Madden 09 Discussion

[GTHobbes]

I really enjoy this years Madden and think of the Collector's Edition as the most significant release in football videogame history. The tag team of Madden and Head Coach cannot be touched. Yes, I think they are that good.

Wow.

[XXXIV]

I really enjoy this years Madden and think of the Collector's Edition as the most significant release in football videogame history. The tag team of Madden and Head Coach cannot be touched. Yes, I think they are that good.

Wow.

I dont think hes that far off base...Though I havent played much HC cause of Madden. I love the combo.

[sportdan30]

A guy I work with picked up the PS2 version, and he feels totally ripped off. He said the upgrades are so minimal he can't even tell a difference from last year's game. He's quite disappointed.

Back to the next gen game impressions. It's a shame we have to dissect this game so much that it can't be enjoyed. I'm skimming over half of the impressions now because it's easy to tell those who have already made up their mind it's a bad game and aren't going to change their opinion. I'm not saying it's perfect or even near perfect. I've made my thoughts known that I'm frusturated with some things, but overall I'm enjoying this year's Madden more than any others I can remember in a long long time. I would say that EA bascially sat on their hands the last few years, but if you can't see that this year is a marked improvement, then no is going to convince you otherwise.

[Brando70]

Are you guys playing with the IQ settings or diving straight into custom settings (I know Sportdan said he was using Heel's sliders)?

Also, has anyone with the CE version given the updated Madden 93 a try? I loved playing that against my brother when we were growing up.

[wco81]

It may be a different game with sliders but the end results are difficult to ignore.

You see complaints about robo QB in OS threads, people citing 15/18, 44/50, etc.

Observations of soft coverage are not dissections. When you see a bad defensive team in the NFL, it's obvious because you have good defensive teams to compare it against.

Same thing with the AI behaviors of a given Madden release to people who've played several football games.

[Jackdog]

No offense Jack but that's only because they finally perfected those games at the tail end of last gen and they're basically just releasing roster updates on the PS2 at this point. There might be some minor changes or new features but the development teams for the PS2 version of the game are small compared to the next gen development. I really enjoy this years Madden and think of the Collector's Edition as the most significant release in football videogame history. The tag team of Madden and Head Coach cannot be touched. Yes, I think they are that good.

I can understand you hating freezes but honestly how widespread is that? One thing I've learned about the internet over the past 5 years is when it comes to EA games you can't believe everything you read and you certainly can't believe that everyone who claims to have seen or had a certain problem actually did. I'm not saying that about anyone here but that certainly is the case at forums such as OS, IGN, and Gamefaqs. Rent the game Jack, you might be pleasantly surprised this year.

No offense at all. I rented it yesteday and had 3 freezes in 4 hours of play. All in franchise mode. I don't play online so this mode is very important to me. The game was fun. But the freezes blew it for me.

I bought the PS2 version and I enjoy it a lot. No freeze-ups and very fun gameplay. The last Madden I bought for the PS2 was 06,so this is an upgrade for me.

Glad you like the game so much and your having no problems with it!! I hope to join the ranks of next gen Madden players next summer.

[XXXIV]

Are you guys playing with the IQ settings or diving straight into custom settings (I know Sportdan said he was using Heel's sliders)?

Also, has anyone with the CE version given the updated Madden 93 a try? I loved playing that against my brother when we were growing up.

Im using custom...in between All Pro and All Madden with 9 minute qtrs and Im getting great games. The qbs do have high passing percentages but not to where it ruins the game flow....and I have seen bad passes.

As for Madden 93...Its not how I remembered it. It showed me just how far we have come in the last 15 years.

[Inuyasha]

I still have a copy of madden 93 on my old snes. I think I popped it in a few weeks back and it became virtually unplayable. It's hard to go back sometimes.

[ScoopBrady]

No offense at all. I rented it yesteday and had 3 freezes in 4 hours of play. All in franchise mode. I don't play online so this mode is very important to me. The game was fun. But the freezes blew it for me.

I bought the PS2 version and I enjoy it a lot. No freeze-ups and very fun gameplay. The last Madden I bought for the PS2 was 06,so this is an upgrade for me.

Glad you like the game so much and your having no problems with it!! I hope to join the ranks of next gen Madden players next summer.

