Madden 08 Hands On

[MizzouRah]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23438.html

Nice review, but two things stuck out. The number of turnovers and the A.I. comeback tendency. Both of these issues have the ability to ruin an enjoyable game.

To each their own.. and FWIW I'm waiting on Madden due to NCAA and APF, but sometimes I think people really expect too much out of a console sports game.

[Zeppo]

I'm very disappointed that I can't find any 'live game' feature for season games. This was a great feature in last year's game that allowed me to play my season against real people online rather than against the CPU. Beyond that, the feature also allowed custom rosters to be used online, so if one chose one could use created players, hall of famers, players with adjusted ratings, and so on in online games.

It really pisses me off they would remove this feature for this release after it seemed to work flawlessly last time around.

As to gameplay, I still haven't played very much, but there is clearly the hyper awareness, 360º awareness, uncannily immediate reactions to a handoff or a throw when the back is turned that seems to be a core feature of EA football and for my money is the biggest factor in the interception problem in NCAA. I can imagine that making the awareness more limited by only allowing players to react to things in some kind of contained filed of vision or something may well make defending too difficult and open up too much room for both passing and running, but it does seem that in both releases this year they may have gone too far the other way. When you add in the super acrobatics and leaping swats of the defenders it seems like it can get pretty frustratingly tough to pass. On the other hand, I have made quite a few nicely placed throws, feathering the ball in with plenty of touch, so the jury is out as far as I'm concerned on whether the passing game is broken or not because of these 'eyes in the back of the head' defenders.

[Bill_Abner]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23438.html

Nice review, but two things stuck out. The number of turnovers and the A.I. comeback tendency. Both of these issues have the ability to ruin an enjoyable game.

To each their own.. and FWIW I'm waiting on Madden due to NCAA and APF, but sometimes I think people really expect too much out of a console sports game.

I don't think they expect enough.

[DivotMaker]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23438.html

Nice review, but two things stuck out. The number of turnovers and the A.I. comeback tendency. Both of these issues have the ability to ruin an enjoyable game.

To each their own.. and FWIW I'm waiting on Madden due to NCAA and APF, but sometimes I think people really expect too much out of a console sports game.

I don't think they expect enough.

Could not agree more...

[greggsand]

http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/13 ... NFL-08/p1/

a 9.0 - not too shabby. Interesting that the writer implies that only the 360 version runs at 60fps. That may be common knowledge, but I didn't know it.

[Gamecocks625]

Anyone play the Wii version?

[DivotMaker]

http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/13 ... NFL-08/p1/

a 9.0 - not too shabby. Interesting that the writer implies that only the 360 version runs at 60fps. That may be common knowledge, but I didn't know it.

My understanding is that all 08 EA Sports 360 games will run at 60 fps...

[MizzouRah]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23438.html

Nice review, but two things stuck out. The number of turnovers and the A.I. comeback tendency. Both of these issues have the ability to ruin an enjoyable game.

To each their own.. and FWIW I'm waiting on Madden due to NCAA and APF, but sometimes I think people really expect too much out of a console sports game.

I don't think they expect enough.

I just think back to the days of Tecmo Super Bowl, FPS Football, and Madden on the Sega Genesis. None of these games had depth, but were so much fun to play.

I know what you mean and I'd have to believe that if EA had some kind of competition, (see hockey and basketball).. we'd probably have better football titles - or at least an alternate... but we don't and I'm alot less picky and tolerable of some things.

[Rodster]

I just think back to the days of Tecmo Super Bowl, FPS Football, and Madden on the Sega Genesis. None of these games had depth, but were so much fun to play.

I know what you mean and I'd have to believe that if EA had some kind of competition, (see hockey and basketball).. we'd probably have better football titles - or at least an alternate... but we don't and I'm alot less picky and tolerable of some things.

Sometimes it's a mixed bag because while NHL 07 was really good last year NBA Live was a total disaster.

[MizzouRah]

I just think back to the days of Tecmo Super Bowl, FPS Football, and Madden on the Sega Genesis. None of these games had depth, but were so much fun to play.

