Tag: Barry Sanders

Madden 25 – The Hype Train Is Leaving The Station

Now that we are getting ready to start football season in the minds of most NFL fans with the coming NFL Draft this Thursday there are a few things we can start sorting out when it comes to what Madden 25 will be pushing from the marketing end of the annual title.

The first thing we can plan on is the inclusion of some sort of ‘interview interface’ when it comes to CCM.  This is primarily due to the fact that NHL 13 is taking up where NBA 2K has been for a couple years now.  The idea of interacting with the media and having a simulation experience

It has been twenty-five years since John Madden demanded a true simulation football game. We are still waiting on EA Sports to provide us with one.

isn’t really new but EA is starting to take more of 2K’s features to heart.  My personal hopes are that Madden’s CCM (which is still going to be in the next iteration) will feature an interaction for people that prefer to be a ‘coach’ rather than a single player.  This will add depth to a mode that was off to a decent start last year.

Better physics and refined tackling are something that people have been clamoring for ever since the 360/PS3 released.  Last year we got the Infinity Engine and got to see some interesting animations play out (a lot of Gumby motions, especially).  Regardless, we can be almost certain that Madden 25 will have more refined player physics and tackling animations assuming they keep working with the same engine.  This leads us into one of the more intensely discussed topics on hardcore Madden forums – OL/DL interaction and blocking in general.

While it is highly unlikely that we will ever see a true end to ‘suction blocking’ it has been mentioned for NCAA 14 that there has been serious work put in towards improving blocking decisions and interactions.  This has been highlighted in discussing the inclusion of a deeper CPU intelligence that focuses on second-level blocking.  What is ‘Second Level Blocking’?  Second level blocking is basically any blocking that occurs after an initial block has been made.  So, if the Right Tackle blocks the defensive end and then starts running up the field – they will actually look for the next opponent to block rather than running blindly past a defender that will be looking to bring down the ball carrier.  Sounds like something that should have been in the game for years, right?  EA Sports isn’t exactly on top of things to pay attention to what seems like fundamentals sometimes.  Hopefully they will make good on the improvements in blocking for Madden 25 as this will be a positive direction for the direction of the gameplay in general.

 

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Madden 13’s Fall From Grace – An Abrupt Turn For The Worst?

If you consider the way Madden was going with their announcements of Connected Careers Mode and Real Time Physics it seemed as if the sky was the limit.

Now it feels like someone has come to your 4th of July party and taken all of your fireworks.

EA Tiburon has announced many new limitations for Madden 13 since the vaunted reveal of Connected Careers.

Darren McFadden should probably have an injured knee, back or right arm after this hit. However, thanks to EA and the NFL, this will most likely result in nothing more than a regular tackle and recovery… every single time.

– You can no longer play more than one game per week and it must be for only your team.

This is a big deal for people that like to play random games along the way of their season to expand their enjoyment of the league as teams evolve… or to throw games like the 1919 White Sox so their team can make the playoffs.  Either way it goes, this limitation is silly and only hurts EA from the perspective of once again taking away any sort of further depth a gamer may want.

– Editing players is completely gone for Connected Careers.

Perhaps the biggest kick in the analog stick was the news that you can only edit players for Play Now games but not for your team before you start your Connected Careers Mode.  So, not only can you not edit your players… but now you have to hope that you bought the game new and got the $10 Roster Update Code included with the retail release.  Then you have to suffer the more unfortunate fate of having to depend on the Ratings Czar, Donny Moore.

– Madden still depends on the the ‘all-important’ Speed Rating

Please understand that this isn’t new or even an announcement.  However, it is still a major issue that annoys us to no end.  Football is the one game that is more than just fast guys running everything 80 yards for a TD.  It is a game of strength, awareness, determination, size and motivation (of which only one is a ‘rating’, Strength).  This leads us to our next limitation which is a continuation…

– Ratings still determine everything…and nothing.

Madden football has turned into a bastardized arcade version of simulation NFL Football. There are ratings (like Speed) that mean everything to a player.  Then there are ratings (Awareness) that are some sort of mysterious presence that make a player’s Overall Rating but little else really comes out of it.  One of the things that All Pro Football 2K8 got right was taking those number ratings away from your view and made you ask yourself…”Can this guy play football?”

That is the real question facing Madden and NCAA.

Are these games really football?

Something that has troubled many football fans lately is the constant focus on ‘safety’.  If you want to be safe, play golf.  Football is about blood, guts, glory, concussions, playing hurt and yes… violence.  It is a game where every single play the goal is to destroy the player carrying the ball.  The NFL is taking it away from the game as much as they can but EA is taking it away altogether.

There are no late hits in Madden NFL Football.

There are no real time injuries to go with real time physics.

There are no roster edits for your (or any other team) before you start a Career Mode.

Which really starts to beg the question.  What exactly is in Madden outside of a couple of what now seem to be aesthetic changes to the game?

Are you angry with EA Tiburon’s approach to football games?  Vent below…