[quote name='drfrielgood']If ESPN is close to perfection and Madden is a lot better, then is Madden better than perfect?
I, for one, hate Madden's controls and think Sega makes far superior sports games (except baseball).[/quote]
you are right, in that, i worded my statement rather amiguously to the point of contradiction. I will not turn this into a debate but just thoughts to refine my earlier statement.
no, just means that madden is pefect blend of gameplay and fun. ESPN has gameplay down, all the nuances are technically close to realism (perfection) on the CONSOLE gaming world. However, madden has that pick up and play feel that allows newbies and intermediate game players (like myself) to put up a decent challenge online to veterans of the game. other people would say that is a flaw of design to let gameplay get involved with realism. In that sense, ESPN is getting close to perfection because it has improved gameplay mechanics to be applied without incurring penalties to its simulation engine, notably catching the frickin ball, in the move from 2k3 to 2k4 among other things. ESPN can replicate a football game much better than madden, and if it can improve its gameplay, then it would be perfect. for that fact, madden is alot better because it is more fun to play with its universalisitc appeal, rather than a hardcore football fan/viewer that probably doesn't know the difference between a LT ability vs. RT, throwing off your backfoot, leading a receiver, etc etc etc