I know what you mean and I'd have to believe that if EA had some kind of competition, (see hockey and basketball).. we'd probably have better football titles - or at least an alternate... but we don't and I'm alot less picky and tolerable of some things.

Sometimes it's a mixed bag because while NHL 07 was really good last year NBA Live was a total disaster.

Yeah, I was referring to Bill's report on NBA Live 08 he played a few weeks ago. He was pretty positive about how the game played.

[Teal]

To each their own.. and FWIW I'm waiting on Madden due to NCAA and APF, but sometimes I think people really expect too much out of a console sports game.

I don't think they expect enough.

I just think back to the days of Tecmo Super Bowl, FPS Football, and Madden on the Sega Genesis. None of these games had depth, but were so much fun to play.

I know what you mean and I'd have to believe that if EA had some kind of competition, (see hockey and basketball).. we'd probably have better football titles - or at least an alternate... but we don't and I'm alot less picky and tolerable of some things.

Yeah, I remember those days with fondness. Unfortunately, I can see some in here and elsewhere that would be absolutely mortified if we all had to revert back to the SNES or Genesis days. I, for one, would still be having fun.

I personally think that all the caterwalling about stuff in games nowadays is horseshit. Petty baloney that doesn't belong in the arena of video games, for cryin' out loud. This 'bug' (sometimes it's not a bug or a glitch, fellas, and the only 'bug' is the one up your asses ) or that' glitch' and 'oh, the jerseys are all wrong-this one's going back to gamestop'.

I just don't get it. The minutae that some of you guys engage in when scrutinizing a frickin' video game leaves me scratching my head sometimes-really...

I know I'm not gonna like the 'radio announcer' thing, but if this one plays exactly like NCAA with pro teams for the most part, then I'm happy. Because I just wanna relax and enjoy some free time goofin' off with a video game.

Maybe I'm getting too old for this s***...as Danny Glover would say...

[MizzouRah]

I think we're all getting old and grumpy.

[GTHobbes]

I disagree with you guys. I'm not looking for the game to blow me, but there's really no reason for EA after all these years not to have nailed the sport the way that The Show did with baseball, or the way that NHL 07 (according to everyone around here) did with hockey. They've been making the stupid game (Madden) for more than 15 years now, and it's a cash cow/deserving of making the leap that we want, more than any other franchise really. By settling for less, you're helping with the enabling, IMO.

[JRod]

I don't think anyone here expects Madden to be 100% football perfect...

But no one can say that EA and Madden are improving the genre. Madden has become stale in year 3 of this supposedly new game engine.

What has this game done other than graphics that is next gen? Two man tackles? Stadium Editor? Create a team? Madden sells because its madden not because its great football.

[Teal]

I don't think anyone here expects Madden to be 100% football perfect...

But no one can say that EA and Madden are improving the genre. Madden has become stale in year 3 of this supposedly new game engine.

What has this game done other than graphics that is next gen? Two man tackles? Stadium Editor? Create a team? Madden sells because its madden not because its great football.

If not for EA and Madden, there would BE no genre. If they are in their fat Elvis days, whether that's a good thing or not, they've earned it. I love the series, and I had fun with 2K5 as well. I just don't overanalyze every nook and cranny like some.

And the root word of 'analyze' is 'anal'...

[Teal]

I disagree with you guys. I'm not looking for the game to blow me, but there's really no reason for EA after all these years not to have nailed the sport the way that The Show did with baseball, or the way that NHL 07 (according to everyone around here) did with hockey. They've been making the stupid game (Madden) for more than 15 years now, and it's a cash cow/deserving of making the leap that we want, more than any other franchise really. By settling for less, you're helping with the enabling, IMO.

It's....a....game....I'm settling for the fact that I can sit on my fat ass and let some other people sweat over the development of a game, a form of mindless entertainment, a diversion, for me. If you want it to be the end all be all, then I think there are bigger issues to deal with...

