Madden 15

[Aristo]

Well, after trying to play, it asked for my disk or to be sure that whoever purchased the game was signed in. Despite the fact that I was the only one signed in when I download it, I tried it with both my wife's and my daughter's account with the same message.

I've deleted it and am re-downloading it. f***in EA.

[Diablo25]

Same thing here. Game won't finish installing. Evidently it's a problem for everyone. Pastapadre is reporting that it's a widespread issue. I uninstalled and now reinstalling. Cheers EA!

[XXXIV]

Classic.

Hopefully it will be fixed when I get home so I can start on my six hours.

[MizzouRah]

HAHA.. mine won't worth either.

[Danimal]

Not a chance the timer works properly when they resolve this issue. Main reason I stayed away, they haven't tested this yet.

[XXXIV]

Looks like this is the test.

[MizzouRah]

Re-downloaded it.. still same fcking issue.

So much for being off today.. I have to head out tonight and might have a little time after our soccer game, but then I'm heading out on vacation for the weekend.

[MizzouRah]

Looks like a Microsoft issue...

http://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-live-status

[MizzouRah]

Working now!

[MizzouRah]

The game starts and lets you play as the Panthers vs Seattle after recovering a fumble down 26-21 with a few mins left to play.. I scored a TD with a nice pass from Cam to beat Seattle 27-26 as time expired.. pretty neat little intro to the game.

I haven't played Madden in so long.. started a game 6 mins Rams vs Bills on default AP and had my butt handed to me 31-0. Sammy Watkins scored the first TD of the game. (the guy I wanted the Rams to get.. lol)

I need a ton more time it.. these 6 hours won't take me long to use up.

Gameplay was fun in my first game.. running and passing was intuitive and I was able to mount drives.. I just threw too many INT's as the game is faster than NCAA on defaults at least.

Defense is going to take some time to get used to, but I do feel like I have total control of my player.

The playcalling menus are a bit odd in a way I have to back out to get to a different formation.. but once you get used to it, it's not all that bad.

Anyway.. off to the practice mode.

[Diablo25]

First off, remember to SHUT DOWN THE GAME when you quit. Don't just let it run in the background or your 6 hours (I'm guessing) will just be burning away. There, I said it

Messed with it for like 20 minutes and it's a very pretty game. Lighting is spectacular. Much better, more fluent animations. Presentation is superb. Anxious to try the new Defensive camera. I loved what I saw in my brief time with the game. More later...got a meeting to attend.

[MizzouRah]

Yeah.. I make sure to close it out each time.. lol..

Do you flip the screen when playing defense? I'm so used to NCAA and one view I hit a button and the defense was on the bottom when I was playing defense.

[MizzouRah]

Changing cameras with a click on a button is cool...

Have not seen one penalty yet..

[Aristo]

Just played as the Chiefs at the Titans, and kicked their sorry butts 38-17. And it wasn't that close. Both Titans TD's were play action passes that I guessed run on, and Locker hit wide open receivers for long scores. That's kind of cool, because I like that you get penalized for guessing wrong.

I feel like it played pretty much exactly like Madden 25. The defense had a new tackle skill that seems useful, but I haven't really checked it out. Since checking out features comes off the six hours, I'm hesitant to do so. I might go ahead and waste an hour on it tonight. I also want to delve in to the new play-calling the screens and see if there are some better ways to change up personnel. I think they may have finally nailed the balance between coach's calling the plays and using the menus to find the right play. I really like the screens. they are quick and fairly intuitive. but there are enough options that I kind of need to just waste time checking them out in a game without a play clock.

The game does look really, really good. Some of the animations are still really, really bad. I mean, FFS, APFB 2K8 had better animations that differentiated betweens styles of play and available moves. EA has not come close to making the animations feel authentic. But you still get a feel for the plays and overall, it is still fun. I feel comfortable that I will play this a ton more than NCAA 14, even with new rosters.

And I while the presentation is good, the commentary is still pretty bad, as is the digital announcers in the beginning. Alex Smith got hurt on a Read Option, so I had chase Daniel in from midway through the second quarter. In the third quarter, ion the Chiefs first posse ion, they raved about the great game the QB was having, showing Smith's highlights, even though he was out of the game and injured. Not a big deal, but kind of eye-rolling.

[XXXIV]

Downloaded it. Played a quarter.

