Madden 09 Demo Released, Impressions Here

[JBucc]

My final thoughts after playing the demo quite a bit is that there isn't any glaring issue in the gameplay. Everything feels really good on offense. The only things that bug me are the excessive drops and some catching animations.

That said, I'm still on the fence because of the CPU QB and AI issues.

Also after playing through them several times I think the IQ tests are really stupid and poorly thought out. The RB test is nothing but a big QTE. Hit the button in time and you win automatically. Run defense is similar and is more of a kick coverage drill anyway. Pass defense is the worst though. The biggest problem is that you have to rely on the stupid AI to not get out of position before you can switch to make a play. The passing drill is the only one that has any reseblance of the actual gameplay.

[JMD]

One last thing I noticed. When I take the madden test my run is all madden, my passing is all pro then when I get into the game if I try to scramble around and throw the ball I get 3 results, 1. sack, 2. incomplete, 3. INT.

When I skip the madden test and it gives me and IQ of 500 I can scramble all over the place and complete 8 out of 10 passes. so in conclusion it seems the All Pro and All Madden levels are good at stopping cheese. I think a 500 IQ is the Pro level and you can cheese it up.

That's it for me until the game comes out. So far I love this game and I'd like to send some Props to EA for making and effort this year.

[spankdatazz22]

*thoughts*

- don't like the Tron training. And what dictates broken tackles/making a tackle?

- Graphics are amazing. I think the NCAA player models are better proportioned, but the graphics in Madden are noticeably better.

- Unfortunately the animations don't show off the graphics well. Lots of awkward movement, near-complete lack of physics (people knocked down from love taps, getting juggled into the air like a fighting game, tackles/broken tackles occur at weird angles, etc.). Seems like only the ball carrier has consistent anims to depict direction changes; everyone else just stops and goes in whichever direction they need to go. WRs look like their jogging their pass routes. Lack of head tracking. Post play player movement is awkward; some players do weird hunchback celebrations that mostly look out of place while everyone else jogs back to the huddle. Player interaction is pretty much non-existent

- Lots of pre-play control options; almost overwhelming. But they seem to give you lots of flexibility

- QB anims aren't as irritating as I thought they'd be but not sure why. They still look weird/awkward, have bad footwork and are entirely too accurate, but for some reason hasn't stood out to me as much as it does in the videos. Does in replays lol - can't believe some of the bad stuff still in this game since '06.

- Player movement is too precise.

Overall it's one of those things where I feel they're fortunate they have the exclusive licenses - I don't feel the game stands on it's own in the way the last gen games could. Not that they should be the measuring bar of course. It's definitely better than '08, but the sad thing is it still doesn't seem like NFL football - just no soul while playing the game, no identity. For every cool action I probably see 4-5 head scratching ones. Hard to know whether I'm throwing the Plax or Toomer, didn't matter who the Pats had in the secondary because they all seemed the same. Kinda funny that they nailed the player faces, but when on the field they're all cookie-cutter

[JBucc]

Quote: Originally Posted by JBucc

some catching animations.

I'm going to quote my self here and vent for a second. The one that really bugs me is the animation where they turn around real fast and catch the ball above their head. First, the animation itself isn't very good and lacks physics and just doesn't look real. But the real reason why it's annoying is because it happens EVERY OTHER FREAKING PASS. It slows down your receiver and usually they do it when they don't have to.

/rant over

[X*Cell]

The Madden IQ Test is a failure. The rest of the demo is fun though.

[catcatch22]

I tried the demo and it just did not fell right.

I did not like the IQ test.

The graphics were very good though I still feel the player models have some size issues.

The O-Line when in a set position before the snap looks way better. In years past this always looked wierd and awkward. The lineman were always bent over too much.

It just did not feel right. Where the pacing in All Pro feels a bit better.

[NC State-31 UNC-27]

Thanks for the impressions everyone.

One question.....CPU quick snap? Is it like NCAA? I assume no because of the need for Peyton to take all day, just making sure we can take advantage of pre snap control on D.

[Rawdeal28]

Quote: Originally Posted by Rimfro

I love how some of you 2k5 fanboys have put this game on a pedestal, its not the perfect football experience that you all make it out to be. The best thing about that game was the fact that it was only $20. It had iffy animation, a lot of pass plays ended in jump balls. You had to charge jukes and spin moves. The presentation was sick, but that game is old news. If you want to play an old, budget football title, be my guest, but quit whining about Madden and comparing it to some out dated, non-conformists football dream. If 2k5 is so great, why aren't you playing it instead of posting on here about how "bad" Madden is? I have been let down the last few years by Madden, but with the scale of these stadiums and the animation in this title, I couldn't help but get a little giddy. Oh yeah, Madden 05 was leaps and bounds more fun to play than 2k5. I had both, but I couldn't get a single football fan I know to play it. First person football? What a joke. The secondary coverage in that game is a joke, as well as the player models. They all had arms down to their ankles and were lankier than Wilt the Stilt. I won't get into how lame the quarterback play was, the a.i. didn't realize that Vick was a mobile QB. And the much touted Cribs feature? I'm not into doll houses, so the only person who got any use out of that was my little sister, she said it was an awesome football feature, and truly showed how sim 2k5 was. Madden looks to be back on track, so if you don't want to play, don't, but please quit shoving this 2k did this and 2k did that garbage down my throat. You 2k5 fans should have a convention.

lol love that post!