Madden '10 - Gen. Discussion & Info

Wonder if they will have another Madden Launch event at the Rose Bowl like they did last year
 
The last football game I truly got into was NFL 2k5 but I never got really deep into the strategy. Now that I'm going to be in the Madden league I want to dig deeper into understanding madden and Defense/Offense strategy. Is there a site that someone could recommend that would cover this? A sort of Madden 101
 
Wow, some of those cheesemints are hilarious. Kudos to EA for at least attempting some creativity in these.
 
Pretty awesome achievements. 09s were way too easy.

Anyone know of any deals for this game besides the Amazon pre-order one? It pains me to pay full price for Madden, but $10 off ($10 gift card) helps a little.
 
Check your local video game shop and ask if they are running any deals; couldn't hurt to mention current other promos out there.
 
Speaking of 09's achievements, since no one seems to be reading the Madden 09 thread- Have any of you had trouble with the "6 rushing TD's with the Dolphins" achievement? I've done it twice and it hasn't unlocked. Do they all have to be scored with the same back? The achievement guide I looked at says no.
 
Demo is out. For the most part, it feels identical to the NCAA demo except kinda slower. Passing feels weird and I haven't really seen any ProTak after 2 sessions. =p
 
Ehhhh, demo was ok. Protak is pretty cool, but the gameplay seems similar enough to 09 that I think I'll wait for '10 to drop in price
 
Some quick impressions:

-1 minute quarters is a really, REALLY shitty way to present a demo. It's completely impossible to get into any rhythm of the game at all, especially for me since I play a pretty sim style. I got off 3 plays in the first quarter.

-The game looks much better than I expected. Especially after playing NCAA 10 so much recently, the closeups on players looks really impressive.

-Wide receivers can and will slip in the snow. I threw a pass to a WR and right as he went to pivot and finish up the route he was running he slipped and was unable to get to where he needed to be. Incomplete.

-They have Hakeem Nicks starting at the slot receiver position for the Giants even though he is the highest rated WR on the team (tied). I'm not sure behind the reasoning on this.

-There's absolutely no commentary in the demo, but they managed to include two fucking Snickers ads before you even get to kickoff.
 
Alright so here is my impressions really quick. The game is solid....typically madden but still pretty good. I have the 5 min demo by the way.

-Kudos to EA for finally giving the presentation a overall. Finally....seriously...6 years and they just started it. But none the less it looks fairly good. Nice cut scenes that do not distract and the Super Bowl seems to have its own little intro with f-16 flying over head which is a nice touch. After play cutsense are seamless and the graphics one each player is great. They also have finally got everything right in regaurdless to non players such as Refs, Chain Gang and such.

-The core gameplay is still there but everything seems to be tight. Although I still saw some odd physics defying plays as defenders still spin around in the air after missing a pass to tackle the offensive player.

-Animations are pretty good, I have barely seen any suction tackles or rocket jumps.

-In the couple of games I have played I have only seen 2 Pro Tak "animations" which is great because I was afraid EA was going cram it down your throat like they do with every other gimmick. Its rare that you even seen more than 4 people tackling 1 player in a NFL game so Pro Tak should follow the, "Less is more" style.


BUT. I did run into 1 thing that is one of the worst features to ever hit a sports sim and I hope to god you can turn this horrid gimmick off. I can always count on EA to include one off the wall gimmick that makes me wonder what the fuck they were thinking.

Fight for the Fumble or whatever the hell is called is horrid. There is simply no room for a button mashing mini game in a sim football title. Hines Ward was stripped and all of a sudden the screen changed and asked me to smash A to win a fumble. As I stared in amazement as to why the hell I would want to participant in this it quickly went into a sequence of button mashing. What?? Either I win the fumble or they do but there is no need for this crap...leave this to Blitz some other arcade title.
 
I think the fumble button mashing works only in pileups. I only had one fumble where Eli got pummeled and the ball slipped, but for some reason there was a pileup rather than a lineman/LB picking up the ball and going for the TD. I mean, I guess it does work if they wanted to simulate a pileup, but I don't like when it happens-- as it it happens very quick, or, it happens when it's not supposed to happen. =p
 
I haven't played madden since....07 I think. So to me this was a vast improvement over that game. It played relatively smooth, but 1 minute quarters can blow me. So as usual I will not be purchasing madden.
 