[MizzouRah]

I disagree with you guys. I'm not looking for the game to blow me, but there's really no reason for EA after all these years not to have nailed the sport the way that The Show did with baseball, or the way that NHL 07 (according to everyone around here) did with hockey. They've been making the stupid game (Madden) for more than 15 years now, and it's a cash cow/deserving of making the leap that we want, more than any other franchise really. By settling for less, you're helping with the enabling, IMO.

Well, in all fairness.. you haven't played Madden 08 yet.. it could grab you like The Show has. FWIW, I see some people complaining about The Show on the ps3 as well in some aspects.

I just think Madden gets s*** on before it even hits the shelves and I don't understand why.

[JRod]

I don't think anyone here expects Madden to be 100% football perfect...

But no one can say that EA and Madden are improving the genre. Madden has become stale in year 3 of this supposedly new game engine.

What has this game done other than graphics that is next gen? Two man tackles? Stadium Editor? Create a team? Madden sells because its madden not because its great football.

If not for EA and Madden, there would BE no genre. If they are in their fat Elvis days, whether that's a good thing or not, they've earned it. I love the series, and I had fun with 2K5 as well. I just don't overanalyze every nook and cranny like some.

And the root word of 'analyze' is 'anal'...

It's thinking like this that has led to madden being mediocre. Thanks!

[Teal]

I disagree with you guys. I'm not looking for the game to blow me, but there's really no reason for EA after all these years not to have nailed the sport the way that The Show did with baseball, or the way that NHL 07 (according to everyone around here) did with hockey. They've been making the stupid game (Madden) for more than 15 years now, and it's a cash cow/deserving of making the leap that we want, more than any other franchise really. By settling for less, you're helping with the enabling, IMO.

Well, in all fairness.. you haven't played Madden 08 yet.. it could grab you like The Show has. FWIW, I see some people complaining about The Show on the ps3 as well in some aspects.

I just think Madden gets s*** on before it even hits the shelves and I don't understand why.

The EA Bashwagon is rolling right along, that's why. It's kinda cool, I suppose, (if you find nitpicking and bitching and moaning about a video game 'cool'), to knock the hell out of EA for not making every attempt to mimick real life in a game. Now that's ironic.

Back when 'Madden' appeared on the scene, it was the most unrealistic football game imaginable (other than that Mutant League stuff). Did anyone care? Hell, no. I couldn't kick people out of my apartment back in college fast enough when Bill Walsh College Football came out. There was not a single b*tch, whine, or moan about fly patterns not being realistic, or too many fumbles, or too many interceptions, or yada, yada, yada.

YES...I have a stick up my ass about this, for some reason. I'm just so sick and tired of the idea that EA has somehow got to measure up to some magical standard that just keeps on increasing and increasing, changing and augmenting, and how they can't improve a game series (which they very much have with NCAA and Madden AND NASCAR this year, so get the hell over it) without people jumping on them before the damn games are released, or within 2 hours of playing the game.

Good grief people...get a grip. You're treating these things like they're your appendages, and EA just isn't rubbing them for you, or is doing it all wrong. Sheesh.

[Teal]

I don't think anyone here expects Madden to be 100% football perfect...

But no one can say that EA and Madden are improving the genre. Madden has become stale in year 3 of this supposedly new game engine.

What has this game done other than graphics that is next gen? Two man tackles? Stadium Editor? Create a team? Madden sells because its madden not because its great football.

If not for EA and Madden, there would BE no genre. If they are in their fat Elvis days, whether that's a good thing or not, they've earned it. I love the series, and I had fun with 2K5 as well. I just don't overanalyze every nook and cranny like some.

And the root word of 'analyze' is 'anal'...

It's thinking like this that has led to madden being mediocre. Thanks!

Rod, I'm beginning to think that EVERY game that comes down the pike nowadays is mediocre in your house...except for the mediocre Shadowrun, that is. I mean, do you realize that you have some 'rain on the parade' comments for (it seems) 90% of the games that people talk about in here? Especially if they're sports games. I'm not tryin' to bust your balls here, bro, but seriously...when's the last time you were satisfied with a sports game? Have you EVER been satisfied with an EA game? Ever?

