Back to Indy; Madden in Hand
Well, I’m back from sunny Panama City Beach, Florida. We took in the beaches and the restaurants and I took in a nasty, blistering sunburn on my right shoulder that turned into two days of fever, chills and a kind of fatigue I’ve never experienced in my life (and that’s coming from a narcoleptic). By dinnertime on Thursday (I got the burn on Tuesday) I literally just landed on the couch and hardly moved again the rest of the night. It actually felt like work just to breath. It was bizarre. Nevertheless, a good time was had by all. My daughter, in particular, loved the “big” waves in the ocean (they weren’t big, but she’s a model 2.8, so everything looks big to her). You don’t know the joy of parenting until your kid is looking at you, giggling with joy, shouting, “Save me, daddy! Save me!” every time a wave comes as she wraps her arms around your neck. That’s absolute, freaking daddy nirvana, right there.
Anyway, I picked up a rental copy of Madden last night. I don’t have much in the way of impressions yet. I’ve played an exhibition game (Lions vs. Packers) and went through a month of the Superstar mode. I had been reading good things about this mode from a couple sources, but I’m sorry to say, that I’m much more in tune with Bill Harris’s early impressions. It’s improved, but it’s still a complete joke in far too many areas. For example, if your superstar isn’t on the field the game runs at double speed. That’s fine. But from what I can tell, the game clock does not. That alone completely unhinges this mode and ensures that I’ll not be touching it again. I will say the workout and combine modes are better this year, but the draft happens completely behind the scenes, without expressly telling you the round/pick in which you were drafted. Nor does there appear to be any contract negotiation (at least not for your rookie contract) in the game. I mean really, why even bother having you hire an agent if you’re not going to get to haggle over a contract, threaten to hold out, etc?
The exhibition game I played was enjoyable, though. The tackling animations are really much better than I expected and, visually, it is a much more polished game than NCAA, so I do have my hopes up to an extent. However, I am worried that if the batted ball issue in NCAA bugs you then Madden will offer no respite. I must’ve seen a dozen or more batted balls in my game last night. I was something like 5 of 18 throwing the ball. Couldn’t find an open receiver to save my life… but then, that’s sort of how the Lions offense operates, right? (It certainly looked that way in Cleveland last Friday.)
August 26th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
I spent some time at Panama City Beach in an RV. To see a flash presentation about traveling in Florida, click here: The Dacrons flash travel blog WARNING: can get very silly at times.