Madden 09 Discussion

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:58 pm

Murph wrote:
dbdynsty25 wrote:I actually LOVE how it's easier to break tackles this year. In the past you saw too many open field tackles against elite backs/receivers. Now it's actually a challenge to bring down the fast and strong. You can actually get some YAC this year, which has been missing in years past.
Yep. FBs and TEs actually shake off lame tackle attempts and keep on chuggin'.

It's a question of balance though.

They've always tracked yards after first contact, for RBs at least.

I can understand RBs breaking weak attempts by some CBs but they're also bouncing off DL and LBs in the box.

If they're evading bigger defenders with quickness or elusiveness, it should show that there's little or no contact but what seems to be happening is they're getting out of "in the grasp situations" where a QB would be considered sacked.

Defenders seem to have them wrapped up, not just lunging and missing or barely touching them or hitting them but not knocking them down or slowing them enough.

At least so far, there seems to be more broken tackles than you'd typically see.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 4:01 pm

Played the wii version for about 10 min at lunch :

1.Graphics really bad, ps2's on last gen were better. It's been cleaned up from NCAA, but very basic.

2.Not sure what I was doing, but I liked the motion controls. In Pass plays, you can take a receiver and create a route for him right there and then.

3.Felt like the game was more gimmick. I can't say if I had fun with it or not. It was nice to have the controls.

4.Game very fast paced. Very arcadey feel.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 4:41 pm

How do you select WRs in the Wii version?

Point in general direction?

Or control an actual on-screen cursor?

Or use buttons on the wand?

On-screen cursor would be a big departure from the traditional Madden gameplay mechanic (or for that matter, every football game made on consoles for about the last 10-15 years).

Would be different. Not better or worse, just different.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 4:52 pm

Got a $20 TRU card in the mail so I guess I will bite and get this game this weekend. Thinking about selling off NCAA if I have more fun with Madden.

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:34 pm

wco81 wrote:How do you select WRs in the Wii version?

D-pad.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 10:34 pm

So far, I really enjoy Heelfan's sliders. The CPU is actually running on me pretty effectively! That's progress.

But, I'm growing very tired of the CPU players running out of bounds! I'm starting to see it more than once almost every drive.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 10:45 pm

How many minutes are you guys setting the qtrs at?

I tried 7 first and then 8 but still not enough plays...Im going to try 10 but Im thinking that might make for a very long season playing with the Rams

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:56 am

sportdan30 wrote:So far, I really enjoy Heelfan's sliders. The CPU is actually running on me pretty effectively! That's progress.

But, I'm growing very tired of the CPU players running out of bounds! I'm starting to see it more than once almost every drive.

I thought there were no sliders this year?

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:58 am

There aren't Greg, however the following human sliders have an effect on the CPU. By adjusting the rush defense for example, the CPU runs better. Now mind you, I only played one half of a game last night after adjusting these sliders against the Jets. But what I did see is the RB for the Jets dodge and juke for more yards than I had seen previously. In my first handful of games, it seemed the RB would just run straight in to a defender. Of course, you'll still see short gains, but you'll also see the RB break tackles and pick up larger gains. It's not perfect, but it's a heck of a lot better than it was.

Here are Heelfan's sliders in case you are interested:

Skill Level: Custom
Minutes per Quarter: 10

Passing 10
QB Accuracy: 35
Pass Blocking: 70
WR Catching: 45

Rushing 7
Broken Tackles: 70
Run Blocking: 70
Fumbles: 50

Pass Defense 6
Reaction Time: 100
Interceptions: 20
Pass Rushing: 80

Rush Defense 16
Reaction Time: 0
Block Shedding: 30
Tackling: 30

Special Teams
FG Power: 30
FG Accuracy: 20
Punt Power: 45
Punt Accuracy: 45
Kickoff Power: 45

Penalties: All set to 100

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:13 am

I'm not even going to make it through my yearly single season with the Jets this time around. It's better in some areas, but at this point I'm somewhat floored that they expect people to salivate over this product or something. It seems like you would have to be 8 years old or under to not warrant an all-madden rating in the skills test, and then you can look forward to defensive lineman from the far side catching you from behind until the computer figures out that your 30-ypg (on 8 minute quarters) average might be a little off-kilter and eases up on you. So, don't use the skill-test ratings then. Okay, fine. Maybe it's the total lack of, I don't know... majesty (to use a silly and overblown word) that bugs me. Game changing highlights presented on a postage stamp after the halves. Nice of them to give me the option to bring up the manual replay though, which I probably already messed around with back when the play actually happened. I liked how 2K5 would place your highlights into the context of a broadcast. It's not that I even care about broadcast presentation, but at least it meant you'd be seeing your feats close up, with some drama and editorial sense infused into it.