[greggsand]

forget custom stadiums, online leagues, 'superstar modes', etc. Just give me good camera options & some tv-style presentation (at least up to 2k5-level).

[Bill_Abner]

Teal, what are you bitching about? You're bitching about people bitching about a videogame. What's worse?

You're also missing the point. It's not minutiae. And I'm no longer 12 years old. If you're just as happy as a clam paying $60 every year for basically the exact same game then, in all seriousness, way to go. Being happy is a good and important thing. But please...stop telling me how I should enjoy this hobby. It's a long stretch from bitching about walks in a baseball game, interceptions in a football game, and a lack of free throws in a basketball game to bitching about the exact park dimensions at Wrigley or the sock color of the Patriots.

It's all a matter of perspective and degree. Sure, we all loved the old games of yesteryear, from Intellivision Baseball, the original Hardball and 4th and Inches to classic "sims" like FPS Football and Baseball. That was 15 and 20 years ago, and I just don't think getting frustrated with a game in 2007 that costs $60 to run on a $500 system that has features that don't work, a recycled game engine along with new problems that weren't even in previous versions is out of bounds or taking games too seriously.

Everyone likes to use that phrase -- taking it too seriously -- but I look at it differently. Here's the thing: I *am* a busy guy, like a lot of us here. Working from home, especially now with editor duties, taking care of my daughter, playing basketball 3 nights a week, and maintaining a 3 acre piece of land takes up all of my free time. If I'm going to take that free time playing a sports game, it had better get at least the basics of the sport right or I just won't bother playing it. No skin off my back, there are tons of great games out there in other genres that take the gamer more seriously than what sports companies do. I could live with the unrealistic insanity of the old games when I was a kid -- games were still SO new and fresh that it didn't matter. That's a poor comparison.

What's funny is that a lot of those older games still did some things better than the games we have today, particularly in the area of features.

Why doesn't NCAA or Madden have a global player editor built in like FPS had back in 92? That sure would come in handy if one area of the game was off, like say, tons of INTs. Why doesn't it have a point to point play editor? Why is Madden's age algorithm completely broken? Why are the physics pre-Newton? Why don't the sliders in NCAA work worth a damn? I mean..these things *are* in the game, they took the time to add them, so why is it bad form to complain when they don't work? How can ONE MAN make a text based franchise football sim that puts anything Madden does to shame? How is that possible?

So yes, I, and others, demand more from game companies, not just EA Sports. This is a multi-billion dollar business. This isn't the 80s and early 90s when designers did all they could with the tools that they had. That's my beef with a lot of companies, specifically sports developers who no longer care about putting out the best game they can, but rather it's (usually) all about "what can we add in a short amount of development time to give the illusion that this is a new game." THAT's what pisses me off. EA, 2K, whoever -- they CAN do better. They choose not to because of the bottom line. And that's not me blowing smoke, that's a fact.

Imagine if Blizzard released a new WarCraft or StarCraft every year and charged full price and it had the same engine, same sound, new bugs, as well as some improvements, and a few new features. They'd get crucified. It's the environment that has caused all of this. It's the yearly game cycle and it puts enormous strain on the people actually developing the games. It's sweatshop-like and I know that they do what they can -- working crazy hours and living at work, but in the end these games *should* be better than what they are, and I don't apologize one bit for being critical of them.

[bkrich83]

Teal, what are you bitching about? You're bitching about people bitching about a videogame. What's worse?

You're also missing the point. It's not minutiae. And I'm no longer 12 years old. If you're just as happy as a clam paying $60 every year for basically the exact same game then, in all seriousness, way to go. Being happy is a good and important thing. But please...stop telling me how I should enjoy this hobby. It's a long stretch from bitching about walks in a baseball game, interceptions in a football game, and a lack of free throws in a basketball game to bitching about the exact park dimensions at Wrigley or the sock color of the Patriots.