Since I'm free on launch day this year I was hoping to get into a tourney this year. Does anybody know how Gamestop or Gamecrazy generally handles their Madden tournament?
 
Several years ago when I didn't have much money, I'd always be buying all these games every year (Madden, NCAA Football, NHL, Triple Play/MVP Baseball, whatever) and trying to get rid of the previous versions for pennies. But now that I do have the money, I stopped buying these games all together.

There's nothing like new rosters every year to recycle an old game as new. It's like a license to print money.

And now Activision is trying to make Call of Duty an annual game!!!
 
And there's nothing like ignorant people always claiming that new sports games are mere roster updates when in fact the last couple Madden games (and the NHL series, also from EA) have made huge changes for the better.
 
Agreed. Madden 07 was crap. Madden 09 was pretty good. Not sure how I'm going to like the 5% slowdown in this year's version, but opening up the run game, letting the 0-line make some holes, and getting rid of cheap INTs will be welcome improvements.
 
[quote name='Matt Young']And there's nothing like ignorant people always claiming that new sports games are mere roster updates when in fact the last couple Madden games (and the NHL series, also from EA) have made huge changes for the better.[/QUOTE]
This x10000.
 
So it looks like quite a few people have the game early over at Gamefaqs, just wondering if any cag's have been lucky enough to scoop up a copy early.
 
Played the demo for it a few nights ago and I love it. All the subtle things they've added like the handwarmers and the towels make the game look 10x better. I like the redesigned play selection. The graphics look awesome and the gameplay is solid.

I'll definitely be picking this one up.
 
Madden early? It SHOULD be on shelves today anyway and not friday. Plus I ended up getting the day off work and would've loved to zone out with Madden. Damn you August 14th!
 
[quote name='screwkick']I remember playing this game before...oh yeah Madden '09. PASS.[/QUOTE]

Absolute ignorance.

This may be the best Madden ever and thats no joke. I got it early from Newegg and I am loving it. I HATED 09 because it was so wonky, but this one actually feels like real football. There are some quirks, but they're so minor. This is a damn good game of football. Its easily and by a large margin the best on this generation's machines.

I only trust a few places for reviews on Madden, Bill Abner from Gameshark (because he actually is a huge football nut and knows the game), and PastaPadre who destroyed 09 last year. Both are very high on this.

Definitely worth a pickup with some of the deals going on.

It makes NCAA look like the POS that it is.
 
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-hd-madden-nfl/54012#comments_top

Review from Gametrailers up. Dont look at the score, listen to the pros and cons that he is talking about. The pros are huge but it seems they still have a lot of minor issues.

Seems like a big step in the right direction but still has the same bugs and broken gameplay that has been around since 05. Which is really disappointing. The madden engine must not be able to handle cpu AI like the NFL 2k engine could because line play still has the same problems.

You can really see it when trying to run a toss play how blockers have no idea what they are doing. This is crushing when trying to get a good run game going.

GT also stated that The Extra Point show in the game is basically worthless which massively disappointing in my eyes (although Pastapadra didnt say it was that bad) beacuse I really looking forward to that.

I will see in 2 days though.
 
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[quote name='Soodmeg'][

GT also stated that The Extra Point show in the game is basically worthless which massively disappointing in my eyes (although Pastapadra didnt say it was that bad) beacuse I really looking forward to that.

[/QUOTE]

It's a step in the right direction, but its fairly disappointing. All you see are scores, stats, and standings. There are no highlights, which is shocking, since ESPN 2k5 had it in their highlight show. The Extra point halftime show does have highlights from your game though.
 
[quote name='Soodmeg']
Seems like a big step in the right direction but still has the same bugs and broken gameplay that has been around since 05. [/QUOTE]

The gameplay is most assuredly, not broken. There are definitely some quirks, but they're not glaring like they used to be and nothing is even close to a game killer. Line play needs some tinkering as does some of the CPU playcalling, but both are being looked at to be tweaked in a patch.

