Madden 10 - Will they prove us wrong?

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:55 pm

Bill_Abner wrote:
TCrouch wrote: I can see people saying that it may not be their cup of tea or whatever, but to say 09 and 10 are basically the same? I can't even fathom where that comes from.
That is quite the head scratcher.

That's not what I was saying.

I got rid of 09 earlier than I ever have with past Maddens.

I'm saying the game action, especially online, is not or will not be novel to people who've been playing for years.

See my other reply for some details. Again, more games will either reinforce or undermine this view.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:58 pm

Brando70 wrote: I played a game on All-Pro with the Niners, just to mix things up, and had a terrible time with Hill. However, I put Alex Smith in and did better

You realize this is not an endorsement of the game's realism, don't you?

skinsfan · Post by **skinsfan** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 5:05 pm

Yes,it's the best Madden on this generation,but yes defending the flats is bad,slants are money and robo QB can throw darts off his back foot and while getting popped by defenders.

The cpu gets the vast majority of its' scores off big plays,40 yards+.
It still can't mount sustained drives or manage the clock.

The playbooks,especially for defense, are really stale and generic.

Online is bad again,5 minute quarters only and Wildcat formation is cheese.

O-line play is still laughable for the most part.

I do like the ratings spread,the difference in the players is great,gang tackling is nice and gee it's nice to have cpu sliders again.The graphics and presentation(sans the Snickers stuff) are really good.

Still,there is still too much 09 under the hood of 10 for my tastes.
I like the game,but I'm still not crazy about it.

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 5:24 pm

skinsfan wrote:Still,there is still too much 09 under the hood of 10 for my tastes.
I like the game,but I'm still not crazy about it.

That's about where I'm at, although I'm definitely looking forward to the day that they get the broadcast cam working. That should breathe some much needed new life into the series for me. Until that happens, I'll probably only be playing a couple of games per week.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 5:52 pm

If anyone's interested, there's a SI/Madden offer for $50:

https://subs.timeinc.net/SI/si_madden09 ... tid=784465

bulls23 · Post by **bulls23** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 6:43 pm

Love the game. Could not stand Madden 08, traded it in after a month. 09 I tried to like, but I couldn't even get through more than a season.

Madden 10 can't stop playing it. I started a Jags-Cowboys game just to look at the new stadium, ended up riveted and had to play the whole game. I don't even CARE about these teams.

Why do I love the game? As a poster above stated, its unpredictable, anything can happen but it is still within reality.

Especially enjoy the new presentation and accel clock. I may not even buy Madden 11.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:05 pm

skinsfan wrote:Yes,it's the best Madden on this generation,but yes defending the flats is bad,slants are money and robo QB can throw darts off his back foot and while getting popped by defenders.

The cpu gets the vast majority of its' scores off big plays,40 yards+.
It still can't mount sustained drives or manage the clock.

Disagree some ...Agree some...After about 15 total games on all pro default.

1)Flat plays are money kinda...That is if I catch the D in a blitz that leaves the back open. ...
Not buying the slant money at all. I have thrown plenty of picks on em but I guess that could just be Bulger and I.

2)I have had a few robo plays with my qb but most attempts at robo plays have been met with failure...Ofcourse, once again, I have been using Bulger.

3)Most TDs scored against me have been from the redzone. I gave up some long TD's early but hardly any lately.

4)Clock mgmt has been okay most of the time but I have seen some crappy time mgmt also. I had the Titans run out the clock in the first half while in my territory. I attributed that to the covert hiring of Mike Martz.

To all those who havent bought it...Get it...if you like football you will enjoy it...the b*tch is a blast.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:24 pm

My favorite replay to date. Watch Urlachers legs after the spin...

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:20 am

My games last night confirmed that all pro definitely gets tougher as you get deeper into your season. I barely beat the Ravens 10-7 on a fumble return for a TD by Ryan Clark to get to 11-0, and then I lost my first game of the season to the Oakland Raiders

.

