Madden 10 - Will they prove us wrong?

Post by **Jared** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 3:29 pm

Bill's sliders are fun for the passing game...I get that real sense of the pass rush, and the need to make quick quick decisions.

But for the running game, it's too fast. I feel like there's no time to make any real decisions or moves. I'm not sure if it's just me, or if Harris' tweaking doesn't scale correctly to the speed of running through the offensive line.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 3:59 pm

Zeppo is right in that you can't equate 40 speed with football speed. However, while "slow" is not bad for the running game, I do think it's indeed slow. You can tell on deep passes that the receivers don't seem to have the same acceleration as they would in a real game. "Normal" or "fast" are probably closer to realistic without the game getting out of hand. So far I like the normal setting a lot and find it a good balance for speed and reaction time.

The bottom line is to pick a setting that plays out like a football game. Controlling players with a controller inevitably means that you don't have the same type of reaction a real player would have. There's a lot more that goes into a "realistic" pace than just straight line speed.

It is an interesting experiment from Bill, however, and got me thinking about the game a little differently.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 1:04 am

Favre will be in purple in the Aug. 19 Madden update. Comparing his ratings from Madden 09 to Madden 10:

http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/firstc ... den_update

Take care,
PK

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 9:16 am

pk500 wrote:Favre will be in purple in the Aug. 19 Madden update. Comparing his ratings from Madden 09 to Madden 10:

http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/firstc ... den_update

Take care,
PK

Sweet. Thanks Pk. Looking forward to downloading the roster update this evening.

RallyMonkey · Post by **RallyMonkey** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 9:20 am

I'm clearly a moron, but can someone tell me where the Special Teams sliders are? Can't find them for the life of me. Thanks.

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 9:22 am

Is anyone else finding the game gets tougher as you get deeper into your season? I nearly lost to Tyler Thigpen and the Chiefs last night, needing a late game 65 yd TD run by Willie Parker to get to 10-0.

I'm seeing some crazy variety in my games lately. Through the first 7 games of my season, my team had 5 total interceptions. However, I picked off Orton 5 times in my 8th game, and J.T. O'Sullivan 6 times in my 9th game to take the NFL lead in interceptions as a team. Along the same lines, I had 15 sacks as a team in my first 9 games. However, against KC last night, I sacked Tyler Thigpen 8 times (Hampton-3, Farrior-3, Woodley-2), to bring my total to a more believable 23 in 10 games.

The game really has been a blast to play on All Pro, hopefully I get more games like my last one.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:53 am

Tried out the Texans last night against the Dolphins. The CPU surprised me on this play -- came out in a 1 WR running formation and went deep to Ginn (who does his best DeSean Jackson impression at the end and almost blows the TD). Good to see the computer going deep more.

<embed src="http://cdn.www.easports.com/static/3.2. ... player.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="640" height="360" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="height=360&width=640&file=http://cdn.content.easports.com/media2/ ... ="></embed>

I also managed to break off a nice 71-yard run with Slaton after spinning out of traffic. I would have liked to score, but I was impressed that the pursuit managed to keep me out of the endzone:

<embed src="http://cdn.www.easports.com/static/3.2. ... player.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="640" height="360" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="height=360&width=640&file=http://cdn.content.easports.com/media2/ ... ="></embed>

I wound up losing 31-12 due to three picks and a fumble in my endzone that Miami recovered for a TD. So far I really like this game a lot. The biggest difference is that it seems like EA cared about putting out a quality game this year. It still needs a good deal of work, but I don't feel like they pooped out a game disc and stuck "Madden" on it.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 11:12 am

Brando70 wrote:it seems like EA cared about putting out a quality game this year. It still needs a good deal of work, but I don't feel like they pooped out a game disc and stuck "Madden" on it.

Well said

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 12:56 pm

HipE wrote:Is anyone else finding the game gets tougher as you get deeper into your season? I nearly lost to Tyler Thigpen and the Chiefs last night, needing a late game 65 yd TD run by Willie Parker to get to 10-0.

I guess it is different depending on team. Personally if I was 10-0 I would find the game too easy. I know you're playing as the Stellers but come on 10-0, that's not going to happen. Have you upped the sliders so the AI can run?

Fortunately as the Bears or Broncos the two teams I am playing it's not even close to that. Bears are 5-3 and the Broncos 2-5. Each game is different, I lost to the Browns as the Bears and they ran all over me and I couldn't stop Edwards. Then I turn around and beat the Cardinals a team I was scared of because they marched down the field on their first 2 drives without missing a beat. but thanks to so key turn overs and Cutler being able to finally have a decent passing game I squeaked out a win.

My favorite part of this game is that it is unpredictable, sometime I can run, sometimes I can't. I miss field goals that I shouldn't, star players have occasional bad games, sometime scrubs make a good play. Use to be in Madden every game felt the same and that feeling is gone, which is a really good thing IMO.

fletcher21 · Post by **fletcher21** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 1:10 pm

Does anyone on here consider 09 a better game, or is this hands down the best Madden ever?

