The Blog for the Sports Gamer

I hate not addressing people by a name in the comments section. Fake name, pet name, something! Anyway I appreciate the emails, ICQs, and the comments about Madden’s franchise mode. A few things:

I looked everywhere for the draft pick trading during the draft. I thought I checked it up and down, I’ll have to do it again. I know you can do this during the year, but maybe I missed the trade screen during the draft.

Many people commented about the newspaper being better than I am giving it credit. Ok. I just simmed, I’ll have to check the papers during the season to get a better feel for it. Can I still hate the Bruno thing?

As for ESPN, I really have only messed with the franchise mode sparingly. The wife and child are at the Inlaws from now until Saturday so I’ll be able to really hammer away at both games. I’ve heard about the QBs returning kicks in ESPN (but haven’t seen it. Anyone care to comment on this?) I wonder how that happens? Are they actually on the depth chart like that?

Actually, I have ESPN loaded up right now and am testing the trade AI. The reason I really didn’t hammer Madden too badly on the Lions QB trade (drafting three Qbs though…naughty naughty) is because no game has “good” trade AI. Even a lot of text games have trade AI that’s just plain goofy. So to come down too harshly on Madden or ESPN for having suspect trade AI is kinda unfair. Here’s a doozie I had in ESPN tonight:

3rd string RB James Jackson + backup TE-H Back Steve Heiden + my 3rd rnd pick for Arizona’s 1st round pick. The GM that makes that trade gets fired the next day. In ESPN they jumped all over it.

One thing about ESPN that drives me batty is that every time I start a new franchise the Dolphins cut Sam Madison! Why!? Surely someone else sees this. It happens every single time.

Ah well.

I’m playing Pats vs Steelers. PIT has 1st and Goal at the 2. They pass. I pick it out of the end zone. I’m trying to down it, but someone hits me and I fumble out of the endzone. They call it a safety and I have to kick it off. Where I’m in the endzone, if I were tackled it would be a touchback, no? So why the safety? I didn’t fumble at the 1? I’d love a discussion on this.

Whenever someone, be it Joe Gamer or the fluff-filled sports gaming press (I’m a member of that club, but still, yeah, as a group we’re way too easy on games) — Anyway–whenever I hear someone say that “Game X has the Best *Insert Feature Here* EVER! Well, that sends alarm bells off in my head; I gotta see it for myself because so many times it turns out to be bunk.

Madden’s Franchise Mode has been touted as the Rolls Royce of video sports game franchise modes, and a big reason why Madden is the game of choice over ESPN. Fair enough.

I spent pretty much the entire day analyzing Madden’s franchise play, and I’m a bit underwhelmed. Maybe it’s the hype from reading all the glorious things some have said about it, but while I am pleasantly surprised by Madden’s gameplay, franchise mode has some issues.

Here’s a few thoughts and some questions for those with the game:

• First off, how does Jeff Garcia make it to the Pro Bowl with a 77.4 QB rating? The Browns made the playoffs in the 2004 test sim winning the division at 9-7, but Garcia had a so-so year. (On a side note, I still consider Cleveland in the AFC Central. I still have not adjusted to that realignment thing.)
  
• Stats, on the whole look OK. INTs were pretty high in every test sim, but nothing outrageous. The QBs ratings as a result are lower than normal, but ESPN is just the opposite. You’ll see 4-5 QBs with 100+ ratings in ESPN for the season whereas in Madden maybe 1 guy will crack 90. So pick your poison.
  
• The biggest issue I have with Madden’s franchise mode, aside from the incredibly annoying Tony Bruno EA Radio thing (the fake callers (not the coaches) are just friggin’ grating to the ears) is the fact that it leaves you guessing when doing very important stuff. So you can totally screw your team up without even knowing it. Here’s what I mean:
  
• When resigning players after the season, you have no idea who is potentially going to be in the FA pool or in the draft. Maybe I don’t want to resign my greedy 84 rated OLB when I know there might be a lot of players available at that position? But I may have to sign him back if I know that position will be light in the offseason. In Madden, you’re left to guess, which is NEVER GOOD in a franchise mode. (I need to go back and look at ESPN’s franchise mode, it may have some of these same issues.)
  
• The draft. You need to be able to see the draft order when you are scouting players at the combine. You just gotta. You are only allowed to scout so many players, which is also kinda silly. So once I’m in the 4th round or so I have no clue about the details of these guys? Surely they can come up with a better game mechanic than this? (I have bones to pick with ESPN’s draft too in this regard). I’m all for not seeing hard numbers on draft day, that’s cool, but I need more info than a guy’s shuttle time, ya know?
  
• Not a big deal, but why does every team get an A- to an A+ Draft Grade? Did everyone knock ‘em dead?
  
• On draft day, how do you trade picks? I see teams wheeling and dealing left and right on draft day, but all I can do is trade players? I know you can trade picks during the year, but you must be able to do this on draft day as well, especially if the other teams can do it.
  
• Major Issue Alert: The Lions drafted 3 QBs on draft day. Harrington was pissed, I hear. One of thse QBs was the #1 pick overall, and he was an 83 overall right out of the draft. 99 Arm Strength and an 89 Accuracy.
  