Ah. I didn't see that you had experienced them personally. That really sucks. At least you have the option of the PS2 version. If it's anything like the PSP version it should keep you happy.

[Jackdog]

Ah. I didn't see that you had experienced them personally. That really sucks. At least you have the option of the PS2 version. If it's anything like the PSP version it should keep you happy.

So far so good Todd. 6 games into my franchise and having a blast.

I was hoping the PS3 version would work out for me because it was a very fun game to play. Maybe they will patch it,I don't know.

I am going to give HC a try as well. I am looking forward to that one.

[Slumberland]

It's a shame we have to dissect this game so much that it can't be enjoyed.

This has been discussed throroughly already in other threads, but the dissection almost always starts when someone is trying to figure out why they're not enjoying it... it's not an exercise in and of itself.

[Leebo33]

I'm using Heelfan's just because they were close to mine anyway. I never took the Madden test and probably won't. One thing Heelfan's did was allow me to get pressure on the QB I wasn't getting with mine. The QB completion percentages in my games have been pretty good, but it's the way that it gets there that is a bit unrealistic since most passes are very accurate. Most of the incompletions come on dropped interceptions, user swats, picks, or instances where the CPU players don't recognize where the sideline is and catch passes 5 yards OB. Maybe this sounds like dissection, but I'm really not complaining since it makes defense challenging albeit unrealistic at times.

I was playing 7 minute quarters and getting scores too high in NCAA but I may have to bump up from 8 to 9 or 10 minutes in Madden.

I'm really surprised how much time I've put into Madden as compared to Head Coach. I'm probably 70/30 Madden and thought it would be 90/10 Head Coach. That doesn't mean Head Coach isn't awesome though!

[wco81]

Ah. I didn't see that you had experienced them personally. That really sucks. At least you have the option of the PS2 version. If it's anything like the PSP version it should keep you happy.

How is 09 for the PSP?

[Jared]

It's a shame we have to dissect this game so much that it can't be enjoyed.

This has been discussed throroughly already in other threads, but the dissection almost always starts when someone is trying to figure out why they're not enjoying it... it's not an exercise in and of itself.

Bingo. Wish I had more time to play Madden...so far, I'm liking it more than NCAA.

[sportdan30]

Good points Leebo on the CPU passing. The incompletes are not handled well at all. I wish it would depend more on the pressure being put on the QB (wheather he's throwing off his back foot, being flushed out of the pocket, throwing across the field, the QB's accuracy rating, etc.) as well as the difficulty of the route the WR is running, but I'm not sure how they would implement that. It seems it would take a completely revamped A.I. which I why I don't see a patch really helping with "robo qb". But with that said, people are having fairly decent looking stats with regards to the CPU QB. Obviously, it has a lot more to do with the slider adjustments.

[dbdynsty25]

Back to the next gen game impressions. It's a shame we have to dissect this game so much that it can't be enjoyed. I'm skimming over half of the impressions now because it's easy to tell those who have already made up their mind it's a bad game and aren't going to change their opinion.

LOL...yeah...in fact, before the game even comes out I know who's posts to avoid if I really want unbiased impressions. It's the same every year. Madden could include a diamond in the case when you open it and people would b*tch about one of the 4 Cs.

[GTHobbes]

Personally, I'm glad Madden gets dissected so much...it leads to a better game. I remember the same talk when we complained about Mario Running ("it's just a videogame") and suction blocking...suction blocking's still there, but other complaints have led to improvements.

Great games like The Show and NBA2k don't get dissected nearly as much...which should tell you something.

[JRod]

Good points Leebo on the CPU passing. The incompletes are not handled well at all. I wish it would depend more on the pressure being put on the QB (wheather he's throwing off his back foot, being flushed out of the pocket, throwing across the field, the QB's accuracy rating, etc.) as well as the difficulty of the route the WR is running, but I'm not sure how they would implement that. It seems it would take a completely revamped A.I. which I why I don't see a patch really helping with "robo qb". But with that said, people are having fairly decent looking stats with regards to the CPU QB. Obviously, it has a lot more to do with the slider adjustments.

I would like to add the problem is the warp or jet-packing WRs. When I get home, I'll load a play where I over threw the WR as Farve but Coles did a super quick Madden step for the catch.

It's annoying and it's the same problem in NCAA. This was intentional to get a bit more offense and maybe seperation. But it hurts the passing game.