I also miss being able to zoom in close enough on replays to read the safety warnings on the helmets. That probably sounds stupid, but I think it's indicative of the visual cutbacks they've made in order to boost performance. Outside of some neat lighting in wide shots, this game doesn't look that good to me. I still think NCAA '07 on the 360 is the best looking football game ever, even with the beefy kickers. Lighting that changed with the time of day. Textures that held up no matter how close you got (which was great for snapshots).

This is all very nitpicky, but that's because I can't really put my finger on what's really fresh or fun about any of this. The passing game does feel better. But I feel like their idea of progression is regressing back towards a gussied up version of the last generation game.

I wish I could get current rosters onto my 360 for 2K5. If anyone can help, please PM me.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:44 am

Wow, did you make it through one half, or did you make up your mind after a couple of offensive plays?

I played an online game last night against Rob and one against barkingdogma, and once again it was a heck of a lot of fun. Once we could get online in a game together, that is. There are serious problems with the EA servers, as per usual with a new release.

But once in, and if we can get to the end of a game without being disconnected from the EA servers, I'm really, really enjoying this iteration of the game. There is a snappiness and zippiness to the player control and the gameplay in general, and that combined with the now fully-featured pre-snap options on O and D look to provide for some really fun, competitive online games against friends that ought to be a nice mix of chess match and wow-factor individual play. The damn thing's just fun! And I am very hopeful that as I get better versed in the nuances of the pre-snap stuff and the quirks of the game that it will become pretty deep when playing against like-minded players online. If only they had added some rudimentary OTP, like two on two, then it would be through the roof. (Of course even if they did, EA would fail to allow one teammate to call the offense while the other calls the defense, but hey, it's EA.)

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:50 am

Zeppo wrote:Wow, did you make it through one half, or did you make up your mind after a couple of offensive plays?

Aw, man... you know me better than that.

Yeah, I'm sure this game is fun against other people. That's not my primary mode though.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:59 am

The feeling of progression is found throughout the running game. Manually breaking tackles and physically wearing down a team (through 30 games or so, I have a horrible ypc at the beginning of a game when a D is fresh, but it grows much better by the end of a game, when I'm rattling off 6 and 7 yard carries).

The IQ is gimmicky, but you can set the custom skill level to whatever you want.

The passing is much, much better, and you have to be much better on timing for a good play.

Most of the things I see that you don't like are related to graphics and presentation, and that's definitely not what had me 'salivating'. The gameplay is much tighter, with the exception of the AI running out of bounds when it shouldn't.

To each his own, but it's definitely not the same ol', same ol'.

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:13 am

TCrouch wrote:The passing is much, much better, and you have to be much better on timing for a good play.

The passing is definitely better, but I don't necessarily agree about the need for better timing. With the non-psychic defensive backs, I'm threading needles I never could before.

TCrouch wrote:Most of the things I see that you don't like are related to graphics and presentation, and that's definitely not what had me 'salivating'.

You're totally right. For a stop and start game like football, I personally seem to need a lot more dynamism to the presentation in order to stay engaged, as opposed to, say, soccer.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:18 am

On what skill level with the passing? QB could be a factor, too, maybe. JaMarcus Russell has to have impeccable timing to get a throw where it's supposed to go, and even then it's a craps shoot.

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:23 am

It could be the upgrade from Pennington to Favre. It's like I've been swinging with two bats all these years, playing Madden with the Jets.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:37 am

You can still zoom in as far as you want...not sure what you mean that you can't read the labels on the helmets. Use the D pad...not the Y & B buttons (assuming you're on 360).

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:43 pm

It's better but it's like it's Madden better not football better.

Take the passing game. The way they made it better was to have WRs jetpack and warp to catches. If you lead a player enough, the WRs will magically get to the ball while the DBs run their normal speed.