It's all a matter of perspective and degree. Sure, we all loved the old games of yesteryear, from Intellivision Baseball, the original Hardball and 4th and Inches to classic "sims" like FPS Football and Baseball. That was 15 and 20 years ago, and I just don't think getting frustrated with a game in 2007 that costs $60 to run on a $500 system that has features that don't work, a recycled game engine along with new problems that weren't even in previous versions is out of bounds or taking games too seriously.

Everyone likes to use that phrase -- taking it too seriously -- but I look at it differently. Here's the thing: I *am* a busy guy, like a lot of us here. Working from home, especially now with editor duties, taking care of my daughter, playing basketball 3 nights a week, and maintaining a 3 acre piece of land takes up all of my free time. If I'm going to take that free time playing a sports game, it had better get at least the basics of the sport right or I just won't bother playing it. No skin off my back, there are tons of great games out there in other genres that take the gamer more seriously than what sports companies do. I could live with the unrealistic insanity of the old games when I was a kid -- games were still SO new and fresh that it didn't matter. That's a poor comparison.

What's funny is that a lot of those older games still did some things better than the games we have today, particularly in the area of features.

Why doesn't NCAA or Madden have a global player editor built in like FPS had back in 92? That sure would come in handy if one area of the game was off, like say, tons of INTs. Why doesn't it have a point to point play editor? Why is Madden's age algorithm completely broken? Why are the physics pre-Newton? Why don't the sliders in NCAA work worth a damn? I mean..these things *are* in the game, they took the time to add them, so why is it bad form to complain when they don't work? How can ONE MAN make a text based franchise football sim that puts anything Madden does to shame? How is that possible?

So yes, I, and others, demand more from game companies, not just EA Sports. This is a multi-billion dollar business. This isn't the 80s and early 90s when designers did all they could with the tools that they had. That's my beef with a lot of companies, specifically sports developers who no longer care about putting out the best game they can, but rather it's (usually) all about "what can we add in a short amount of development time to give the illusion that this is a new game." THAT's what pisses me off. EA, 2K, whoever -- they CAN do better. They choose not to because of the bottom line. And that's not me blowing smoke, that's a fact.

Imagine if Blizzard released a new WarCraft or StarCraft every year and charged full price and it had the same engine, same sound, new bugs, as well as some improvements, and a few new features. They'd get crucified. It's the environment that has caused all of this. It's the yearly game cycle and it puts enormous strain on the people actually developing the games. It's sweatshop-like and I know that they do what they can -- working crazy hours and living at work, but in the end these games *should* be better than what they are, and I don't apologize one bit for being critical of them.

To be fair though, I think Teal has a point. I do believe EA is held to a different standard than other game companies. Especially when it comes to football.

[Bill_Abner]

To be fair though, I think Teal has a point. I do believe EA is held to a different standard than other game companies. Especially when it comes to football.

Well, not by me. But I think the reason that they are by others is because they have all of the toys. The biggest usually gets picked apart more than the underdog. If EA were an upstart outfit they wouldn't get hammered like they do in certain circles, but the notion that 2K is some fly by night company working under one light bulb on an old x486 is just as ludicrous, and I do get that feeling reading certain forums.

[Leebo33]

Teal, what are you bitching about? You're bitching about people bitching about a videogame. What's worse? =

Seriously. There are some people at OS and a few people here (but mostly just Teal lately) that seek out bitching to post about the bitching. They talk about how it's such a waste of time to b*tch and then they post about our bitching. WTF?

I really wish there was a ignore function here and then Teal could ignore us bitching and we could ignore him constantly bitching about our bitching.

Most of us at DSP aren't bitching about uniforms. Give me a break. We're b*tching about things that don't work in games. Like why don't the coverage audibles work correctly in NCAA?

EA should *want* to be held to a higher standard. Any good company does. I work for a retail company. We are compared against THE BEST in the industry. We should judge EA compared to the best of the industry and what they could be. Not what was the best 10 years ago. It's good for EA and it's good for gamers.