Full game w/ EA Designers (Colts vs. Vikings)

[jrp1918]

Good
1. I like the animations overall, the players look a lot less robotic than in previous Maddens.

2. Some poor throws by Jackson because of his ratings.
3. Punt/kick returns seem better.
4. I liked the holes the O-line opened up for the run, those looked good at times.
5. Collinsworth is great, I also liked the injury thing, showing the bone, its a nice graphic.

Not so good
1. No auto-replays after big plays.
2. The pocket needs to be formed better.
3. The QB throwing motions seem awkward.
4. Manning rolls out and moves too fast.
5. Not enough stat overlays, I'd like some season/career numbers to be shown.

Overall, I like how the game played. I like how the two teams seemed to have their real life styles. The vikings kept the game very AP focused and the colts came out in 3 wide, obviously this is the human players decision, but I liked that it works. AP had it going and so did Manning, and the Vikings got in trouble when Jackson was forced to pass.

I'd also like to say thanks to Ian and others working on Madden for their interaction. I consider myself a 2k football fan, but I've enjoyed Madden for many years in the past, though I haven't bought a Madden since 2005. But 09 is looking good and it might be worth my money and time.

[TwoHeadedDog]

I'm watching the hi-res downloads now. It all looks pretty well done. There seems to be one little bug that becomes very distracting (once you notice it):

You can see a sliver of panning stadium background at the top of the play-call menu.

[Grydnt Vektr211]

first i would like to say thanks to you guys for putting madden back on the map. now that that is out of the way.

1. PRESENTATION PRESENTATION PRESENTATION. GREAT JOB GUYS, KEEP BUILDING ON THIS IDEA WITH A PRE-GAME SHOW, AND POSSIBLY WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS, HOT PLAYERS, COLD PLAYERS, WAVIER WIRES.(sorry for so many caps i am excited about this game).

2.GAMEPLAY LOOK SICK. in tge past you guys have given us hyped intro moves and great commercials, this year you have given us great gameplay footage. Tackle animations, running animations, player models, stadium lighting, intro, commentary all looks good so far(and we still have 2 months two go).

keep up the good work guys and when you guys get some extra time, pay for peyton,carson,and eli to come in and do some serious throwing animations for you guys( this is the only problem i have and its minor and i do mean minor).

CANT WAIT TILL AUGUST 12.

[PSMD410]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheFuture15

Might as well do mine too: The good 1. Tight control & responsiveness 2. Not a single pass hit a guy without him playing a catch anim 3. Graphically much improved 4. No more radio guy...Collinsworth rocks 5. Dynamic stat banners! 6. Animation blending is 500% better - very few pops Needs improvement 1. Commentary overall 2. Presentation overall (no cut-scenes) 3. OL/DL play 4. More animation variety - same post play celeb and strip ball tackle seen multiple times 5. More "awareness" - head tracking, looking around, etc. Players often look straight ahead when they run 6. Not much emotion from commentary / sound / animation on the final drive 7. Stats are unrealistic. Need accel clock or longer default quarter lengths. 8. QB Mechanics

Can any of your needs improvement be tweaked before release?

Fav 5
- gang tackling and momentum changes look great
- booth reviews play and then lets it stand
- muffed catch on a punt
- stadium shot intro, stat overlays and improved commentay
- batted passes, a throw way off the mark and a tipped catch

Unfav 5
- gamespeed tad to fast
- OL/DL interaction and lack of realistic pocket
- injury status show as soon as he it happens
- qb movement and accuracy to forgiving/unrealistic
- ball physics

and I will also add a question - two muffed catches on punts in one game, was that rare fluke?

[BrianFifaFan]

Liked:
Stadium Intro and team coming out in mass, vs weapons
Tackling pursuit
Nice camera work on 1st down play action pass to FB for first down with crowd cheering.
No huge runs to outside
Switched KR and he didn't have icon and muffed punt, Addai isn't a good returner IIRC
Nets being raised for XP.
nice pass by Manning underneath the Defenders arm (although dropped.)
overthrow by Jackson
Safety help on deep ball
Cris Collinsworths commentary (save one goof)

Didn't like so much:
Unrealistic cutting ability (although pursuit compensated)
still some goofy blocking
framerate seemed to bog at times (not terrible, but noticeable)
one catch where the receiver reached back far too much without having to slide. Edit: he actually turns back and makes the catch but shouldn't have been able to slow and adjust that quickly. (Vikings over the middle on PA)
everyone seemed a little "floaty" (no weight, see cutting and catch)
Muffed punt was too easy to recover