Here's another review that you can use to juxtapose.

http://www.gameshark.com/reviews/3314/Madden-NFL-10-Review.htm

Abner is arguably one of, if not the, most trusted reviewers in the Madden community. He doesn't sugarcoat anything and is not afraid to drop a hammer down when its bad. He plays the game religiously and knows the ins and out of the sport.

As for EP/Halftime: They are rather generic, but they're still engaging enough to watch. Its definitely not 2K5 level immersion, but its a huge step in the right direction. Its night/day compared to the old radio show and other attempts at things like this in Madden.

Draft logic/CPU offseason AI is the best its ever been. There is absolutely no question about that.

Fight for the fumble is as cheesy as can be, but it can be turned off thankfully.

This is the biggest step the series has taken in a LONG time. Might be the biggest step they've ever taken. The catering to people that want a simulation football game rather than an arcadey experience permeates the game from the first snap to the final whistle.
 
I played the demo and liked the demo a lot better than the demo of '09. The last Madden I bought was '08 but I might end up picking this one up.
 
[quote name='slickkill77']Madden is $54.99 right now on Amazon and it still has release date delivery available.[/QUOTE]

I already preordered...how do I get them to update the price on my order?
 
[quote name='archibishopthedoge']The gameplay is most assuredly, not broken. There are definitely some quirks, but they're not glaring like they used to be and nothing is even close to a game killer. Line play needs some tinkering as does some of the CPU playcalling, but both are being looked at to be tweaked in a patch.

Here's another review that you can use to juxtapose.

http://www.gameshark.com/reviews/3314/Madden-NFL-10-Review.htm

Abner is arguably one of, if not the, most trusted reviewers in the Madden community. He doesn't sugarcoat anything and is not afraid to drop a hammer down when its bad. He plays the game religiously and knows the ins and out of the sport.

As for EP/Halftime: They are rather generic, but they're still engaging enough to watch. Its definitely not 2K5 level immersion, but its a huge step in the right direction. Its night/day compared to the old radio show and other attempts at things like this in Madden.

Draft logic/CPU offseason AI is the best its ever been. There is absolutely no question about that.

Fight for the fumble is as cheesy as can be, but it can be turned off thankfully.

This is the biggest step the series has taken in a LONG time. Might be the biggest step they've ever taken. The catering to people that want a simulation football game rather than an arcadey experience permeates the game from the first snap to the final whistle.[/QUOTE]

I have to agree with all of this. I havent enjoyed a Madden game since about 2004, heck, I havent bought one first week since around then. But Madden 10 is a great experience. Its made me put away 2K5, at least for the time being. Gameplay is a blast to play, visuals are terrific. Commentary is a little on the weak side though.
 
[quote name='slickkill77']Madden is $54.99 right now on Amazon and it still has release date delivery available.[/QUOTE]

Plus ECA 10% off and a $10 gift card if you order by 8/17.
 
I saw Gamespot posted their Madden review, and wow...they weren't very impressed. The list of issues still present in the game makes me glad I'm not bothering with it this year. I still feel like the Madden Team is too complacent about the fact that "everyone will buy it" just because it's Madden. I doubt I'll jump back into the series until they have a year where nearly every review says "EA finally got it right!" I'd rather play EA's far superior NHL series, which comes out only a month later.

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/sports/maddennfl10/review.html?tag=topslot;title;1
 
Gamespot's review is kinda whack. The reviewer criticizes things that are either realistic or can be adjusted through settings or sliders. A real solid opinion would be the review over at Operation Sports. They know what they're talking about. Even a visit to their forums and you'll get a gist of what's wrong/right with this Madden.

Mainstream review websites usually get things wrong when it comes to sports video games. I'd rather hear it from a sports game-driven community. =p
 
[quote name='shinryuu']Gamespot's review is kinda whack. The reviewer criticizes things that are either realistic or can be adjusted through settings or sliders. A real solid opinion would be the review over at Operation Sports. They know what they're talking about. Even a visit to their forums and you'll get a gist of what's wrong/right with this Madden.

