Well it’s been over a month since Madden NFL 10 was released and I am finally sitting down to write the review. Why has it taken me so long? Because I am more impressed with NCAA Football 10 and find myself going back to it instead of Madden.
As I stated in my review of NCAA Football 10, I have been a long time fan of the Madden series of football games, however NCAA Football 10 was so good this year, that I actually bought a 360 instead of borrowing Richard’s all of the time. Good thing I played NCAA Football 10 prior to Madden. Otherwise the 360 would still be sitting on a shelf at Best Buy.
I immediately jumped in to Franchise mode, and while the overall feel was impressive in visuals, I noticed that my defensive linemen were able to run down Adrian Peterson after Peterson was into the secondary. Really? I know Jared Allen is good, but come on!! Messing around in the settings I was able to make player speeds more realistic. My question, why didn’t the game ship with the settings like this?
Because I have been playing the shit out of NCAA Football 10, I went ahead and imported my team, then let the 360 sim the season. Once the season was over, I fired up the draft and looked for my player. Here’s where I got the most pissed at Madden. My Running Back was coming out of Boise State, as a two-time Heisman Memorial Trophy, two-time Doak Walker Award, two-time Maxwell Award winner and back-to-back National Championship winner. In NCAA Football 10, he had an overall of 98. In Madden? He had an overall of 67 and was projected a 3rd or 4th round Draft pick. WTF?!?!?! Say what you will about the Broncos in real life, however, in the game, I am playing in the Pac 10, not the WAC. 3rd or 4th round? Give me a break.
Controls weren’t bad, however I don’t like the fact that I can’t remap the controls to what I like. I hate, let me be clear on that, I HATE the fact pitching the ball is the left trigger. HOLY HELL!! Selecting the player closest to the ball still blows. Many a time, I would watch Randy Moss catch the ball, press the B button to switch to the corner covering him, only to suddenly have control of the player 15 yards away instead of the one 6 inches away.
Graphics in Madden are simply put, amazing. The new PRO-TAK system is really a step up on previous versions of Madden, however I got tired of the ‘Fight for the Fumble’ feature quickly and turned it off. In general, player movement and the character modeling look great and the animations are smooth. The rag-doll physics are on par with those seen in a game using the Havok engine. With the exception of the kicker animation after an extra point or a field goal. I swear they walk off the field looking like they have a stick up their ass.
The play-by-play is still pretty poor. I love having play-by-play, don’t get me wrong. However, I would like a little more consistency. Up 63-6 in the 4th Quarter with less than 8 minutes left to go. I ask Madden what play I should run, and he says “Remember, they need two scores.” Later, with less than 5 minutes to play and the score now 70-6, I again ask Madden what play to run, and he says “If you can play mistake free from here on out, you should be able to walk away with a victory.” Really? Joe Montana throwing to Jerry Rice couldn’t come back from that deficit.
The new ‘The Extra Point’ wrap-up with Fran Charles and Alex Flanagan is a jump towards a more realistic game, however I found it disappointing when my player’s name wasn’t said (Remember, I drafted him from NCAA Football 10). Which to me is lame, considering that Chris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond say his name just fine. The fact that there are no highlights to go with the game recaps brought my euphoria crashing back to earth quickly.
The hub is a vast improvement over previous iterations. Up-to-the-minute trades, injuries and signings. While I had fun in the Owner Mode of Madden 08, being able to set prices on tickets and parking, still isn’t something that I must have to enjoy my football.
The new Online Co-op and Online franchise modes are nice new features. Online Franchise takes Fantasy Football to a whole new level, you and 31 of your friends can play though seasons in the same way that you play them in offline mode. The iPhone application tie-in is just one more little touch that EA has done to this years game to make it a blast. The Online Co-op was crap due to the camera view used and not worth even mentioning.
This is a great game, and it has some nice additions to previous versions that make it a lot of fun. However, the little things that I have mentioned, really turned me off to it. I have put many many more hours into NCAA Football 10 (6-1/2 complete seasons compared to 2-1/2 in Madden). Would I buy this game? Not new. I’ll find it on Amazon or at my local video game trading post.
Originally published September 23, 2009 on GamersRevenge.com
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