• Being the shrewed GM that I am, I offer the Lions my 1st round pick and my 3rd round pick in 2005 and I toss in Kelly Holcomb (like the Lions need more QBs)–and they take it. Hire me Butch Davis!
  
• On the fluff side, I don’t care for the newspaper thing. I like how NCAA does this; it’s simpler and less cheesy.
  
• Teams struggle to sign players for need at times during FA. A example, why does Denver sign Josh McCown to a 5 year deal worth 17 million when they have Plummer for 5 years at 20?
  
• Other than this, it seems like a run of the mill franchise mode. (I like the player progression during the season, though) Better than ESPN? Both have holes, let’s put it that way.

Oh, and if anyone can straighten me out on any of these things, especially the draft pick trading on draft day, please let me know how to do it.

I’m asked over MSN, ICQ and AIM what my thoughts are about Bill liking Madden so far. Well, Bill is a big boy, he can make his own decisions, which may or may not be the same as mine. Most of the time we agree. This is going to be one of those times we don’t. Try as I might, I simply cannot enjoy the game of Madden NFL. I totally despised the game last year (with the exception of the PC game, which was fun, if you had the right controller), but this year from the interface on down doesn’t make me long for the game at all, which is totally in contrast to NFL2K5, which I look forward to putting in my Xbox after a day at the real job.

Some comment posters would call this a ‘bias,’ and if it is, so be it. The fact remains, I do not enjoy Madden. Does it mean I’m “Anti-EA”? Come on. Anti-Bush, sure, but Anti-EA? No. I have a lot of friends that like EA games, so I can’t be pre…oh never mind. It doesn’t matter.

Hey, speaking of crap, the October EGM reviews NHL 2005 and ESPN NHL. Guess which one wins. Hint: Not EA. Of course, even though there will be no hockey season, I’ll drop the $20 for the game anyway. LOL.

One EA game that I’m really keeping my fingers crossed on is the NASCAR game. Let’s just hope that the Xbox version isn’t a PS2 port. And of course, I’m really, really hoping that by keeping Madden and NCAA, I will unlock that elusive “Sterling Marlin” #40 cheat card in the NASCAR game thanks to my EA Bio. Bwhahahaha.

I’m finding Madden, the more I play it, to be a highly playable game. It is 100X the game NCAA 2005 is; I can’t believe the two games come from the same company, that’s how big of a difference there is, and for me, it’s usually the other way around. I usually end up being lukewarm to Madden and totally hooked on NCAA. This year, NCAA 2005 is a chore to play whereas Madden, after spending the day with it, plays a pretty darn good game of football.

I still need to find settings that I like because default All pro is too easy to run, and now that I’m getting used to the passing game, Garcia is lighting it up. Finding settings that fit my style of play will be crucial, but I haven’t done much tinkering yet. Still, there are definite advantages that Madden has over ESPN–and vice versa.

I much prefer the “hold to sprint” method that Madden uses rather than the thumb jarring speed burst of ESPN. Plus, if a fast runner gets behind the defense in Madden, he’s gone. Plain and simple. In ESPN, no matter where I put that Pursuit slider, fast players get caught from behind all the time. I hate that. On All Pro, there is no speed cheat in Madden. In Madden, a 90 speed is faster than an 80 speed–considerably so, while in ESPN that’s not always the case.

However, the tackling model in ESPN is a WHOLE lot better. Breaking tackles in Madden is just too rare, at least so far. They happen, but usually players get nailed by the first guy they meet, and that’s not very accurate. I hate that I can bring down Priest Holmes with CB Anthony Henry 80% of the time.

Now that I’m doing more leading on my passes (thanks for those that sent in that little tip) I’m find the passing game to be a lot of fun. I’m seeing more YAC in Madden than I do in ESPN. I also like ESPN’s pass model, but I much prefer ESPN’s defensive back animations and position. I HATE HATE HATE the Air Jordan swat the pass away animation in Madden. Good lord that’s dumb. How many times in an NFL game do you see a CB leap up as high as he can to swat a pass away? It just looks so out of place.

Could Al Michaels be any less interested? He’s at the 40…the 30…*yawn* the 20…he scores. EA–fix the audio, please. It’s morgue-like.

ESPN has a definite edge in animations, Madden still feels a tad stiff to me. BUT…Madden appears to be the “safer” game, if that makes any sense. I haven’t seen any of the odd bugs that pop up from time to time in ESPN and IF the franchise mode in Madden is as good I as hear it is…hoo boy it’s gonna be a tough call as to which game is better (for me). I have a lot of Madden yet to play and one day is by no means enough to gauge a game’s worth, but I like Madden a lot more than I thought I would.

EA has launched their “free” premium pass. Free is in quotes because it’s free in the same way those porn sites say free. You have to give them a credit card to sign up. You need to cancel before August 1, 2005 or else you’ll be charged $19.95. Like anyone will remember come next July to cancel their Premium Pass subscription. I should do that too. Click here to sign up for blog for sports gamer premium pass. Only $24.95, but free for the first five years.