I knew from the start I was screwed, my first two passes of the game were picked off and returned for TDs. I fell behind 21-3, then got it to 21-10, then 21-13, then tied it up with 2 minutes left on a TD and 2 pt conversion. I stopped the Raiders and forced a punt with about a minute left in the game. Of course, they then managed to down their punt inside the 1 yd line for the second time in the game. Shockingly, even though they had all their timeouts, they were going to be content to let me run the clock out backed up against my own goalline. Or maybe they just knew that I was going to fumble the ball at the 5 yd line, allowing them to kick the winning fg as time expired.

I ended up turning the ball over 7 times in the games, with 5 interceptions (Ben had 8 on the season going into the game) and 2 fumbles. The Raiders only managed 100 yds of offense, but that didn't matter since my offense gave them all their points.

I'm finding that although I can still shut the CPU offense down just as well as early in the season, I can no longer move the ball. Willie gets stuffed nearly every carry now, and it seems like nobody is ever open. I have had to get very conservative on offense, as any ball that goes over the middle or stays in the air too long gets picked off now. If it weren't for the high percentage passes to the RBs in the flats, I don't know if I would be scoring any points at all now. I actually followed up my 5 interception game against the Raiders by throwing 3 more against the Browns, and since I can't run the ball well at all now I'm not sure what to do.

The games have actually been very fun though lately, even though I'm really struggling. I don't feel like the CPU is cheating, it just seems like they are playing much smarter on defense. It is forcing me to play much smarter as well and just rely on my defense to make big plays, which is pretty similar to how the Steelers usually play. I finish out my season with GB/Bal/at Miami, so I'm guessing I will lose at least one more before the playoffs start.

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:38 am

It's still early, but it looks like the improvements to the game this year may not be enough to get gamers to open up their wallets in this recession. Hopefully this won't mean a return to the gimmicky back of the box features next year:

"Madden NFL 10 Off to a Slow Start (XB360) Madden NFL 2010

Analyst says the football game's sales are OK at specialty stores, but for mainstream retailers, not so much.
by Libe Goad on Wednesday, August 19, 2009
When Madden hits stores every August, it unofficially marks the beginning of the holiday season for video games. And, if early reports by analyst Colin Sebastian at Lazard Capital Markets in New York indicate anything, it might be further evidence that Madden or video games in general are not as recession proof as industry pundits originally thought.

"Checks suggest Madden is trending slightly below plan out of the gates," Sebastian says. "Our weekend and recent channel checks indicate sales of Madden NFL are trending flat to slightly up at specialty retail, but somewhat lower than expected in other channels."

Sebastian adds that while sales seem to be trending below EA's initial plan, that PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 price cuts and the inevitable back-to-school shopping sprees might give Madden 10 the boost it needs to meet pre-release predictions.

Madden generally dominates NPD sales charts in August (as it should, it's the first A-list game of the season), but last year's game was up 6% in August, which is positive, but a small gain considering the overall boom in game sales last year. We'll have to wait and see if Madden (with its coup de grace, a new 32-player online franchise mode) is compelling enough to make more people reach for their wallets when cash is tight.

It's also worth pointing out that this could also be a sign that football fans are fatigued after buying the same $60 game for years on end. We'll find out at the end of what's shaping up to be an unusual holiday season for video games."

http://www.gamedaily.com/games/madden-n ... 939/23833/

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:04 pm

Excellent Madden Impression

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 4:37 pm

After downloading last night's roster update, I noticed something I hadn't previously in the first week I played the game. This only occured when I play at Minnesota mind you. After selecting a play, the screen would become distorted for a few seconds. It's not a result of the PS3 by the way (darn my luck!). It's with the game. It's as if the screen was being blocked by some graphic. More than a few times it was a beige looking screen, and on at least one instance, the screen went black but slowly. I'd have to press X on the controller and then you'd see Favre behind center.

I didn't notice this when I played my next game at Philadelphia. Just curious if anyone else has run across this supposed glitch? Haven't read others complaining about it.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 4:46 pm

I've had a few glitches like this Dan.

- Measurement doesn't focus on the chain gang (once)
- Sometimes their is a big black box in the back of the play call screen (a few times)

An my personal favorite

- AI linemen wouldn't go to the line of scrimmage and the AI got dinged for delay of game (once)

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 4:55 pm

Saw a DB who had been injured put back into the game and he'd run up through the line and get encroachment penalties.

It happened like 3 plays in a row in the demo and then I saw it happen in the regular game.