Overall game looks fun to play, just needs more "sim" to it. A bit of momentum balancing and some better ball physics and this would be great, for now. I trust the other issues mentioned ad nauseum will get worked out hopefully next year. But it is worlds above 08 and seems to be the best playing Madden yet. Thanks, Ian. You are the man! Brian

[Ian_Cummings_EA]

Quote: Originally Posted by Shockgeez04

4-I don't like how quick you can change your play at the line of scrimmage there needs to be some kind of animation of the QB signaling and calling out the new play, the colts are about the only team in the league able to come to the line and have multiple plays called on a regular basis outside of 2 minute drills

Just thought I'd let you know this is actually 'bluff play art' feature at work...us trying to psych each other out by showing fake plays (or real ones) with coach cam. Honestly one of my favorite little features in a long time.

[Agame]

Fav 5
1) Smooth Animation- and Graphics big up's
2) Qb accuracy or lack of
3) Collingsworth
4) Player models -much improved
5) Guards pull outside better

Did not Like
1) OL/DL....Tune it so that if QB rolls outside the pocket DE or DT Breaks and attacks or Slides down line and spies.
2) Audibles should dely the snap at least 5-seconds after Qb calls it-
3) Game clock 5 Min? Is it adjustable to 10 or 15 minutes? 120 plays in a game NFL avg.
4) Really just the line play. Points have been made that Roll outs too easy to take off,
and the "battle in the Trenches" needs improved. Need more push and shove, grab etc. at
the line....more hand play.

[Ian_Cummings_EA]

Quote: Originally Posted by adembroski

* What was that receiver doing on the out-route?!?!?

User error.

Again, I'll blame it on my worn-to-the-plastic left stick on my 360 controller though.

[JagerMichael]

What are your 5 favorite things about the game or the Good?

1. Post play animation, opposite teams helping eachother up. Nice little detail.

2. Tackling was great. I saw arm tackles, dragging down tackles, ball carriers fighting the tackles and even ball carriers spinning the tackler 360 degrees. Good stuff.

3. Momentum looked great all around.

4. Deke moves are a nice addition.

5. The receiver camera is really nice. No more guessing where your guys are.

6. Some of the QB animations are nice. There was a pass by Manning where he had a defender in his face and he kind of pulled up his follow through.

7. The announcing was pretty accurate throughout the game. I only noticed a few mistakes. Collinsworth rocks.

8. Kickoff distance seems to be fixed.

9. Pop out stats are a good thing.

10. The diving TD catch was really nice. I loved how he got his knee down.

11. T-Jack being off on some of his harder/distance throws was good to see. Sometimes it felt like you could play with a guy like that and still play well.

12. I liked the block that the punt returner through on one of the gunners.

13. I didn't see any real crazy DB or LB play which is key.

14. Dug seeing the sideline tip toe on the Colts second TD pass.

15. Even though the pre, half and post shows are lacking...Madden is far, far, far better than Faulk.

Needs improvement or the Bad?

1. The commentary is so dry from Hammond. I know this isn't an easy thing to do, but if it means choosing someone that is willing to spend hours and hours in the sound booth...please do it.

2. Defensive line and offensive line play is still off. I see some good stuff, but I also see a lot of bad. Specifically the sack at 2:00 in the 3rd Quarter. The right tackle didn't even block the defender.

3. The defenders jumping over other players just looks off to me. Especially when it's a huge lineman.

4. The handoff animation from Manning to Adhai at 2:30 in the 1st quarter looked strange. Maybe it's the quality of the video but it looked like some odd warping or suction took place.

5. While the pop out stats are nice, we need more. 2K5 did this so well with graphics and player images...it would be really nice to see something of that quality.

6. There seems to be a lack of cut scenes. And the ones that are there seem to repeat a lot. More views of the coaches and the sidelines would be nice. Maybe even rabid fans.

7. The overall speed still seems fast. And I don't mean straight speed, but the speed and ease of movement of the players. They just bounce around without effort it seems. The game needs more "weight".

8. Is it me, or were there no auto replays at all. Maybe you guys were just skipping them?

9. Pre, Half and Post game shows are pretty lackluster. I don't really care, but it's a big thing in the community.

10. There were no penalties outside of delay of game. I thought there were all new animations put in that would allow for more of this. I consider this a fairly large problem.

11. While a lot of the new tackles are great, some of the those old shoulder tackles are still there.

12. The QB pocket movement is way to fast. T-Jack was sliding back and forth like he was on a skateboard.

Thanks a lot for doing this Ian. The game looks so much improved and it looks like it will be a blast to play.