Madden NFL 12 - Or "Wait 'Til Next Year #7" - rangerrick012's Blog

rangerrick012's Blog

Madden NFL 12 - Or "Wait 'Til Next Year #7"

Posted on July 10, 2011 at 10:01 PM.

(9)

I know bashing Madden in the gaming community is about as original as hating on Justin Bieber in the...human community. But I can't get past looking at Madden as that ex who you used to spend all your time with, but as you got older things changed, and you grew apart. That's the way I've become with Madden now.

Even as Madden 12, the 7th iteration of Madden on this generation of consoles, gets set for launch at the end of next month, there's still a feeling among gamers that the series is not where it should be this far into this generation. As the Madden hype machine gets kicked into gear the next few weeks, and with the improvements that have already been announced in offline franchise and gameplay, I can't get past the fact of not buying into it, and it all comes down to one phrase that's used time and time again when it comes to Madden - 'Wait 'Til Next Year'.

This year that term applies to online franchise mode, which EA has stated that they have made no additions to this year. I'm not a huge online franchise guy, so this wasn't really a 'gamebreaking' announcement for me. But it does show me that regardless of how many improvements that Madden makes, we'll still have to 'wait til next year', or the year after, to get the full football experience, online and offline, that most people expected we'd have by the year 2011.

Another thing that brought up the 'wait 'til next year' sentiment was in a thread showcasing gameplay and the commentary. Let's be honest - Madden's commentary right now is a patchworked joke. Gus Johnson sounds like a parody of his real life self, and things with he and Chris Collinsworth do not seem to flow at all as a real broadcast should. Especially considering the efforts of other games in this area, and the fact that Madden is again professing the 'everything you see on Sunday' mantra and going even more for a TV broadcast feel, it takes away from those efforts to have such lackluster commentary.

Apparently (and correct me if I'm wrong), the Madden developers will be installing new commentary tech...guess when? Next year! And this years' commentary will be a patchwork as the new tech gets installed.

It seems to me that even when Madden makes strides and improvements, which it seems like they have, there's always something where it's like 'oh they couldn't get it in, wait till next year'. The commentary is basically in my opinion a microcosm of the way Madden development works. It just seems like Madden is one big patchwork each year instead of being a genuinely new experience each year. Like I said, they've made improvements, but I still can't shake the fact that I feel like there can be more done to make the game even better and push forward in certain areas.

This year Tiburon seems to have improved gameplay (which should improve every year anyways TBH) and offline franchise, as well as presentation to finally replicate a TV broadcast. But its 'wait till next year' on commentary and online franchise.

I'm beyond being frustrated at this point, which is why I don't even post in the Madden section often. I still pay attention since it's the only option we have, but it's the sense that they're holding back or not doing as well as they could which makes me not want to put down $60 for this one if it's just going to be 'wait til next year' for a 'better' game.

Comments

# 1 HarveyCamper @ Jul 10

The idea of waiting till next year sounds great but in the real world there is never a great time to buy because the next year they will fix or work on something better. Your best bet is buy it if the features match up to what you will enjoy otherwise don"t buy it.

# 2 Eski33 @ Jul 11

I think this year is a "buy" year. Madden 10 was a good year and 11 was not. Howver, hard to argue that the game is looking great.

# 3 rangerrick012 @ Jul 11

Quote:


	The idea of waiting till next year sounds great but in the real world there is never a great time to buy because the next year they will fix or work on something better. Your best bet is buy it if the features match up to what you will enjoy otherwise don"t buy it.

You're right in that Madden's not the only sports game or gaming series in general that has the 'wait til next year' MO. But it seems like Madden leans on this more than other games do. When I look at the work that NBA 2K11 made in one cycle from 2K10, that raised the bar to me as far as what is possible to do in one cycle for games.

And even though Madden has made improvements it seems, there still are some lingering issues and I'm not willing to spend $60 on something that isn't as complete as it should be. I know I'm not alone either, look at Youtube comments and people are fed up with EA's charade. Like I said, I'm past being angry over what Madden has become and am at the acceptance stage that there will always be something that needs to be better in Madden. And personally I don't feel like everything is being put into making Madden as good as it can be in all areas.

# 4 DaggerSwagger @ Jul 11

That's the whole thing...Madden won't give you everything in one yr. because they know if they hold back things that are apparently needed in the game you will buy it next yr. too and the yr. after that and so on..I personally just wish we "ALL" had an option on what we are willing to spend our money on but those days are gone and from the looks of it we will never get those days back...Thank You "NFL" for screwing the consumers and your "ONE DEVELOPERS VISION" on how you think your brand should be!!!

# 5 schnaidt1 @ Jul 12

i agree with you 100%. i feel like madden 12 is behind ncaa 12 in every category except camera angles. i mean they havent even steppe dup to the plate and brought espn or cbs or fox or nbc or nfl network for their "banners" which always look so unprofessionally fake.

however. i always buy it every year cuz i need my football fix and i love franchise mode and the new additions this year will be fun. but the fact it is graphically behind ncaa 12 bugs me alot...

# 6 ssx95351 @ Jul 13

Our league(http://www.2kolf.com) is on the fence about Madden 12. Most of us only play online franchise and with the announcement of nothing new for online franchise till next year, we might just stick with Madden 11. If we do switch we'll switch to Madden 12 in March, by then Madden 12 will have dropped in price....if not there's always NEXT YEAR!

# 7 Galarius @ Jul 13

i am not a fan of the NFL commisioner.......i think he attributes the current all-time high success of the league to himself....besides giving the game to just one company, he is also turning the NFL into a sissyfest...The Roy Williams rule is absurd...the increase in fines is ridiculous..EA having an exclusive license is a sin...i wish the NFL would get someone with integrity and a respect for the game and those who made it

# 8 xITSxDAWKINSx @ Jul 14

i say it ever year "madden will be so much better next year". i feel that i could make a better football game. im not one to cry about gamplay. im more upset with the small things that i feel would take a day to fix. for example in ncaa one dred length and for madden and ncaa no mouth guards. i do believe that from 06-08 the clear visor was the same as the dark visor and i said "next year they will get it right" lol

# 9 KingJavo @ Jul 14

Definitely not buying Madden for another year. Still bad gameplay and unrealistic animations. Plus commentary is pure garbage. If you want the NFL, then there is APF and BB with custom rosters. If you're really desperate, then buy it used after a few days when people start to return it. Giving EA more money to keep paying for the NFL license is a damn crime IMO. Good Luck everyone!