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 1:39 pm

Yeah, it is a little unrealistic, but to be fair I've only played 3 teams with a winning record (Titans, Bears, Chargers) so far. Each of those games was decided by 7 pts or less, so I'm going to give it a full season including playoffs before deciding if I want to continue with Pittsburgh.

I'm not a slider guy at all, so I'll be playing default all pro. Like I think Rob said earlier, I like the offline settings to match the online settings. If I find the game is too easy with the Steelers, I'll just start with a new team and updated rosters for my next season, since I know people are struggling with weaker teams. It might be fun to try to turn the Lions for example into a winner, especially starting with a franchise qb that has zero career stats so far.

The problem with using the Steelers is I'm not sure how much I can expect to struggle with their ratings. Ben is rated a 95 for throwing on the run, which makes inaccurate throws even under heavy pressure very rare for me. The Steelers are always great against the run, so I can't really complain that my team is leading the league in run defense.

Because of the variability from game to game this year, I have no idea how people can even reach any conclusions about any slider tweaks. When I can go multiple games with no sacks and then have an 8 sack game with the same settings, any differences I would see with different sliders could be complete coincidence.

Danimal wrote:
HipE wrote:Is anyone else finding the game gets tougher as you get deeper into your season? I nearly lost to Tyler Thigpen and the Chiefs last night, needing a late game 65 yd TD run by Willie Parker to get to 10-0.
I guess it is different depending on team. Personally if I was 10-0 I would find the game too easy. I know you're playing as the Stellers but come on 10-0, that's not going to happen. Have you upped the sliders so the AI can run?

Fortunately as the Bears or Broncos the two teams I am playing it's not even close to that. Bears are 5-3 and the Broncos 2-5. Each game is different, I lost to the Browns as the Bears and they ran all over me and I couldn't stop Edwards. Then I turn around and beat the Cardinals a team I was scared of because they marched down the field on their first 2 drives without missing a beat. but thanks to so key turn overs and Cutler being able to finally have a decent passing game I squeaked out a win.

My favorite part of this game is that it is unpredictable, sometime I can run, sometimes I can't. I miss field goals that I shouldn't, star players have occasional bad games, sometime scrubs make a good play. Use to be in Madden every game felt the same and that feeling is gone, which is a really good thing IMO.

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 1:43 pm

fletcher21 wrote:Does anyone on here consider 09 a better game, or is this hands down the best Madden ever?

I don't know if you can say hands down it is the best Madden ever (although I personally believe it is), but it is without a doubt much better than 09.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 1:45 pm

Fletch, we are about twenty pages into a thread that is essentially all about 'this is the best Madden ever.' Just read three or four of the posts to get the gist.

Last night when I got home, I had a game v the Panthers that felt exactly like a classic Zorn skins game. I moved the ball well, but couldn't score. I had key turnovers in the red area, and a missed 40+ field goal. The Panrhers had only one decent drive against my D, a 5 minute grinder of 12 plays (even with accel clock at :15 that is a long drive).

Thanks to 2 fumbles, one which was taken by Peppers 80yds for the score, and a key INT that I tried to force into the endzone, I was shut out 14-0 despite dominating the offensive stats. It felt almost exactly like that Rams game last season that doomed our playoff hopes. XXXIV knows what game I'm talking about!

It wa so frustrating to lose like that, but felt absurdly authentic. Crazy stuff.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 1:50 pm

I think the general consensus was that most people thought Madden 09 sucked balls.

I didn't think so, I liked it.

But I still think Madden 10 is by far the best Madden on next gen consoles, and for me it's the best one I can remember.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 2:00 pm

I like default AP settings as well.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 2:01 pm

TCrouch wrote:I think the general consensus was that most people thought Madden 09 sucked balls.

I didn't think so, I liked it.

But I still think Madden 10 is by far the best Madden on next gen consoles, and for me it's the best one I can remember.

I agree with you on 9 and 10.

Maybe its a dumb way to put it but this is the best example I can give for why I think its the best Madden ever...

On my way to my current 8-4 franchise mark I lost to the Lions! Yes the 0-16 Lions to at the time drop to 4-4. Something that would never have happened before Madden 10 that far into my first season.

Every single game seems to take on a personality of its own.

P.S. Good thing I have recovered from that particular loss cause I was considering a Favresque retirement from videogaming.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 2:21 pm

TCrouch wrote:I think the general consensus was that most people thought Madden 09 sucked balls.

I didn't think so, I liked it.

But I still think Madden 10 is by far the best Madden on next gen consoles, and for me it's the best one I can remember.

09 was decent, and definitely better than the 06-08 disasters. But I found it hard to get excited while playing it. 2010 just feels a lot more like real football. I feel like it's the MVP 05 of the series, not perfect, but incredibly fun and an accurate representation of the sport.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 2:58 pm

Played only a few games, some random observations:

- The UI for setting audibles is confusing. Hard to tell which audible you're setting maps to which button. You can see it in the menu which comes up in games when you hit the Audible button but they made this needlessly complicated.

- Looks like they removed the option on defense to drop back or rush into the LOS at the snap of the ball? At least no visual indication.

