Madden NFL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

[Eski33]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jimixiii

me being the Madden critic i am, i can honestly say the demo is pretty good, especially with it not being the final stage of development. i like the pro-tak touch, the momentum has been tweaked (still not perfect but much better it seems). i enjoyed it and will probably pre-order just to get the longer quarters to hold me off until the game release.

The extended demo is nice in that it allows the gamer to get a flow going. I can't wait to see the Vikes jerseys in this game. The jerseys and helmets look flippin sweet. The metallic purple will look sharp....

[g2thecore]

Wow! Where to begin?

First off, I've never been so happy after a loss as I am now. I lost 21-14 to the Cardinals, mostly because of stupid throws and Dansby picking them off. But man what a different feeling!

The animations aren't as bad as I thought. The game speed does take some getting used to, but I can see myself adjusting to it soon. Protak is not as intrusive as I expected. I've seen it occur probably 2 or 3 times during my game.

I had the ball towards the end of the game trailing by 7. I drove the ball all the way to the endzone and couldn't get the ball in. I went for it on 4th and 1, and to my surprise when I tried the sneak I got stuffed. Something that has never happened to me before at the goal line. Amazing! I can't wait to play this game again. It sucks I have to go to work now. Wow.

[Manbearpig]

i need to find a way to get the extended demo!!!!

[CarryTheWeight]

Very good demo I must say - nothing's radically different IMHO but what was already there has been tweaked - overall I think the in-game experience is much less bland than it was with 09, there's much more personality this year BY FAR.

I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but I love finally being able to run the option...although my only pitch attempt was picked off and returned 20 yards downfield by James Farrior...ouch. Good to see that running the option is very similar to NCAA (albeit with better defensive response).

I wish there were more broadcast overlays, though. But that may be controlled by an option in the settings menu in the full game. The only overlays I saw in my two games of the ARI/PIT demo were about Super Bowl TV ratings, Super Bowl snacking habits, the history of the Cardinals and net punting averages for both punters. Again, maybe more plays of the demo may expose me to more overlay info that I haven't seen before.

"Stars of the Game" is a cool feature that reminds me a lot of what NBC does during games but I haven't seen any defensive players featured on there yet...it's usually the quarterback, halfback and leading receiver.

Another quirk, but the "MVP Performance" at the end of the game seems to never focus on the player it spotlights. It's kinda funny to see Santonio Holmes winning the Player of the Game honors but having Big Ben trotting up to the huddle on-screen. I don't mind it that much since it's EA's first year with real TV presentation, but it's very quirky and something that could be fixed in the future.

[Eski33]

Quote: Originally Posted by dude88

there is no commentary on mine??? is it suppose to be like that

The demo is 1GB without the commentary. They left it out to reduce the amount of space the demo would consume....

[LAKE4742]

After my first 5 games of the Giants vs. Cowboys demo:

Some colorful, honest, not too technical impressions. With lots of Similies for extra enthusiasm!

First!!!! I saw some very bad animations, from the start. I witnessed the 'missed INT turn tackle...tackle' from the Jostling vid early, and often. On a kickoff, I saw one player run up the middle, aggressively shove aside two players, get right up on the returner, only to turn and run in the opposite direction. WOW.
On the flip side, on the next kickoff, I believe the same player again aggressively shoved the players aside, got to the returner, but this time made the tackle. Okaaaay.

Check this out: Dude! I saw Eli slip, and nearly fall because of the snow. He thew the ball off balance, and it was intercepted. Niiiiice!!!!! It was so cool to see!

Hold up! On that same interception, by mistake, I pushed the left trigger, and the player did a juke move.....then slowed to a stop. He didn't come to a complete hault, and stop on a dime like in the past, when taking control of a different player. I suppose if I'd pushed the right trigger instead of the left, he'd kept running perfectly. Ian mentioned them fixing it, but this was cool to see! He actually sloooowed down. WOW!

The new kicking system presents a little more of a challenge-I'm cool with that.

I saw some cooool gangtackling!!! 2-man tackles, 3-man tackles!!! No dancing, just realistically piling on, and quickly bringing down the ball carrier.

I'm not a big fan of this Slow gameplay. The ball seems to float a bit, to me. And the players STILL run waaaay too slow, and waaaay too awkward. And when I tried to throw it deep, it took Romo forever to get it up (that's what she said-zing!)-which he never did because he got sacked. But, I think with the game on Normal speed, all will make more sense, to me, and it will be AWESOME!!!!!

The graphics are very good. Not totally "next gen" impressive, but very good for a 2009 football game. What's really impressive to me are the player models. They look a little taller than last years-a very good thing! Maybe it has to do with the default camera-which is really good! Also, they look more varied and accurate, more authentic, and realistic! Plus, the players look, and feel heavy. Cool! But, where are the big hits?

The sounds are great!! Alot of atmosphere, chit chat, and ambience. The crowd is hype! Well done.

So, aside from the STILL stoic, and zombie-like emotion from the players, does this game make me want to play football (videogame football that is)? The answer is YES! Generally speaking, I saw some good protection, good tackling, good pursuits, good Procedural Awareness, and good effort. The A.I. actually seems more intelligent, and gives more effort. But, the icing is that it does it in a more realistic fashion. The animations aren't nearly where they should be, with the available hardware, but it seems MUCH improved over last year. It has inspired me to pre-order the game, for the larger demo. I must play more than these measley 4 minutes.

All in all, I'm not THAT impressed. But, certainly impressed enough to believe I'll enjoy this game until M11. I don't care about a good foundation being laid out, because this engine is and will always be subpar. But, at least it looks and feels more authentic, and accurate to the NFL. Most importantly, it's FUN!
This Madden feels solid enough, with no Robo QB, superhuman abilities, except for......well, you know, or nasty glitches (such as players running out of bounds with daylight ahead) to worry about, at least. And with the loads of new presentation, it seems this arcadey baby just grew up into a NFL sim badass!


Now, give me Normal speed....and some Sliders!!!!

[g2thecore]

Quote: Originally Posted by Eski33

I agree. It was amazing that I actually had time to find a receiver. You can definitely feel a difference when running with a back like Brandon Jacobs. The animations are outstanding from breaking arm tackles to stumbling and regaining balance. Regardless of what people think of EA, these demos show a very strong product....

Agreed!

[HealyMonster]

Quote: Originally Posted by Renegade44

Played the demo, Love what I am seeing, cant wait to play the full version. 1 thing that bother me is the pop up, like the runn stoppers for the giants, the qb comparison at the beginning. They seemingly pop up for 3 seconds, In the final build will these things actually pop up a little longer you think? If it stays like that I must say its horribly executed, hopefully theres more to it in final build.

well id hate to bump my own question but wtf, can we stick to the impressions please? Dont come in here and say the game sucks, offer your impressions or dont post. your letting real conversations and questions get buried.

On a side note, some of you guys are nuts. PLay the 1 minute demo and you can see a difference from last year. Ive been a ***** on Madden but for the first time I feel like im playing a solid game. Those that cant see it, dont want to see it.