Madden 10 - Will they prove us wrong?

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 10:48 am

Dave wrote:
GTHobbes wrote:Then again, he did receive a very early free copy from EA this year, I'm guessing unlike years past, so maybe that at least partially explains some of the love.
Yep, clearly that's it. BTW, he posted his Madden 09 review on the day of release...wonder how that happened...

Don't mind me...I've been wrong more often than I'm right for years.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:32 am

I would really hope that a "free copy" to a well-known videogame journalist would not tarnish his objectivity on the game. He got a free copy of TW10 (to my knowledge) and hosed that game pretty severely here and on his blog.....and the TW10 thread is now 36 pages long and as long as I have been here, there has never been ANY TW thread even remotely close to that many pages nor positive comments about that game....

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:40 am

GTHobbes wrote: If that's what it takes to be a serious sports game journalist, I just don't know what to say. Then again, he did receive a very early free copy from EA this year, I'm guessing unlike years past, so maybe that at least partially explains some of the love.

An with this comment you have cemented what most of us have know for 3 years you simply have an agenda. You 've lost any credibility you may of had with a few remaining members here.

For the record Bill got a review copy last year and he was the one who brought up the missing sliders weeks before the game came out. So yeah I am sure he is on the payroll.

While you may not agree with his score (shocker) to question him as a journalist or suggest he is on the take is absurd.

EDIT: Removed last part, not called for. Jared please update the forums software to include an ignore list.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:48 am

Hobbes, I don't see what's confusing about Abner's stance. In the post cited by Slumber, he very clearly states that with this version of Madden he is very happy to deal with the stuff that doesn't work in order to get to the stuff that works well. I haven't read his full review yet, but I can't imagine he would be saying things like 'this game is perfect; there are no flaws; the game is precisely realistic in every area; it's so new and different it's hard to beleive it's Madden,' or any such nonsense.

As to the respect he gets concerning his opinions, I think it has to do wtb the way he goes about explaining his thought processes through his blog posts. One may not agree with his final verdict, but he explans and supports his position in a serious manner, and in general he takes a serious and honest approach which many of us appreiate, seeing how it is not the norm on the interwebs. Saying things like 'he must be on the take because he gave Madden a good review' is certainly not a serious approach to criticising his position.

It's pretty evident that for you, having not played the game, the flaws outweigh any fun or joy or pleasure you might receive out of the game as a whole.

The caveat is that yes, this game is ndeed Madden. It's certainly not the exact same game they released last year or the year before, but it's still Madden. If the fact that it is Madden is too much to swallow, you aren't going to enjoy the game.

And I'm curious about broadcast cam: can you really play in that mode? How do you see the receivers down field? How can you see the holes in the runnng game? Or is it just for coach mode? I'm just curious.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:55 am

wco81 wrote:
Rodster wrote:Amazon just dropped the preorder price for Madden 10 to $54.99 with release day delivery. Plus it includes a $10 GC which brings the total to $44.99 with no tax unless you live in Washington State.
So do people have to cancel existing preorders to get the new price?

Toys R Us is offering a $15 gift card.

I've seen discounts before at release date but they seem to be more generous this year. EA must really want to show a pop in first-week sales.

Yeah if you don't cancel your order you'll notice your price dropped from $56.99 to $54.99

I think the Amazon deal is better IMO unless you live in a State where Amazon adds tax. I figure for me, no tax, a $10 GC, game delivered to my door on release day with free shipping. That's tough to beat.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:56 am

I order from go Gamer yesterday with overnight shipping and it's on the truck for delivery today.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:57 am

I think BD got banned for pr0n links.

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:59 am

Sports Talk football back in the day played side to side, didn't it? I'm curious to see the broadcast camera, though it hurts my brain to think about finding holes and leading receivers from that angle.

As for Abner, he's been so good at articulating the frustration a lot of people have felt towards the game for years now. If he's worked himself into a position where the lead developer cares what he thinks, that's fantastic. There are certainly worse influences for the dev team out there (like back-of-the-box new-gimmick-loving EA execs). I don't see anything in that review that suggests a tainted judgment... any responsible reviewer should include those limited caveats that he mentioned. And they are limited... none of it popped up in my game last night, and it made even a big loss a really fun experience where I could point to my own poor choices (namely four interceptions) as the reason for losing.

Post by **Jared** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:05 pm

Just to add, Bill Abner completely railed on NCAA 09 when he got an early copy, and I think that they didn't send him a very early copy of that game this year for that reason. His reviews are usually really solid, and (unfortunately) that is not the norm in sports gaming reviews. Unless you are a fan of the "If you like football, you'll love Madden 10!" kind of crap.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:08 pm

Also and I'm not 100% sure on this bill would have to comment.

But bill got black listed for his revealing of the sliders last year. I think when Ian took over he corrected that because he appreciates bill insight. This year there was an embargo on impressions and that was all because of Bill.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:21 pm

Well my preorder was still showing the old price so I canceled it and re-placed the preorder at the lower price.

See what happens.

Don't have Amazon Prime so I'll wait.

The TRU might be an option for people who want to go get it rather than wait for the UPS guy or whatever. Not as good a deal but if you need to get diapers or something that TRU gift card might come in handy.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:27 pm

I'm doing the the TRU deal (thanks for posting that by the way!) as I already received a $25 gift card when I purchased Wii Sports Resort a couple weeks ago.

Here's some nice unbiased impressions from Pastapadre:

http://www.pastapadre.com/9859/madden-n ... mpressions

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:34 pm

They seem to give out review copies pretty liberally, including people who don't necessarily post structured reviews.

So it's not really a big carrot to give positive reviews. If EA cut him off next year, I'm sure Bill would still review next year's game.

