Madden 04/ESPN Football/NFL Gameday 04/NFL Fever 04 (All)

SS4Brolly

SS4Brolly

CAGiversary!
OPEN FOR DISCUSSION

All Platforms:

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PS2 Only Xbox Only
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How are this years football games and how does they compare to last year's versions?

Im sure some of football nuts here bought/rented/borrowed more than 1.
 
I'm liking the madden 2004 for the ps2 right now. A nice assortment of plays, control is tight and I love the feature that allows you to save in the middle of a game, it allows me to play a half on my lunch break and the 2nd half on another lunch break. I chose it over the other football games because I haven't done a Madden since the sega 2K games first came out and it was out before the other football games as well. Last years 2k3 just irritated me with the dumb glitches and the fact that there wasn't even any tight end pro bowl voting, I don't think you change positions either, like moving a left tackle over to right tackle. The madden was a fresh change and the controller is just better for football games, it's the 4 trigger buttons that make for better jukings and stiff arms.
 
I like Madden the best because of the new ownership mode. In addition to drafting and signin players, you can do things like set ticket prices and hire/fire coaches. It's a lot of fun.
 
ESPN Football is the best.

It has better graphics, far more realistic gameplay than Madden for sure, and it is online cheat free I believe. I know there are online PS2 Madden cheaters but I never played the PS2 ESPN so I dont know about it. I own the XBOX ESPN and it is great and I like it a ton more than Madden and better yet it is cheatfree on Live.
 
ESPN the best? Good, but not the best.

I doubt I will buy a Sega Football game ever again. On Dreamcast, after the great NFL 2K and 2K1, I decided to pick up 2K2. One of the biggests wastes of money I ever spent. The game moved WAY too fast, running was impossible, and it seemed just thrown together. Borrowed 2K3 from a friend, and it didnt seem too much better. Then I borrowed Madden 03 from a friend. This was the first time I played Madden since 96. I loved it. Bought Madden 04 about a month after release this year. Overall, it just has more to offer. I havnt tried the owner mode yet, but the Mini-Camp is a big help. My vote goes to Madden.

I did however, play a demo of ESPN. It seemed pretty good. I never played Fever though. Is it decent?

And well, then there is Gameday. i'd pass if they were giving them out like AOL CD's.
 
I have both Madden 2004 (PS2) and ESPN NFL Football (xbox) and I enjoy both of them. They both have their strong points, but for me Madden is the better game. I am a stickler for realism, so I HAVE to have the option to import college players into my franchise. Since Sega did not have a college game this year, the choice was easy for me. I am big on college football, and I really hope that Sega comes out with a much improved college football game next year. I would have to run two franchises if that happens. :D
 
Having both Madden 2004 and ESPN as well....I must admit that both are excellent games with strong points for each.

Madden is Madden......so its more popular and you'll know more people that play it. Its very polished and I do like the new PLAYMAKER Controls and tweaks. The Online component is excellent this year with Tournaments, Voice Chat, and fixes for people that drop vs. last year.

ESPN Football......if you are an XBOX owner only.....is a must have....the Gameplay and overall polish of presentation is on par with Madden...and the inclusion of everything ESPN does make you feel like you are watching a live game (especially with HDTV Support). The CRIB is a nice addition with Mini-Games, and unlockable sountracks on a jukebox, along with Bobbleheads and a myriad of other little amusements.
3 Things that ESPN does have that EA better pay attention to next year:

1) FIRST PERSON FOOTBALL....is no gimmick....it is actually very very fun. It takes some getting used to but once you get it down.....its very interesting to play from different positions and is something that it definitely has over Madden.
2) Able to assign Defensive Matchups and lock certain players on other players.
3) When Challenging a call.......you can choose what you are challenging....and you can watch the replay and still challenge a call (One of the few things I hate in Madden is the inability to challenge after watching the replay)
 
the ownership mode in this year's Madden is addicting as hell to me since I like working with numbers so much. I played Fever, thought it was a good game and made my choice between these 2 games before ownership mode won me over in Madden. I've also found the actual gameplay to be much better in Madden this year as compared to last year's. Just seems more wide open, better able to run the ball now.

I do hate the fact that you can't challenge a call after watching the replay though. That's my main gripe.
 
I also own both madden (PS2) and ESPN NFL (xbox). I find myself wishing that Madden had some of the ESPN features. One thing I really like is the coaches mode. I love being able to play a game as just the play caller. I also love the first person mode. I know that sounds strange.

Coaches mode is great when you're playing in franchise mode. How it works is you can play the game just calling plays. Then your team runs those plays. I also perfer how signing players works in ESPN. It has a meter showing how satisfied a player is with the deal as you're working it. Another cool thing that ESPN does is the ability to double big time recievers whenever they're on the field.

The ESPN motions can be horrible at times (i.e. the kicking) but overall they're pretty good. Before anyone brings up the fact that it's easy to run in ESPN and that it's unrealistic. Don't even go there. Madden set default has way too many interceptions. Adjusting the sliders in either game make them more realistic.
 
I'd have to say Madden now that the season is winding down. At first I thought ESPN was back to it's former glory, it looks great, it has fun extras, first person is interesting, etc. but it wasn't tested enough.

Not only is the running unrealistic, but there are actually gameplay problems that allow you to run along the lines without getting tackled. There's no way you should have to slide a game this much to get close to realism, and you can't go for the unlockables or play online with sliders!

That and the stats and franchise mode are filled with name and stat glitches. Little things like that go a long way and put Madden back in my hands.
 
3) When Challenging a call.......you can choose what you are challenging....and you can watch the replay and still challenge a call (One of the few things I hate in Madden is the inability to challenge after watching the replay)
Click to expand...

You can't do that in ESPN either. Go try it.

I've played both extensively (probably about 5-6 years of Madden franchise/owner mode, 3 of ESPN), and I would have to say they both have their flaws.

Madden has some really whacky bugs on occasion, like one time it made me kick off from the one yard line while all their players gathered in the endzone about 10 yards away from me (I have the replay saved).

ESPN's jerky button mashing running is kind of annoying, and the players run a bit too upright, like an ostrich or something.

Overall, I think I prefer ESPN because of the way the tackling system is designed. It has much better collision detection. Generally the gameplay seems a little better. You can actually tackle or at least impede people who don't have the ball, rather than just sliding into them and having them be unphased like in Madden.

Madden vs. ESPN:
Gameplay:
Collision detection - ESPN
Playcalling - ESPN (you can adjust linemen to stunt, etc.)
Running/Pass Catching(Offense in general) - Madden
Defense - ESPN (being able to hit anyone makes all the difference)
Franchise Mode:
Player Progression - Madden
The Draft - Madden (scouting/drafting in ESPN is kind of a crap shoot)
One glaring weakness is the inability to switch a player to a new position in either of these games. I think it'd be cool if, when you played someone at a position all year (say, Guard instead of center), they would actually be listed at that position -- or even a dual position designation (Guard/Center).
 
I think the best way to sum it up is that competition breeds innovation/excellence/better technology/kick ass games. I don't think any of us can say we're more excited about the changes to this years games than ever before. Every game has flaws. It's amazing to me how they even make it into production. Here we are at a new year and I will probably buy both games again this year. However if I had to buy just one (based on pre-release info) I'd buy ESPN for the franchise features.

ESPN NFL 2k5
http://sports.ign.com/articles/510/510528p2.html

Madden 2k5
http://ps2.ign.com/articles/510/510712p1.html

Sunny
 
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