Madden NFL 10 Hands-On Preview (Joystiq)

[Bgamer90]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheWatcher

I don't get that at all. How can gang-tackles and pileups--two things that are core to football--be a gimmick?

That's exactly what I was going to say...

[RGiles36]

Quote: Originally Posted by spankdatazz22

Things that are expected are of course always appreciated on some level, but aren't necessarily worth mentioning or deserve praise just because they're being done. You go to a sit down restaurant you expect to be served by a waiter/waitress; you pay taxes you expect for the city to provide certain services; etc. The times when these things deserve praise is when they go beyond what's expected.

I know we had a similar discussion last week so I'm not going to make an attempt to resurrect the same debate .

But after years of crapshoot & pinball OL/DL battles, I'm not sure how one can just expect for there to be this level of improvement. Will it be perfect? Of course not. But at some point, you have to recognize where Madden has come from and give credit to where it's going.

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by spankdatazz22

I was only responding to your issues w/the preview citing certain things they didn't acknowledge. Things that are expected are of course always appreciated on some level, but aren't necessarily worth mentioning or deserve praise just because they're being done. You go to a sit down restaurant you expect to be served by a waiter/waitress; you pay taxes you expect for the city to provide certain services; etc. The times when these things deserve praise is when they go beyond what's expected.

Agree with most of this.

Actually, we don't really know what was going on in the previewers mind. For all we know, the person assumed refs and a pocket were in last years game. To me, that is a signal the person is of the casual player where adding sim items to the game won't make an impact with them.

As far as praise, coach's praise kids when they make an out in baseball. Heck, my son plays soccer and the sign of a good coach is giving out praise and constructive criticism. For example, one of his coach's told him he played well on this particular day and noted he was a finesse player and one that thinks all the time. The coach then told him, he just needs to get to the ball quicker.

I've seen you do that in here as well. You praise the game for what you feel and you give constructive criticism where it needs it. I have done that as well. I just don't feel you need to praise situations where it goes beyond what's expected all the time.

Plus, all of our expectations are on different levels.

[Bgamer90]

I guess it's kinda beating the dead horse but I'm just going to lay out how I felt when reading the preview...

Quote:

At first glance you can easily see the graphic upgrades in Madden NFL 10. Not just in all of the new character animations they've upgraded and added, but just one look at the turf and you can almost count every blade of grass, real or artificial. Combine that with all of the additional animations they've added to up the realism, like Pro-Tak animation system which can dogpile up to nine guys on the football and let you fight for fumbles at the bottom of a mountain of linebackers, and yes, it's very impressive.

Okay. Nothing really new being said that we haven't heard already...

Quote:

While the game might not have received the full Fight Night Round 4 "let's fix the clipping!" treatment, we can understand that it's probably easier to fix the animations of two guys punching each other, vs. two eleven man teams going at it on the field. Still, Pro-Tak hopes to address that, and during our time with the game we didn't see any real problems like players strolling through people on the sideline like they were ghosts. The game felt solid, especially when you kept the ball on the ground and trucked your running back through a herd of defensive players. It's nice to see that the running game hasn't been neglected this time around, even though Cardinal wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald shares the cover in this edition.

Nice to hear...

Quote:

Other than the graphical improvements, at the basic level, the game plays exactly the same as it has in the past.

Hold up... what??? After basically saying how Pro-tak changes the game and how running feels solid, and that the running game hasn't been neglected as previous years, it plays EXACTLY the same?

Quote:

If you've loved Madden over the last few years, then you'll be happy with this one. However we've noticed that it's slowly slipping away from the core gameplay over the years, and new mode-itis is one of the reasons.

Again... after basically saying how Pro-tak changes the game and how running feels solid, and that the running game hasn't been neglected as previous years, it is slipping away from core gameplay?

Quote:

As with NCAA, EA keeps piling on the modes with Madden, and sometimes the fun factor gets buried in the process. Over the past few years we've seen a slew of additions like: Playmaker, Hit Stick, Truck Stick, Precision Passing, Smart Routes, Weapons, the Madden IQ and so on. This year is no different and besides Pro-Tak we'll be seeing an enhanced franchise mode, and a presentation mode called "The Emotion of the NFL," which we'll be taking a look at down the line, but we'd like to see Madden take some risks with their engine and possibly try a new approach to the game. But since this is a cash cow for EA, we doubt they'll risk the loss in development time to really innovate.

lol... again... after talking about pro-tak, how could you say this?

Quote:

There has been enough bitching and moaning about the fact that the NFL really hamstrung the video game development process by giving the license for games to just one company, and that means they'll be sitting pretty on top of the football gaming heap until innovation comes along and shakes everything up. But for now, Madden keeps fighting for yardage, and despite the occasional setback (online gaming, *cough*, which despite its glitches has racked up over 500 million games... were any of those quit out of early? hmmm), we're glad to see that it's still moving forwards, even if it's only by inches.

lol... I want to read a hands-on preview of Madden 10. I don't want to hear about the whole "EA monoply" talk... that could be left for another article.

If the game is only moving by inches this year with all the gameplay improvements being made then I guess in previous years this gen it was only moving by millimeters???

Like it seemed as if the writer used what Ian said pro-tak does in the documentary video, implemented it in the preview, and then talked about nothing in depth. It kinda felt like this preview was an afterthought. I mean the game is taking MAJOR strides, and maybe they just said that the game plays exactly the same so that they won't have to go into detail about a game that they probably aren't interested in.

I know I sound like a "defender" right now but honestly.... could anyone say that this was a good, in depth hands-on of the game? I mean after IGN and other sites mentioned all the changes to gameplay along with issues such as framerate problems, it seems that if the gameplay wasn't changed at all, they would also notice the problems that other sites (who said the gameplay was changed) said right off the bat.

So yeah... I guess this could of been a "rant" of some sorts... but I don't really have nothing to do at the moment lol (watching price is right...).

[FootballSchemer]

Pro-Talk > 2K5?

[spankdatazz22]

Quote: Originally Posted by rgiles36

I know we had a similar discussion last week so I'm not going to make an attempt to resurrect the same debate . But after years of crapshoot & pinball OL/DL battles, I'm not sure how one can just expect for there to be this level of improvement. Will it be perfect? Of course not. But at some point, you have to recognize where Madden has come from and give credit to where it's going.

I usually expect any sports game sequel to improve on the game that preceded it. And really each Madden has improved successively - 06<07<08<09. I acknowledge where the game has improved. But I don't think I should have to lower my baseline expectation to meet what their product has been. A few years ago 2K's MLB game had a problem with game freezes, then they fixed it. It's one thing to acknowledge them fixing the problem; another to heap praise on them for fixing it. I don't think anyone went in expecting that to be a problem, but I think people expected them to fix it. The issues with Madden aren't quite so severe, but it's the same principle imo - for me there are certain things that are expected.

I'd think most of us went into next gen expecting better, not preparing for the worst. I don't think people are dismissing the improvements being made, because improvement is always going to be appreciated. But it has to be weighted against what's appropriate imo. "Where Madden has had to come from" is of their own doing.

[loyshon]

let's stop complaining about madden and just dont buy it for a year, at least hold out until december and get it on sale at target for 39.99. It is what it is...love it or hate,It has been bad for so long,you can not honestly expect them to fix it in a year. Until they start anew with a new design team and physics engine it will remain the same old car with a fresh coat of paint. They should be working on 2011 right now.Ea is greedy, why are they making the game for the wii, portables, ps2...all of those resources should be spent making a truly next gen game for the hardcore gamers!!!!!!!!

[Maelstrom-XIII]

...They have a new design team...