Looks great.

Still feels like the same game I have learned to hate.

Will try to get in all 6 hours but I doubt I will make it.

[wco81]

OK, who had the over/under on how many pages before someone would bring up NFL2K or APFB in a Madden thread?

[Aristo]

OK, who had the over/under on how many pages before someone would bring up NFL2K or APFB in a Madden thread?

Shocking, I know. Comparing one football game to another. The nerve...

[MizzouRah]

I won game two against the Browns.. Manziel came in when I knocked Hoyer out and he played pretty well.

I like playing defense as an end now with the reverse camera as it just lets me focus on one player. I love the presentation though.. well done. There are still times when goofy animations pop up.. I saw one player upside down on his helmet with his feet in the air and nobody around him.. lol...

I'm going to purchase the digital version.. but I still really love NCAA and Madden just seems like a lot more managing with all the options available to you. As an older fart, I'm not sure I like all that clutter.

I think running will need to be tuned up and as always, penalties. Passing is great though, especially the way they zip passes when you hold the button down.

[Danimal]

As someone who still owns 2k5 and APF I don't think either game holds up to last years Madden. Yes some of the animations were better but no many anymore. Madden has some clunky ones left and they remove some every year but as a whole package they don't stack up and haven't in several years.

[Rodster]

As someone who still owns 2k5 and APF I don't think either game holds up to last years Madden. Yes some of the animations were better but no many anymore. Madden has some clunky ones left and they remove some every year but as a whole package they don't stack up and haven't in several years.

I gotta agree with this. There are some animations in 2K5 that looked natural like the running back animations including the stutter steps but the current Madden especially in M25 on next gen is quite good. I like the RB falling forward while trying to retain balance, getting skinny while trying to break the LOS, the QB animations including the WR animations look good as well. Overall M25 is a lot better in that dept and the game on next gen is actually quite good, with penalties being called just by upping them to 55. And the bottom line is M25 is actually a lot of fun.

[Aristo]

As someone who still owns 2k5 and APF I don't think either game holds up to last years Madden. Yes some of the animations were better but no many anymore. Madden has some clunky ones left and they remove some every year but as a whole package they don't stack up and haven't in several years.

Which is all I'm really saying. Hell, I moved on from those games to play the last few NCAA games. My comparison was just one area in which I think EA could do a lot better, since it was clear that someone figured out how to do more realistic animations a decade ago. It wasn't that I wanted to go back to those games instead.

And yes, some of the animations are good, but what I liked about 2K's effort was they they felt much more appropriate for each player. I shouldn't feel like Jamal Charles is channeling his inner John Riggins just because he is running inside.

I spent a ton of time with Madden 25 in order to get ready for Madden 15, and this is a huge upgrade over that, and I had a lot of fun with Madden 25.

[Danimal]

I wasn't really questioning or disagreeing with your assessment. The issue with Madden is there is so much legacy code, graphics, animations etc that unless they really started brand new, which they won't. It is an extremely impossible process to clean it all up in a timely manner. As someone who had to fix other peoples code at one point in my life I can tell you it's a soul sucking job.

[Aristo]

Just finished an online game with q random and the new playcall windows are a huge boost. You get lots of info about what plays the community calls, what plays tour opponent has called, and good logical suggestions. On top of that, there are several tabs, or blades, that make drilling down for plays quick and effective.

It was probably my favorite online football experience ever, even though my Chiefs lost in Seattle 13-10 in OT. My random was even a good guy.

I'm a little surprised by how much I like the game, so far.

[Inuyasha]

Just finished an online game with q random and the new playcall windows are a huge boost. You get lots of info about what plays the community calls, what plays tour opponent has called, and good logical suggestions. On top of that, there are several tabs, or blades, that make drilling down for plays quick and effective.

It was probably my favorite online football experience ever, even though my Chiefs lost in Seattle 13-10 in OT. My random was even a good guy.

I'm a little surprised by how much I like the game, so far.

I'm on the fence. I've always bought the game on day 1 but except for a few releases (10/12), I've been pretty disapoointed. Is there any reason you can give me to convince me it's a day 1 purchase? I saw some of the live games and I do like that new defense cam.

[Aristo]

It's still Madden. If you are usually let down, you probably aren't going to be that blown away here. If you really want a new football game, then this is a pretty fun game.