And like in the NCAA thread, if you lower QB Accuracy you'll get balls that are magically thrown to defenders even if you aren't leading your WR in that direction.

I know why they do that, becuase gamers want the pin point passing game. A compromise would be to offer hardcore modes where the game isn't handicapped.

It's really hard to play pass defense in this game. They still don't have player styles right. After playing head coach, too many defense feel the same. And star players like Bailey, Merriman etc. should be more dominant.

It's a good game but I don't think it's great. If they fix the passing game I think it would be better. If NCAA's passing game is fixed though, I think that would be the better game.

[Pete]

Back to the next gen game impressions. It's a shame we have to dissect this game so much that it can't be enjoyed. I'm skimming over half of the impressions now because it's easy to tell those who have already made up their mind it's a bad game and aren't going to change their opinion.

LOL...yeah...in fact, before the game even comes out I know who's posts to avoid if I really want unbiased impressions. It's the same every year. Madden could include a diamond in the case when you open it and people would b*tch about one of the 4 Cs.

DB, you really haven't given too many of your impressions. How are you enjoying the game? Do you have both NCAA and Madden? Which one do you like better?

I am really trying to figure out which one to buy. I d/l'd both games. I think I would be better at NCAA but the challenge of Madden intrigues me. I may be getting too old to play Madden, though, as I have a hard time passing. Sometimes I find myself just pushing a button to get rid of the ball. Not good. Do you guys key on a certain receiver when the play starts? How do you scan the field and move in the pocket at the same time?

Just seems like NCAA is an easier more user friendly game.

[matthewk]

And this generation is only a couple of years old.

Well, this is the 4th version of Madden on the 360.

I'm probably the only one here still merrily chuggin along on the Xbox1, but I'm very happy with it. I was surprised to see how many features they did put into it. Things like being able to save your pre-snap adjustments as audibles, toe-dragging sideline catches, suprsim, and QB avoidance make the game much more than a roster updated afterthought.

[dbdynsty25]

DB, you really haven't given too many of your impressions. How are you enjoying the game? Do you have both NCAA and Madden? Which one do you like better?

To tell you the truth...I'm not itching to play either all that much. If I had to pick between the two I'd probably pick NCAA. However, since the people I play online with ONLY have Madden, I'll probably just sell NCAA soon. It's not an indictment of the game, it's just that if I play, it'll be online against my buddies and they all swear by Madden.

The games are fine...but since we got to the next gen, football games just don't do it for me. I just think I've grown out of football. I'm still going through my MLB franchise on the PS3 and that's what I enjoy playing nightly. Football, not necessarily the games, just isn't that interesting when it comes to translating the real game on to the field. Maybe it's because I can only control 1 of 11 players on my team...that's the only thing I can think of.

It's unfair for me to really give impressions since I'm not good enough, nor do I put enough time in to really give an honest opinion (I wish others would do the same sometime). I'll still play Madden (and Head Coach) when I get that football itch...but the days of me playing season after season (or even 1 season for that matter) are apparently behind me.

[RobVarak]

9 minute quarters??? I'm playign 7 minutes and the games seem to take longer than a real NFL game. Realistic stats are nice, but I'd like to finish 3 games before Madden '10 comes out

[XXXIV]

9 minute quarters??? I'm playign 7 minutes and the games seem to take longer than a real NFL game. Realistic stats are nice, but I'd like to finish 3 games before Madden '10 comes out

What can I say ?...I love my football.

With the clock running on out of bounds plays in Madden and the clock stopping on 1st downs in NCAA....Its not taking me much longer than playing 7 minute qtrs in NCAA.

[Zeppo]

So this is a silly thing, but is there a way to get the highlights to show up on those big video screens in the 'showcase?' I remember that being a thing back when they introduced the whole highlights thing in NCAA, but here in Madden all I see is some nebulous swimming blue goo on these massive, empty spaces.

XXXIV: How many offensive plays per team do you end up with on 9 minute quarters? Just curious, really, as I'm not sure if I could get through an entire. . . . quarter against the CPU if they're that long, but, you know. Online, 6 minute quarters seem to give enough possessions to be fun and fair, but the games do take a while.

[Inuyasha]

Well just picked it up and trying to find the updated rosters. How/Where?

Also, there are no old 'great' teams?