Got one encroachment but then saw him run up to the LOS but wide so I couldn't see if he was going offside. Didn't get any other penalties.

hellbent · Post by **hellbent** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:01 pm

XXXIV wrote: 1)Flat plays are money kinda...That is if I catch the D in a blitz that leaves the back open. ...
Not buying the slant money at all. I have thrown plenty of picks on em but I guess that could just be Bulger and I.

Yup, slants were far more money in earlier versions of next gen Madden than this one. My biggest b*tch remains the flat coverage by the CPU - BUT, sliders do help a ton. Messing with lowering HUM QB accuracy & catching, increasing CPU Reaction Time together with moving game speed up to at least Fast and raising Player min speed threshold have helped lower the effects of the flat coverage bug. You can still cheese the flats if you REALLY set out to do so, I suppose. Warts and all, it's still the best Madden since 05.

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:51 am

Anyone else try the uniform creator? I played around with it some, but gave up. It seems pretty useless. You can't actually create a uniform, just mix and match parts from teh teams available ones.

I really wanted to give the Packers green pants for their away jerseys, but no luck.

I also do not like the fact that 99% of the throwbacks are home only.

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 9:28 am

8-2 with the Jets so far... if anything All-Pro might be a little too easy, after 15 hours of play time. I'm still planning on going with whatever Harris ends up settling on for season two, but reports at O.S. suggest high scores and not necessarily higher difficulty (outside of having no time to throw) with his current set.

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 9:37 am

Slumberland wrote:8-2 with the Jets so far... if anything All-Pro might be a little too easy, after 15 hours of play time. I'm still planning on going with whatever Harris ends up settling on for season two, but reports at O.S. suggest high scores and not necessarily higher difficulty (outside of having no time to throw) with his current set.

I think you will be surprised at how much tougher the game gets on all pro near the end of the season. I started out 12-0, but finished 14-2, with my offense being completely shut down the last few games. I could very easily have finished 12-4, I was pretty lucky to win at all in the last month.

fletcher21 · Post by **fletcher21** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 9:42 am

Hip maybe you're just getting old man.

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 10:15 am

fletcher21 wrote:Hip maybe you're just getting old man.

Yes, I am getting old, but I don't think my aging over the last few days should have that much of an effect on my skills.

It is weird, it isn't a speed cheat or anything like that, but the reaction time of all cpu defenders and well as their ability to break blocks on all running plays definitely seems improved. Or it could just be that they have learned that I suck against the all-out blitz they seem to call every play, and my inability to handle it just makes it seem like they are playing better. I'm curious to see how the end of the season plays out for others. All I know is that I was running for 100 yards a game the first 10 games or so, and now I'm lucky to manage 40 while averaging 2 yds a carry.

Blublub · Post by **Blublub** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 10:29 am

Caved and picked it up yesterday. I can see that the gameplay is somewhat improved, but good god what a lot of glitches and oversights that never should have made it into a game with such a huge development budget.

1. For the love of god make those referee conferences go away. Every goal line stand is a nightmare.

2. Who drugged CC and locked him in a room without food or water for three days straight until he produced commentary? And he's far and away the best part of the announcing team.

3. In three games I can't believe the number of glitches I've seen: guys sliding five yards downfield after being tackled to pick up a first down and having the play stand when challenged; some bizarre pancaked guy in the middle of the field on replays; loads of commentary glitches, like referring to my HB as one of the league's top QBs, etc.

4. Accelerated play clock precludes any audibles or motion (fortunately can be turned off).

5. I'm less than impressed with the fluidity of the animations. Everything seems to be running a few frames too slowly, kinda like a Ray Harryhausen monster. Ditto for the graphics - textures and shading seem to be pretty poorly done, especially from a distance.

6. Gameplay is much improved but there seems to be a lot of possible money (slants, in particular).

Better, but long long ways to go match the magic of NCAA/Madden back in 2004.

My 2¢...

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 10:37 am

I can't get over how fun and varied this plays online.

Some games I'll hang 450 yards on a good defense like the Steelers. Other games I won't be able to move the ball against the Lions D. Sometimes I can pressure like mad with my front four. Other games I have to send the house to create pressure.

