Madden 09 Demo Released, Impressions Here

[Rawdeal28]

Quote: Originally Posted by 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

u didnt like the demo.......im so shocked

[MaxMan1000]

Quote: Originally Posted by xV3L0CiTY

I don't like to nitpick but some things I noticed...it's only the demo so things may change in the final version obviously. - Dark Lighting - Cartoon(ish) Player Models These 2 are most likely because I have been playing NCAA a lot...in videos it looks great. I'm hoping it's just from NCAA to Madden type of thing which I believe it is. - Dropped Passes Really my only complaint. They're great for statistics...but...the ball hits them right in the hands and is very catchable. It would be nice to see these cought and have more over/under throws as incomplete passes instead of balls that hit them in the hands. (Granted it will happen sometimes but these are the only type of incomplete passes for the most part). Other than that I can't wait. I just can't decide whether to buy or rent first. After the NCAA fiasco I'm a little scared because the demo doesn't say much but once the game arrives then that's a different story.

Responding to what you have in bold...

The overall darkness confuses me. I don't understand why the colors are so dreary. It just doesn't do it for me at all. It's like there is a dark haze hanging over the picture. There is just no sizzle to the picture at all. For all the hype about graphics this year, this particular setting we got in the demo is terribly unimpressive.

As for the player models, I'll have to say that NCAA did a better job. Not sure what happened here.

The dropped passes are a little ridiculous. In the NFL or even in big time College football, if a guy is wide open on a short to medium, he's going to make that catch 9 and a half times out of 10. Yet here, players are dropping balls left and right... but the defense seems to have hands of glue, lol.

[countryboy]

Quote: Originally Posted by loganone

Accelerated clock doesn't exist and if you want custom playbooks you have to buy Head Coach seperately. Welcome to next-gen football!

thats not necessarily the case.

Acclerated clock has been implemented into Madden this year and is working. Only problem, because MS only allows patches to be 4mb or smaller, they can't put acclerated clock into the game via a patch, so they are looking at alternative ways, like adding in to the game like they do a roster update.

And you don't have to buy Head Coach separately, you can buy the Collector's Edition of Madden and get both.

[Jordanfan23]

The demo definitely left something to be desired. Not letting us play defense makes me a little nervous as well.

-Graphics are definitely the best I have seen on a Madden game. Game does seem a little dark, but the players look crisp and clean, as well as the field.

-Didn't play it much, but when I did, I didn't see many dropped passes. If there is a problem in this area, hopefully a slider adjustment will fix it instead of the pain in the arse universal ratings bump.

-I love that the QB has to make quick decisions a la the real NFL, instead of being able to drop back 10 yds. and then roll out 15 yds. with no pressure from the defense.

-Highlight thumbstick seems a little late reacting at times but doesn't seem to do it every time it's used.

-Like the added pass catching animations. Some are still off according to where the ball is thrown not matching the proper animation but overall, nothing too horribly noticable.

Can't really comment on more than that, and truthfully, this game could be a piece of garbage and I would buy it anyhow due to the Browns finally being good on a Madden game for the first time ever. I am sure with some slider adjustments and good rosters, and some problems being addressed via the patch(es), this will be a great game of football!

[ch46647]

Maybe it appears a little darker becuase it is in Arizona's stadium with the roof closed making it a dome setting?

[slyfox]

Quote: Originally Posted by countryboy

thats not necessarily the case. Acclerated clock has been implemented into Madden this year and is working. Only problem, because MS only allows patches to be 4mb or smaller, they can't put acclerated clock into the game via a patch, so they are looking at alternative ways, like adding in to the game like they do a roster update. And you don't have to buy Head Coach separately, you can buy the Collector's Edition of Madden and get both.

The worst thing about the lack of custom plays in Madden 09 only is that based on the demo the stock plays seem virtually identical to the plays I find in NCAA 09. They have the same names and everything. It's a real pathetic attempt to force people to buy HC as well. That's not only greedy on EA's part, but lazy as well. Of course, I stand corrected if the full version has legitamate NFL plays and doesn't just copy Ohio State's playbook.

[Vince]

Quote: Originally Posted by slyfox

The worst thing about the lack of custom plays in Madden 09 only is that based on the demo the stock plays seem virtually identical to the plays I find in NCAA 09. They have the same names and everything. It's a real pathetic attempt to force people to buy HC as well. That's not only greedy on EA's part, but lazy as well. Of course, I stand corrected if the full version has legitamate NFL plays and doesn't just copy Ohio State's playbook.

I noticed this as well.

[spankdatazz22]

Quote: Originally Posted by Rawdeal28

u didnt like the demo.......im so shocked

It's an impressions thread, I gave my impressions. And of course, you have no interest in debating a single point I said - just the need to say something silly and unnecessary.