Anyway, go check it out and let me know how it is as lord knows I ain’t buying it. I mean jesus, $50 for Xbox Live and then another $20 for this on top of the $50 for Madden? Eat me.

After playing a few games on All pro difficulty…I’m gonna have to find some sliders or drop to Pro. Man the DB swatting and recovery speed is just amazing. When Quincy Morgan has 2 steps on a DB and he’s running a 12 yard out–no way does Chad Scott make up those steps while the ball is in the air. Man oh man is that frustrating. I know Garcia doesn’t have a cannon, but damn!

Dropping to Pro level will officially put me in Wuss Mode, but I dunno if I can stomach stuff like that on a regular basis. Watching the replays of some of my passes, it’s stunning how fast the DBs react. How often do you see 3 DBs swatting the ball away like a house fly on a pass 35 yards down the field that isn’t a Hail Mary? This stuff isn’t really new to Madden and NCAA 2005 does this in SPADES. Still annoying though.

The good news, for me, is that the CPU offense can definitely move the ball and will throw screens. I love to see that.

A few random thoughts thus far:

Madden and Al suck. Bad.

The graphics are way, way behind ESPN. This isn’t the be all end all important thing, but for a company that is SO wrapped up in giving gamers good eye candy, that’s a shock to me.

Kick returning is a hell of a lot better in Madden. This is clear after just 3 games.

More later…

Impressions later today as I go into crunch mode for the comparison article.

1st impression:

Holy cow this looks kinda ugly, and how does Trent Green run a play action fake and turn his back to the play and still fire it in for a 15 yard gain? Anyway, actual impressions later today.

I do really, really, really, love the accelerated clock. I know it’s not new, but I am SO sick of playing 7, 8 or 9 minute quarters in ESPN. Man, that’s so dumb.

…and discover that it’s totally fubared. I have heard that it has holes, like odd trade AI and such, but check this out:

I have preseason games on, and after the first week, Tampa cut Brad Johnson, Miami cut Sam Madison AND Junior Seau. I mean…wtf? I reloaded and the same thing happened. So not only does it seem like skipping preseason is advised, but it’s damn near mandatory. Good lord I hope it doesn’t do this shit week to week…

But the GameSpot comparison article didn’t mention any of this. In fact, it said the franchise mode AI was pretty good. Gee, I wonder how much they PLAYED the franchise mode? Just spitballin’ that out there. Hard to miss that, though.

And the Draft! How frustrating is THAT!? Teams not drafting for need, SEVEN tackles taken, IN A ROW, in the first round?! Poor Mel Kiper Jr. actually touted a center as the FIRST pick, and he didn’t go until round 2. Come on Sega, what the hell? If you’re gonna do all this snazzy ESPN Mel Kiper stuff..do it right. He had two centers and a FB set for the first 5 picks. Mel, come on bro.

Man the initial franchise impression isn’t um..good. At all.

The schedules are set and the league is ready to go. Check it out. Okay, so what if I’m using the 2002 kickoff logo. Sue me. Magic link is right here. Damn, what a crappy schedule. I have to play 5 away games? oh well, good thing this game is all about gameplay and not about screen shaking.

GameSpy asked me to do a comparison article between the two football games. The due date is next Monday so it should be online within a week and a half or so. Guess I’ll be getting that console version sooner than expected…

Whoa, you guys! I’m shocked at how fast the league is filling up. I post on a Sunday and within hours, 6 of 8 slots are filled. If you want in you better hurry. Make no mistake this is *the* league to join. LOL.

If I know it was going to be this popular, I would have expanded the league. Maybe next ’season’.

All I can say is that if you’re looking for that pick up and play arcade experience, you’ll love Outrun 2. It does have some goofy Japanese stuff in it, like earning hearts for your girlfriend by powersliding, but the arcade game is a blast. Reminds me a lot of Daytona USA for the Dreamcast in terms of visuals — not anything ohmygawd, but definitely manageable.

I haven’t gone online with it yet, the game is still early (you can’t take screenshots). The mission mode is interesting, all about different tasks — finish first, powerslide, etc. As you complete the mini missions, you unlock more stuff.

It’s definitely not a sim game. It’s totally arcade and that’s fine with me. Right now, I’m hoping it’s a budget title, but there’s no MSRP. For a budget title this game will be well worth it. For a full price…eh, well let me play with it some more.

Okay, it’s league time. We’re doing an 8 team league with 8 “weeks,” weeks is in quotes because we’re doing 4 days between rounds. Trades ok, weather is random, equalizer is OFF. I’m the Patriots again.

League name: bsg Password: bsg

7 slots left. Hurry!

League homepage: http://leagues.espnvideogames.com/t/league.php?l=28715

I’m trying to be really good about this whole Swift Boat thing. I’m bitting my tongue, and besides today is my 10 year wedding anniversary so I’m trying to be good (hence not playing games or posting much). However, I will tell you if the Sunday morning shows piss me off, I’m going ballistic on here. Of course maybe I shouldn’t watch them and then I won’t get pissed off, but that’s no fun…..