Looking to pick up Madden on the ps2: 04, 05, or 06?

[Pacman83]

^^Thanks

[bearschicago]

I have Madden 05 and 06 on the PS2. I want to enjoy Madden 06 (I like new features in 06 such as vision cone/truck stick). The running game is also better. I have no problems on offense or defense.

The problem is the AI CPU Quarterbacks are awful. On All-Madden CPU becomes unrealistic with too many big plays in one game and breaking too many tackles so I play on All-Pro.

On All-Pro they don't complete enough passes and wait too long to pass. Even when a receiver was open on a slant for example the QB never throws it to him which results in a sack or stupid deep balls. They throw a lot of interceptions as well.

Also in Madden 06 the cornerbacks/safeties tip way too many balls. They jump like 6 feet in the air. Totally ignoring footplanting, body momentum, athleticism. Madden 05 does not have this issue.

In Madden 05 on All-Pro the gameplay is great. Both for the CPU and myself. The CPU quarterbacks makes quick decisive passes and most of the time they make the right read.

Do I have to change sliders in 06? I never touched it in 05 because the gameplay was solid. If yes, which ones? Quarterback accuracy?

[PGaither84]

Quote: Originally Posted by bearschicago

I have Madden 05 and 06 on the PS2. I want to enjoy Madden 06 (I like new features in 06 such as vision cone/truck stick). The running game is also better. I have no problems on offense or defense. The problem is the AI CPU Quarterbacks are awful. On All-Madden CPU becomes unrealistic with too many big plays in one game and breaking too many tackles so I play on All-Pro. On All-Pro they don't complete enough passes and wait too long to pass. Even when a receiver was open on a slant for example the QB never throws it to him which results in a sack or stupid deep balls. They throw a lot of interceptions as well. Also in Madden 06 the cornerbacks/safeties tip way too many balls. They jump like 6 feet in the air. Totally ignoring footplanting, body momentum, athleticism. Madden 05 does not have this issue. In Madden 05 on All-Pro the gameplay is great. Both for the CPU and myself. The CPU quarterbacks makes quick decisive passes and most of the time they make the right read. Do I have to change sliders in 06? I never touched it in 05 because the gameplay was solid. If yes, which ones? Quarterback accuracy?

Well, trial and error is the best way to go. Play on All-Pro. Play different match ups. Switch teams and play those match ups again. Note what the computer can and cannot do well consistently. Make changes accordingly. Make changes to user and computer abilities. I remember one thing I used to do was set computer pass blocking to 2 or 3 [or was it 20-30 on a 100 scale?] becasue until it was in the 2 or 3 range [2-30?] the computer would stone wall even elite user pass rushers.

Again, start on all-pro and make user/computer changes bit by bit until you find a set that give you a challenge with out cheating you. Also keep team talent in mind. If you are beating people up with the Bills or lions, you really ought to mess with the sliders until it is the other way around. if you can get to a point where user controled Lions feel like a chore to play with, but user controled Patriots or Colts could win any game, you have done a fine job and are ready for a franchise mode. That way, building a good team will be noticeable and entertaining.

[bearschicago]

Quote: Originally Posted by PGaither84

Well, trial and error is the best way to go. Play on All-Pro. Play different match ups. Switch teams and play those match ups again. Note what the computer can and cannot do well consistently. Make changes accordingly. Make changes to user and computer abilities. I remember one thing I used to do was set computer pass blocking to 2 or 3 [or was it 20-30 on a 100 scale?] becasue until it was in the 2 or 3 range [2-30?] the computer would stone wall even elite user pass rushers. Again, start on all-pro and make user/computer changes bit by bit until you find a set that give you a challenge with out cheating you. Also keep team talent in mind. If you are beating people up with the Bills or lions, you really ought to mess with the sliders until it is the other way around. if you can get to a point where user controled Lions feel like a chore to play with, but user controled Patriots or Colts could win any game, you have done a fine job and are ready for a franchise mode. That way, building a good team will be noticeable and entertaining.

Thanks for the tips. Its just that I didn't have to do any of this in Madden 05 so its really frustrating. I don't know why they didn't keep what they had in Madden 05 onto Madden 06. For the human user Madden 06 quarterback play is fine but AI CPU quarterback play sucks.

CPU was the Jets. I play 15 min Quarters with Accelerated Clock on (to get realistic amount of plays). Chad Pennington threw 8 interceptions in one game! I was the Cowboys on the road and their D at that time sucked. Another thing is Pennington doesn't throw many INT's.

Madden 05 both teams usually average 55-65 plays (running and passing plays) which is realistic. In Madden 06 it can be anywhere from 60-80. This is because the AI CPU can't complete passes at a realisitc rate. They complete 35-40% of their throws and with incompletions the clock stops so that means more plays. They also throw more interceptions so I have the ball more which means I rack up an unrealistic amount of game clock.

Basically the CPU Quarterback holds onto the ball too long (even when a receiver was open) and this leads to the quarterback throwing deep balls constantly. Pennington doesn't have the strongest arm so it floats and gets intercepted or defenders jump 6 feet in the air and tip it.