Because DBs can't wrap their arms around receivers, this makes passing defense about playing Madden ball. LBs and DBs making miraculous swat jumps and QBs mostly throwing short to allow for it.

The passing game and passing defense is mediocre. Better than past years but closer to please the Madden nation crowd.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:15 pm

Slumberland wrote:
Zeppo wrote:Wow, did you make it through one half, or did you make up your mind after a couple of offensive plays?
Aw, man... you know me better than that.

Yeah, I'm sure this game is fun against other people. That's not my primary mode though.

Of course I do, but even so I should have added the "

" Just poking a stick in your eye.

And far be it from me to criticize someone for not wanting to play a full season against the CPU. I mean, I don't think I've accomplished that since one of the better GameDays on PS1. Or maybe the first or second Madden on PS2. Me v. CPU in football or baseball = sleepy sleepy time. For me.

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:17 pm

JRod wrote:It's better but it's like it's Madden better not football better.

I agree. After 2 nights of playing, it's pretty much what I thought it was going to be. An average (or slightly above) Tiburon football game. I'll get some enjoyment out of it, especially if they come through with a good patch or two, but I can't help but wonder what Visual Concepts would've been able to deliver if they had 4 or 5 years on the next gen consoles. Surely it would've been better than this.

On a separate note, has anyone had any freezes? Twice now I've had the game lock up, right after finishing a franchise game when it asked if I wanted to go to passing school, or whatever it's called, and before I had a chance to save (very frustrating). I'm on PS3, btw.

Murph · Post by **Murph** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:31 pm

I've decided I'm more of an NCAA guy (this year). I like recruiting, buiding up a program up, etc. more than signing free agents and the like.

So with that said, I'm interested in doing a straight swap with someone. I'd like to go back to NCAA 09 and I'll give you Madden 09.

If interested, send me a PM.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:58 pm

TCrouch wrote: To each his own, but it's definitely not the same ol', same ol'.

Still early but I don't think the gameplay, specifically the passing and running, is something we haven't seen before in the Madden series.

I'm starting to wonder if all they do is tweak the sliders in response to fan reception of the previous game and then make that the new baseline (the neutral point of the sliders).

Some have observed that there is no difference in franchise and Superstar mode (I think one of the EA guys said on OS that they didn't touch franchise from last year).

They did work in a lot of features, whatever we may think of the worth of some of those features, like Rewind, Backtrack, Virtual Trainer, Online Leagues, EASportsWorld highlights. Not to mention graphics.

So really, did they rework the AI or just modify it (use sliders or some other easy to change settings) based on complaints about Madden 08 (like the defenses jumping on passes too much or too easy defensive TDs) while doing most of the work on the new features?

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:00 pm

Leebo gave his Madden blessing over at the NCAA thread so I will pick it up today. I know you're happy for me.

I just hope I don't have the same experience with madden this year as I had last year. For the first 2 -3 weeks of madden last year, I just played the hell out of it, then just got disinterested. I hope there is more game life to it than 3 weeks max this year.

Maybe this time I won't use the Bears.

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:26 pm

For the guys who are getting more than 2 yards a carry rushing the ball, how the hell are you doing it? Are you just messing with sliders? I mash the hell out of the buttons as soon as I get close to a tackler, but more often than not I'm being brought down for a 2 yard gain or less (and a lot of times I can't even get back to the line of scrimmage). Anyone have any tips?

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:54 pm

GTHobbes wrote:For the guys who are getting more than 2 yards a carry rushing the ball, how the hell are you doing it? Are you just messing with sliders? I mash the hell out of the buttons as soon as I get close to a tackler, but more often than not I'm being brought down for a 2 yard gain or less (and a lot of times I can't even get back to the line of scrimmage). Anyone have any tips?

I mix a lot of play action passing in. I also throw on first down occassionally. It seems to keep the defense off balance somewhat. I mix in a FB run as well which pretty much guarantees a 3-4 yard gain. I use Steven Jackson, so I do not juke at all with him. I press forward on right stick to truck the defender, and I also use the stiff arm as well. If you can time it right, you can hurdle over a defender and pick up significant yards. I also am patient with regards at looking for the best hole to run through. If it's not there, I improvise and might take it to the outside and gain some yards. I really feel rewarded with the running in this game. You must follow your blockers!