- There seems to be at least one big play a game due to broken tackles near the LOS and impossible to catch up from behind. Lot of big plays from getting out to the edge and break one tackle before the pursuit catches up and most backs could go the distance.

Haven't explored enough playbooks but on first blush, it appears it's going to be an offense-dominated game. People will catch up. Haven't really seen inaccurate passes. I think one of the complaints about 09 was that people had high passing percentages and frequent streaks of double-digit completions.

I see no reason that's going to change much, when there appears to be a number of route types which break open consistently. I don't know how Shaun Hill is rated for passing accuracy in this game but he was hitting some tight windows on corners and some posts. That's way different from reality where he's mostly a dink and dunk guy.

I don't mind if that's the way the game turns out but as far as gameplay balance and realism, it doesn't seem that different or new.

We'll see what online franchises brings. Already, some commissioners are complaining about some needed options. It can still be entertaining if the franchise makes people stick with leagues. But once NHL and FIFA come out, not sure Madden 10 will command as much attention.

Where is that iPhone app?

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 3:18 pm

Zeppo wrote: It felt almost exactly like that Rams game last season that doomed our playoff hopes. XXXIV knows what game I'm talking about!

It wa so frustrating to lose like that, but felt absurdly authentic. Crazy stuff.

Hey...Incognito tried to give the game back.

I thought that was a great game.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 3:43 pm

wco81 wrote:Played only a few games, some random observations:

- There seems to be at least one big play a game due to broken tackles near the LOS and impossible to catch up from behind.

Haven't explored enough playbooks but on first blush, it appears it's going to be an offense-dominated game.

Haven't really seen inaccurate passes. I think one of the complaints about 09 was that people had high passing percentages and frequent streaks of double-digit completions.

I don't mind if that's the way the game turns out but as far as gameplay balance and realism, it doesn't seem that different or new.

EDIT: Never mind I just realized I was trying to debate with Mr. negative.

I'll just say i disagree with most of your astute assessment.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:13 pm

Can't disagree with wco more. I see passes that are literally 6 or 7 yards off target on throws with JaMarcus when I attempt to really zing one in there. The pocket formation is vastly superior to last year's edition, and if a tailback gets to the perimeter and you only have one guy there, then that's generally scary in the NFL as well. If you are blitzing or don't have safeties deep and you have one guy that HAS to make a tackle to save a TD, that's probably a pretty bad scenario...at least one that isn't going to give you a high percentage of success.

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.

Bill_Abner · Post by **Bill_Abner** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:27 pm

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.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:40 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.

It's easy, the wco bot is programmed to dislike EA football.

For what it's worth I enjoyed 09 like Terry but I think these two are worlds apart. I think this is the greatest football game ever released and ESPN NFL 2k5 is now number 2.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:51 pm

I disagree a little as well. 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, 7 of 10, but sometimes that happens. In my game with the Texans, I hit less than 50% of my passes with Shaub, including some under- and overthrows. I also played a game with the Bears where Jay Culter overthrew Hester on a fly route by about 10 yards, right to a deep safety for the interception.

You definitely can get into a groove with a bad QB, but after a sample size of about 100 pass attempts, I've seen cold and hot streaks.

As for the broken tackles by CPU Rbs, the game really requires tackling strategy that Madden hasn't had before. I have seen videos of backs breaking out of huge piles of defenders, but so far, if I've gotten my hands on a guy long enough for another defender to help, I've made the tackle. Plus I've seen different performance from different backs. DeAngelo Williams was very elusive and hard to trap, Tim Hightower was ineffective, and Ronnie Brown was a grinder who didn't break many long runs but usually got at least a couple of yards.

Again, this isn't something like The Show, a game that's just about perfect. However, it's very close to something like 2k4 or 2k5, a game with some flaws but captures the spirit and fun of the sport very well. I am really jacked up about the online franchise now, because I've had such a good time with single-player that I can't wait to do a season against human opponents.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:51 pm

Danimal wrote: EDIT: Never mind I just realized I was trying to debate with Mr. negative.

I'll just say i disagree with most of your astute assessment.

Aw, don't puss out.

I didn't say the game sucked, just that it's not as different or new as portrayed, at least based on initial impressions.

Oh the screens of players warming up before the game are new but that's not exactly the meat of the game is it?

I played parts of 2 or 3 games to learn the playbooks and one full online game. I had two runs of over 50 yards including one of over 70 yards with Gore and an under 5-yard pass to Vernon Davis which went for about 50. I gave up a 40-yard plus gain to the Vikings' FB on a simple pass to the flats.

Maybe I won't get another 50-yard plus gain for another 5 or 6 games but it sure looks like a trend. Now, I didn't see any pick-6 but then there haven't been as many ints. In 08 or 09, there were high-scoring games because the defense jumped a lot of passes before the WR reacted to the game and returned interceptions for TDs or set up easy scores.

Errant passes, the one I saw Hill leading a WR about 3 yards too much towards the sideline on a drag pattern. But drags are effective, posts and corners not as effective as previous years but the defense isn't jumping passes like previous years so it doesn't seem as risky to try to hit them. The circle passes to the RBs are more effective than I can recall in several years.

Oh and thanks for the advice on trading in!