Mainstream review websites usually get things wrong when it comes to sports video games. I'd rather hear it from a sports game-driven community. =p[/QUOTE]

I get what you're saying, but a lot of the guys at Operation Sports are complete and utter fanboys. I got ripped into over there for saying I was disappointed with this year's MLB 09: The Show because of all the bugs and glitches it has (it had to be patched 3 times and certain things still don't work right). The contributions from the community and the rosters that people over there make are fantastic! But a lot of the head honchos are asshats.

Anyway, my main point was, the game is probably enough of an improvement for hardcore football fans to appreciate, but if there's one thing I can't stand, it's lazy programming. If they didn't think to make the stats scale correctly for shortened quarters, that's stupid. I can't believe nobody though to check something like that. Also, the fact that interceptions still happen too frequently and QB sneaks are still almost a guarantee turns me off to the game completely.

And I don't know how Tom Hammond still has a job. He has the most robotic voice ever and shows less enthusiasm than the announcer from Starting Lineup Talking Baseball (anybody remember that game? I used to love it when I was a kid)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmXLhdonN5Y
 
I think everyone agreed about the presentation. Looks nice, doesn't sound nice. And I know what you're saying. I feel the same way with what 2K sports is doing with their basketball franchise. Fact is, with sports games you're never going to get a major upgrade over the previous game, especially in this gen. of gaming. Yeah, EA has barely raised the bar when comparing it to the "holy grail" of football games, NFL 2k5, but that review looked like it was just looking for negatives; negatives that are again, fixable with different settings or sliders. The stats scale you just mentioned, that's one of the things I'm talking about. You can easily change that by changing either your quarter minutes, or the sim quarter length. It's that simple.. no reason to complain about that.

QB sneaks are "fixed" this year. In quotations because it's still there, but it's automated if the defense has 5 linemen. I don't think it's as easy either with the line interaction/Pro-Tak and bigger risk of injury, though. Interceptions happen too frequently? Haven't heard that big of a complaint this year around, especially with the (re)addition of sliders.

OS still has a great community despite the fanboys. There's a ton of people like you there too that disagree with the "popular" opinion, so I dunno. It's not THAT one-sided. =p
 
[quote name='shinryuu']I think everyone agreed about the presentation. Looks nice, doesn't sound nice. And I know what you're saying. I feel the same way with what 2K sports is doing with their basketball franchise. Fact is, with sports games you're never going to get a major upgrade over the previous game, especially in this gen. of gaming. Yeah, EA has barely raised the bar when comparing it to the "holy grail" of football games, NFL 2k5, but that review looked like it was just looking for negatives; negatives that are again, fixable with different settings or sliders. The stats scale you just mentioned, that's one of the things I'm talking about. You can easily change that by changing either your quarter minutes, or the sim quarter length. It's that simple.. no reason to complain about that.

QB sneaks are "fixed" this year. In quotations because it's still there, but it's automated if the defense has 5 linemen. I don't think it's as easy either with the line interaction/Pro-Tak and bigger risk of injury, though. Interceptions happen too frequently? Haven't heard that big of a complaint this year around, especially with the (re)addition of sliders.

OS still has a great community despite the fanboys. There's a ton of people like you there too that disagree with the "popular" opinion, so I dunno. It's not THAT one-sided. =p[/QUOTE]

I agree with all of this. Last year, the first game I played, I had 7 INT. Just from my defense. This year, after 10 games, I have about 10 or so. Which is a nice reasonable number. And I feel like I can actually run the ball this year, something I cant say about years past.
 
[quote name='shinryuu']I think everyone agreed about the presentation. Looks nice, doesn't sound nice. And I know what you're saying. I feel the same way with what 2K sports is doing with their basketball franchise. Fact is, with sports games you're never going to get a major upgrade over the previous game, especially in this gen. of gaming. Yeah, EA has barely raised the bar when comparing it to the "holy grail" of football games, NFL 2k5, but that review looked like it was just looking for negatives; negatives that are again, fixable with different settings or sliders. The stats scale you just mentioned, that's one of the things I'm talking about. You can easily change that by changing either your quarter minutes, or the sim quarter length. It's that simple.. no reason to complain about that.