What slider will make the AI CPU quarterback make quicker decisions? If I turn off QB Vision, it only turns off for the human user and not the CPU.

[ammofan]

I don't get this at all.......I have played all these Madden's and have no clue why anyone thinks they are better than the new one. If you all would'nt analyze the game so much and have fun with it maybe you all would say it's more fun.

You guys can get whatever you want Im just sayin'.....

[PGaither84]

Well, I don't play 06. I did, but not for a long time. I have played 07 for years, so my memory of 06 is shady. M11 is a lot of fun. 07 on last gen and M11 on this gen are both very good games. There are still a number of things 07 on last gen still did better than M11 does now.

I really don't know what else to say to make 06 play better than messing with sliders. Maybe when they made 07 they improved QB play. I don't know. i just know that 07 franchise mode is where it's at.

[pw_1016]

A friend of mine recently gave me Madden 05 on ps2. I had not previously played it but I played the other Maddens the OP mentioned. The gameplay in 05 is so smooth and very few dropped passes,unlike 09, where the receivers drop the ball almost every time they get hit. Passing is much smoother on 05, than any of the others. Although, I do like the lead blocker control that was first implemented in 07. 06 was one of my least favorite Maddens. Didnt like the vision cone, nor the Superstar mode.

[bearschicago]

Quote: Originally Posted by pw_1016

A friend of mine recently gave me Madden 05 on ps2. I had not previously played it but I played the other Maddens the OP mentioned. The gameplay in 05 is so smooth and very few dropped passes,unlike 09, where the receivers drop the ball almost every time they get hit. Passing is much smoother on 05, than any of the others. Although, I do like the lead blocker control that was first implemented in 07. 06 was one of my least favorite Maddens. Didnt like the vision cone, nor the Superstar mode.

There are some things Madden 05 is clearly better than Madden 06 on the PS2. The little things I like to say. In no particular order:

1. Sideline reporter Jill Arrington. In 06 there is no sideline reporter which takes away from the realism. Plus Jill Arrington is a babe and has a voice that I could listen to all day.

2. When you pause the game and then return to the game, Al Michaels says something like "Back to the game" and similar stuff like that. In 06 he says nothing.

3. Some good cutscenes were removed in 06. These were the coaches talking to the players and a opposing player firing his teammates up when the other team couldn't convert on 3rd down.

4. Cheerleader cutscenes were removed in 06. These occured in 05 at the end of quarters/halftime.

5. Pregame cutscenes were removed. In 05 they show the weather/general game information, showed coaches talking with one another and announcers talked about the key players. In 06, it goes straight to the coin toss which is quite boring and takes away from the realism.

6. I liked the controller configuration of 05 on defense. X is change player and O is sprint. In 06 it switched so sometimes when I want to change player to tackle, I can't press those two buttons on time. Defensively the controller is more user friendly in 05 although I believe you can change the configuration in 06.

7. I like the in-game music in 05 more. Although this is a personal opinion.

8. In 06 when showing replays it shows the EA Sports logo but in 05 it shows the Team logo. Just a small thing but still.

9. AI CPU quarterback play is much better in 05 compared to 06. The QB vision really hurts the CPU play. They take too long in the pocket, miss too many open receivers and throw too many deep balls/interceptions. Also get sacked more in 06 than 05 because they hold onto the ball far too long.

10. Corners/safeties plays more realistic in 05. In 06 they jump 6 feet in the air (ignoring footplanting/body momentum/athleticism/fatigue) and tip balls like crazy. Very unrealistic.

11. Receivers don't drop as many passes in 05.

12. In 05 the CPU puts guys in motion more on offense. In 06 they hardly do this and just hike the ball which is unrealistic as QB's in real life constantly put players in motion.

13. Punt returns were much better in 05. In 06 your teammates don't block at all and thus you almost always have to call fair catch. In 05 they block.

14. Kicking meter was a bit harder in 05 which I liked. 06 was too easy to kick deep and accurate.

15. More penalties, injuries and fumbles occurred in 05 which is realistic.

16. In 06 they say the Horsetrailer player of the game too early. Even when the game is still undecided. It looks stupid especially when the other team comes back to win the game. In Madden 05 they do it when the game is right about over.

17. I felt that the overall commentary was slightly better in 05.

18. Player faces look better in 05.

I do understand that in order to add things to the game (Madden 06), they have to remove things as well (Madden 05). Especially on the PS2's limited disk space. Plus the Superstar mode introduced in 06 probably took a lot of space and thus had to remove the things I mentioned above. Though it did make some parts of gameplay considerably worse.

Having said all that Madden 06 is fun because they introduced QB vision, truck stick, additional pre-snap adjustments as well as more types of plays/formations. Running game is slightly better and the players don't look like they are all bodybuilders like 05. Also introduced QB precision passing but I swear I can already do this in 05.

When you played Madden 06 how was the CPU quarterback play? They suck right? In 05 it was solid. Because of this I can't play Madden 06 for too long because I get frustrated.