Madden NFL 12 First-Look Preview

[djordan]

Good read. Can't wait to hear your gameplay impressions.

[Nab_Impervious_XII]

My only fear with EA's design choices in presentation is that they're always so painstakingly focused on one aspect of presentation that they always seem to miss the forest.

The 700+ cameras are a great addition, but like Chase said, a lot of fans won't even notice them.

EA kinda reminds me of the kid who will attempt to memorize every sentence in a textbook (even the index) to pass a test, but due to the limitation of time, they only manage to memorize 12 pages and end up failing the test anyway. Whereas another kid (let's call him 2k or Sony) make better use of their time by focusing on the parts of the book that are immediately applicable to the test and pass with flying colors.

These are great additions, don't get me wrong, but a lot of them seem more "academic" then viscerally impactful.

[BleedEaglesGreen]

Thanks for the info. Although I'm disappointed that they've scrapped the Halftime show, at least I don't have wait in ravenous anticipation to see if this area is improved this year. (tired of scanning through numerous off camera clips from the E3 Expo lol) Every year the same hope......... please let there be an ESPN/ CBS broadcast half time show...... similar to 2K5 or better but to no avail. I hope there's some sort of broadcast highlight package and commentary at the end of the game or week in season mode. It wouldn't hurt either if there were highlights from other games too. EA you've got NFL exclusivity don't make us suffer! COME ON EA!!!!!!! LOL

[BleedEaglesGreen]

Chase were there any improvements to the end of game recap?

[Mr_Riddick]

Good write-up as always Chase. Beganing to have faith again I must say. Looking at the feature list along with this preview, I hope I can finally play an NFL game this year....

[MJenness]

Quote: Originally Posted by BleedEaglesGreen

Chase were there any improvements to the end of game recap?

It sounds to me that it was removed completely.

[ChaseB]

Quote: Originally Posted by chen_sc

chase are you gonna answer some questions like you did with ncaa 12?

That's the plan. I'm sitting in Penn Station right now rather than OS HQ, so I won't be doing it right now but later tonight or tomorrow I'll be checking in. Just not offering up open season as of now since I won't be at my computer.

Quote: Originally Posted by PacMan3000

This sounds really exciting, though considering the huge amounts of improvements, I didn't get the sense that Chase was really excited about the presentation. It felt more like he was telling us what was changed, rather than giving us his impression of it. Which is fine, but I'm just wondering if there's a reason for that? Were you impressed with what you saw, especially compared to other games like NBA 2K and The Show regarding strictly presentation?

Yeah, I was hoping the tone would come across clearly enough. I was not overly excited if only because I only saw so much in my short time -- so I'm not going to go bananas when there's so much I still haven't seen over an extended period presentation-wise. It doesn't mean I won't be impressed in the long run, and I certainly am impressed already with the pregame stuff before a game and the opening sequence of action. It's just the other elements during/later in the games that could potentially not resonate as much long term. I can probably explain this better when I have more time since I think it's a tricky thing I am trying to explain.

[Nab_Impervious_XII]

Quote: Originally Posted by MJenness

It sounds to me that it was removed completely.

Yea, that's a shame. I really think EA kinda overcomplicated the whole "Extra Point" thing too. We didn't need to see Fran Charles & Alex Flanagan during the broadcast. Just give us their voice overs and hire a compelling play-by-play commentator like Berman, and you have an amazing show.

Unfortunately, it seems like another case of EA being too diligent with the details and eventually discouraging themselves from breaking new boundaries in presentation.