QB sneaks are "fixed" this year. In quotations because it's still there, but it's automated if the defense has 5 linemen. I don't think it's as easy either with the line interaction/Pro-Tak and bigger risk of injury, though. Interceptions happen too frequently? Haven't heard that big of a complaint this year around, especially with the (re)addition of sliders.

OS still has a great community despite the fanboys. There's a ton of people like you there too that disagree with the "popular" opinion, so I dunno. It's not THAT one-sided. =p[/QUOTE]

Ok, well I didn't know that you could set the sim quarter length for the CPU. That really does negate that criticism then. I don't think big improvements are impossible though. Look at the jump NHL made from 07 to 08. That was practically a complete turnaround for the series, causing it to supplant 2K as the best hockey game.

Notice I didn't bring up NFL 2K5 though (you did). I think anybody still holding on to that game as the pinnacle of football gaming is just being nostalgic. I will say that its presentation has yet to be rivaled though, but that's mainly because I think 2K did far more with the ESPN license than EA has. The gameplay though is still 4 years old, and has obviously been improved upon since that time.

I will say this though, football is probably my 4th favorite sport (following baseball, MMA, and hockey), and I think I've reached a point where the game really has to grab me to enjoy it. Just based on playing Madden's demo this year, I'm just not feeling it. I can understand a bigger fan of the sport enjoying it more though. I just don't have the patience for some of its "quirks". Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the game this year, and good luck with Azu's league!
 
[quote name='bfauble83']I already preordered...how do I get them to update the price on my order?[/QUOTE]



I don't know if you can do it now, but usually you can just email them and they'll take care of it for you
 
I didn't bother getting Madden 09 last year just because it seemed useless. I knew I was gonna get Madden this year once the Bears got Jay Cutler.:D For once I can't wait to play as the Bears and use Cutler and the beast that is Matt Forte.

Anyway, after playing the whole 4 total minutes of the demo (fucking gamestop), this is the first Madden in quite a while that actually appears to play quite a bit better than the previous years. I know Madden will still have some problems but overall I think this year will definitely be a step in the right direction. A few things I particularly appreciate in this years game are:

-The O-line will set up a pocket for the QB so you don't have to just keep dropping back to avoid getting sacked, and you can't just scramble away with QBs
-Weather finally seems to affect players (players falling and stumbling in the snow)
-I can't remember if you could previously choose a game speed, but I like that the default game speed is slower. Makes it feel more realistic.
-Tons of cool new tackling animations
 
[quote name='n8rockerasu']Ok, well I didn't know that you could set the sim quarter length for the CPU. That really does negate that criticism then. I don't think big improvements are impossible though. Look at the jump NHL made from 07 to 08. That was practically a complete turnaround for the series, causing it to supplant 2K as the best hockey game.

Notice I didn't bring up NFL 2K5 though (you did). I think anybody still holding on to that game as the pinnacle of football gaming is just being nostalgic. I will say that its presentation has yet to be rivaled though, but that's mainly because I think 2K did far more with the ESPN license than EA has. The gameplay though is still 4 years old, and has obviously been improved upon since that time.

I will say this though, football is probably my 4th favorite sport (following baseball, MMA, and hockey), and I think I've reached a point where the game really has to grab me to enjoy it. Just based on playing Madden's demo this year, I'm just not feeling it. I can understand a bigger fan of the sport enjoying it more though. I just don't have the patience for some of its "quirks". Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the game this year, and good luck with Azu's league![/QUOTE]
I don't know... popping in NFL 2k5 is still pretty fun. When I played Madden 08, then NFL 2k5, it was a biiig difference. It's aged pretty well. haha.

And yeah, there's a lot of people that hold the same stance as you and it's all good.

Apparently my order from Amazon shipped already from Nevada. Super Saver shipping so... if I'm lucky, it arrives tomorrow or Saturday. If not, next week... poopie.
 
^ Do what I did and buy it from Walmart then return your Amazon copy when it arrives. That's showing as tuesday for me and I can't wait that long. Pretty fun so far but i've only played like 2 games. Lots of differences to get used to...

My biggest gripe is all the extra bullshit EA is trying to sell already. fuck you EA change your motto to: If it's in the game it's on the marketplace.
 
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