Last night through 3 games, one was a defensive slugfest with barely over 200 yards each with Raiders vs. Panthers (this is on 15 min quarters). Next game I laid a whoopin' on the Cowboys to the turn of 5 turnovers in the first half (3 picks, 2 fumbles). Then the Colts start ringing up crazy yardage on the ground (over 150 yards, and I hadn't given up more than 50 yards rushing to anybody yet) and picking apart the traditional Raider "press/man" coverage to perfection. The ability to shift a gameplan and watch it change a game is amazing. Down 7-0 early, I watched as the Colts controlled the clock with precision dink-and-dink passes until I switched it to a lot of mixed zone coverages. Manning threw a pick on the goal line to a LB to stay at 7-0 and the Raiders only had 27 yards of offense with 3:00 left in the half

Then you can just FEEL a game change. I rarely ever went back to man coverage after that, sticking primarily with zones, and Manning ended the game with something like 5 or 6 picks (several picks returned to the house) and a pretty big loss.

Every game seems to have a life of its own, and getting into the flow of a game has never been more fun. That and the 25 second playclock runoff, forcing me into a bunch of delay of games if I get too overzealous reading the D, trying to run "fake" audibles (using the R stick to call BS audibles on pass plays, giving off the "qb tap his hip" animation and trying to get my opponent to bite and shift into a disadvantaged formation to protect the run, etc). I think I racked up 4 or 5 delay of games last night, 2 or 3 of them in a row in a key 3rd down where I was overthinking. Went from 3rd and 12 to 3rd and 22

Just a great game online IMO.

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 2:52 pm

I finally won a game last night, after mulitple franchise starts and restarts..... (i tend to just mess around until good rosters come out)

I discovered one of my big problems was passing.... I wasn't putting enough zip on the balls, so any medium length route was getting knocked away or an INT.... but now that I've gotten better at holding the button some more, things seem to be doing better.

But man, the Bears WRs sometimes can't hold onto a ball!

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:26 am

This is my favorite sports game of all time. There I said it.

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:22 pm

Leebo33 wrote:This is my favorite sports game of all time. There I said it.

Nothing wrong with that!

I actually finished my first season last night, meaning I played 4 preseason games, 16 regular season games and 3 playoff games in exactly one week.

And what a playoffs it was! I trailed the Titans 28-14 in the 3rd quarter of my first game, only to come from behind and win with 31 unanswered points, 45-28. But that was nothing compared to the AFC Championship game.

I hosted the Colts, and trailed a tight defensive game at the half, 10-9. I was down 16-12 in the 4th qtr, only to take the lead after an amazing td drive late in the game, going up 19-16 with 1:58 left. Manning then marched the Colts right down the field to my 2 yard line with 45 seconds left. On first and goal, I stopped them at the 1 and called timeout, 40 seconds left. On second and goal from the 1, Ike Taylor picked off the pass and went 102 yds for the TD to put me in the Super Bowl!

I played the Saints, and Brees picked me apart in the first half, throwing for 250 yards in the first half. I had a couple of nice goal line stands though, and only trailed 13-10 at halftime. I kicked 2 fgs in the 3rd qtr to go up 16-13, then hit Limas Sweed for a long td pass to take a commanding 23-13 lead in the 4th. The Saints weren't done however, kicking a fg to cut the lead to 23-16, and then stopping me to get the ball back with a minute left. Ike Taylor came through again though, picking off Brees and running it back for a TD, the second game in a row he managed a pick six in the last minute. He ended being named Super Bowl MVP, and I completed an intense playoff run by hoisting the Lombardi Trophy (literally, although I won't say anything else about the postseason presentation, other than to say there are some very cool cutscenes).

It was the most fun season I've ever played in Madden, and definitely the most rewarding. The last 6 weeks of the regular season and my postseason games were very tough, I believe I trailed in all of them, and usually in the 4th quarter. Perhaps the best compliment I can give the game is to say I'm starting up season 2 today, the game is still so much fun I feel like I'm just getting started with it. I've decided to download the roster update and try to turn around the hapless Lions, knowing that the Super Bowl on default all pro is winnable (although barely in my case). That dangling carrot should keep me motivated to keep going even though I'm sure this is going to be a daunting task.