The dubious reviews would come from the Community Leaders, who are often flown out to EA offices or to various events they put on, get to hobnob with pro athletes at some of these events.

There's obviously more potential for buying off positive opinions in that context.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:37 pm

wco81 wrote: The dubious reviews would come from the Community Leaders, who are often flown out to EA offices or to various events they put on, get to hobnob with pro athletes at some of these events.

Exactly, i'm more inclined to listen to Bill A, rather than any review coming from OS.

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:49 pm

Zeppo wrote:Hobbes, I don't see what's confusing about Abner's stance. In the post cited by Slumber, he very clearly states that with this version of Madden he is very happy to deal with the stuff that doesn't work in order to get to the stuff that works well. I haven't read his full review yet, but I can't imagine he would be saying things like 'this game is perfect; there are no flaws; the game is precisely realistic in every area; it's so new and different it's hard to beleive it's Madden,' or any such nonsense.

As to the respect he gets concerning his opinions, I think it has to do wtb the way he goes about explaining his thought processes through his blog posts. One may not agree with his final verdict, but he explans and supports his position in a serious manner, and in general he takes a serious and honest approach which many of us appreiate, seeing how it is not the norm on the interwebs. Saying things like 'he must be on the take because he gave Madden a good review' is certainly not a serious approach to criticising his position.

It's pretty evident that for you, having not played the game, the flaws outweigh any fun or joy or pleasure you might receive out of the game as a whole.

The caveat is that yes, this game is ndeed Madden. It's certainly not the exact same game they released last year or the year before, but it's still Madden. If the fact that it is Madden is too much to swallow, you aren't going to enjoy the game.

And I'm curious about broadcast cam: can you really play in that mode? How do you see the receivers down field? How can you see the holes in the runnng game? Or is it just for coach mode? I'm just curious.

I didn't mean to create a firestorm. I figured most took my comments about Madden the way Dan does...with a big cup of ignore.

I just thought it was odd that he overlooked a LOT of negatives and gave the game the same score as The Show, which I happen to think is the best sports game of all time. I realize that reviews are subjective and that one's man A- might be the next guy's B. But Abner has built a cult-like following with his (previously) tough reviews, and it just seemed like this one was getting a free pass with the "I know the game has a lot of flaws but I like the direction the series is heading" score.

And for the record, I'm hoping to really enjoy the game myself this year, now that it appears the broadcast cam is definitely in. It looks like they're doing an even better job with the broadcast cam than 2k did, so they'll definitely get my money. I was playing APF over the weekend for the first time in a long while and don't think I could ever go back to playing from the traditional "GOD" cam again.

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 1:00 pm

Danimal wrote: And with this comment you have cemented what most of us have know for 3 years you simply have an agenda. You 've lost any credibility you may of had with a few remaining members here.

And also for the record, I don't think it took having an agenda against EA to realize that Madden has been pretty poor for awhile now. Again, hopefully that really has changed once and for all this year.

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 2:20 pm

Danimal wrote:I order from go Gamer yesterday with overnight shipping and it's on the truck for delivery today.

I'm about 30 seconds frmo cancelling my GS preorder and doing the same. Much easier to have it delivered to my door than to wait in line with a bunch of 16 year olds at midnight Thursday night.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 2:40 pm

I think you can do both.

I can dislike EA and not let that deter me enough not to enjoy the games.

Even though in the minorty, I didnt feel at all guilty or ashamed saying that I liked the last couple of years of EA's football games.

If I like a game. I like a game. Thats what its all about. Its about me. What I enjoy.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 2:40 pm

It was on sale too so with overnight shipping I paid $69, which is about 4 more then buying from GS.

Been on the fedex truck since 7am, says it will be here by 3 we'll see i know other people who did the same and got their today. Further proving my point that the release date fine is a big myth spewed out by the Best Buys and GS of the world to scare their employees

NEVER MIND JUST GOT IT

pigpen81 · Post by **pigpen81** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 3:21 pm

After spending a ton more time with the Madden 5 min. quarter demo, I am starting to enjoy it immensely.

Like everyone has mentioned, there are still a few issues, but I am excited to pick this up on Friday.

I can't wait to play as my Bolts. Their offense should be a ton of fun.

nyisles16 · Post by **nyisles16** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 3:26 pm

Ugh.. if I only didn't live on LI - where there are no mom and pop places...

GoGamer and NewEgg pulled theirs down now..

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 3:26 pm

Danimal wrote:NEVER MIND JUST GOT IT

Congrats!

Yes, when EA themselves are posting congratulations messages online about scoring an early copy, it's safe to say that release dates are a quaint formality for organizational purposes more than anything else.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 3:46 pm

There seems to have been some serious relaxing of the fines and enforcent.

I remember with PGR2 I thnk I was, my local EB Games was selling it early, and then after that it was impossible to find anything early, anywhere. It seems like that started the crackdown.

Nowadays there's a new Play n Trade, and with some game (GoW2 maybe) I phoned and was told they had it in. When I got there, the manager was not letting them sell it to me. I told him 'i'll just go down to 6th street, man,' and he said 'well they'll be gettng fined because I'm reporting them.'

Thus summer, with Red Faction I think, the same guy talked to me on the phone and tried to make sure I wasn't a spy before he would sell it to me early. I came in and all he wanted was that I pay cash.

I'm guessing he tried to report the mom n pop joints, got no satisfaction, and now is hu gry for those sales he knows he loses out on.

It all seems to be more relaxed now, although I'm sure the EBs and such are still overly anal.

GameSeven · Post by **GameSeven** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 4:09 pm

GTHobbes wrote:I didn't mean to create a firestorm.

At least the topic is back on football

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Tue Aug 11, 2009 5:47 pm