often. The physics are pretty bad in the game. There are not enough "regular" tackles, and there are still animations like the "shot gun blast to the back". IMO the tackling is one of the worst parts of the game.

Quote: Originally Posted by distauma

Yes the computer AI was a little too good at jumping routes and intercepting the ball but I feel Madden 08 can be to Madden 09 what MVP 2004 was to MVP 2005. There is now a great foundation built. Next step is to take out some bugs and add in some presentation elements.

I disagree. I would consider foundation things like the physic engine, blocking interaction, tackling, animations, AI, ect. None of these things are very good. EA seems to ignore the fundamentals of football for the over-the-top. A sim sports game where arcadey strategy beats sim strategy does not have a good foundation.

Quote: Originally Posted by distauma

Sometimes I think people complain just because it's EA Sports. I did hate '06 and '07 iterations, but are you gonna tell me 2k5 was the most realistic NFL simulation you ever played? All sports games have aggravating qualities, but human against human Madden '08 is a great game. And that's all that matters to me.

Sometimes I think people ignore the reasons people give for their dissatisfaction. Most post I see complaining about the game give very detailed reasons why they're dissapointed.

NBA 2K8 is the most realistic sports game I've played, maybe Forza 2 if that counts, but 2K5 is the most realistic football game I've played to date. It had it's flaws but it played like football. In contrast, Madden rewards arcadey strategy.

I'm glad you enjoyed 08, but understand why folks didn't. There are some great posts explaining exactly what's wrong with it if you're a sim player. Check them out.

[DLaren]

Quote: Originally Posted by stateprop

Oh man what the hell. What im going to do now i cant even play madden 08 on the 360. I enjoyed more on the ps2 and ncaa 08 also i enjoyed more on the ps2. "Football is Dead Football Football is Dead" Quoted by NAS

...Like hip-hop, football gaming isn't dead yet, atleast not for me...

Madden'09 will also be available on the PS2, so if the "next-gen" version sucks again we still have the "last-gen" version to fall back on...

[dbrandon]

We are talking EA here. 20 years and this is all we have to show. Saying that this game is a disappointment is a HUGH understatement. EA only thinking about $$ they could careless about gameplay I am glad I sold my stock at 57. If you ever get a chance attend an EA share holds meeting. Listen to what Larry Probst had to say about gameplay. LOL He took his 81 million and left. Believe me gameplay has not been a big concern for EA for years. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/12/910R.html

[boydra]

COULDN'T AGREE MORE WITH THE ARTICLE. SAME GOES FOR NCAA 09. SO FAR WITH THAT GAME I'M STILL SEEING NOTHING BUT NEW GIMMICKS.

[Scott]

[spankdatazz22]

So the author admits how seriously lacking Madden has been next gen, but of course - "there's reason for cautious optimism" for this year's game. When has that not been the case? You could say that about any game in any given year. People wondering why Madden wallows in muck it's mired in now need look no further than opinions like this. After Madden '06, the game had no where to go but up - yearly improvements should be expected, not surprising/shocking when they occur. The author goes so far as to say we should expect less, that expecting a 2K5-like makeover is "too much". Madden has been on next gen the longest of any sports game, yet we still have people like this author preaching that it's okay to expect the least from it (or at the least, lower our expectations apparently). And that if you expect more, "you're setting yourself up for disappointment". Laughable.

The problem is people expect so little from it. Then wonder why Tiburon feels they're doing a bang-up job. Hey, at least the game has improved "marginally" from '06 to '07 to '08. That's something to hold onto. Let's not forget that '08 was proclaimed to be the biggest gameplay jump the series has seen - receiving all types of accolades and praise all the way up to the day it released. And here we are a year later talking about how disappointing it was.

EDIT: [/quote]However, people expecting the series to undergo a massive transformation in one year to turn into a next generation NFL 2K5 – or even to fully realize the potential of a “next generation Madden” – will find themselves upset once again when August rolls around, so temper your expectations now.[/quote]

Sorry, but this quote says it all. Btw it hasn't been one year, it's been three years -- four, if I'm to take your advice and only have low expectations of the upcoming game. This generation has produced some of the best sports games in their respective genres to date, yet we're constantly steered to expect less from what most people would feel should be the greatest sports game of them all. If only all sports games were allowed such low expectations