Madden 360 - Drops and Pass Deflections
Here’s the final bizarre stats line from that exhibition game (Lions/Broncos):
- 12 Drops (Denver 3, Detroit 9; That number would be much higher if itincluded DB drops)
- 7 Interceptions (Denver 5, Detroit 2; That number should be higher for both teams)
- 14 “defended” passes (7 Denver, 7 Detroit)
While, graphically, Madden is more polished than NCAA, I’m not sure the gameplay is. The animations, in particular, I could really get to like, but the deflection thing is, as Bill would say, batshit crazy. It seems much worse on that front than NCAA (360) - where it really only bugs me in isolated cases. This game was driving me crazy. I’m not sure a thrown ball ever hit turf without going off somebody’s hands. And the interception issue is a red flag as well. You do not often see a team throw five picks in a game. I mean it happens, but it’s rare.
Right now, my gut feeling is that it won’t be long before I go back to NCAA. NCAA has its issues, but I really find the gameplay in that one to be a lot of fun. I’m not sure I’m going to feel the same way about Madden after I’ve played it for a week or two. Hopefully it was just a wonky game. If not, then hopefully, sliders will deal with some of the drops/deflection/interception numbers, but it’ll probably hinge a lot on whether or not the QB Accuracy slider does anything. (Since every pass is more or less on target if you don’t throw on the run.)
August 23rd, 2006 at 6:43 pm
Is this for the 360? I haven’t had a real issue with drops so far (All-Pro, dfault sliders). All the drops I have seen have been warranted. I have had a few cases though of a receiver not looking back for the ball and having it hit him in the back.
What I have noticed is that the CPU QBs are tearing it up against me. They are completing around 70% of their passes (I’m playing as the Dolphins and our secondary is fairly weak this year though, so maybe that is it).
And one thing that I see as a potential problem down the line is the number of pancakes I am seeing. It seems like all the blocking downfield results in players getting leveled, taking them out of the play complete. This could be annoying if it cannot be controlled.
August 24th, 2006 at 6:21 am
On the PC version there are a lot of issues as well. I just played a game of the Saints vs Falcons. in which the Saints won 3-0. Michael Vick had no rushing yards, was sacked 5 times, and was 2 for 19 on passes with a lot of dropped passes including numerous wide open dropped balls. I was the Saints and I should of lost like 28-3.
On level 3 (I forget the level names) I have now had back to back shutouts and the CPU has had back to back horrible QB performances. Farve and Vick. In fact last night I adjusted the CPU sliders to help them with their passing.
I wonder who tests these games that they don’t notice problems that are so obvious.
August 24th, 2006 at 10:32 am
There’s no external beta testing. Those pesky testers might delay the game complaining about “irrelevent” stuff like that. Gotta release it in time for the NFL season, baby.
August 24th, 2006 at 1:13 pm
The thing is, it’s almost impossible to pin a game’s problems on testing because a lot of times beta test teams will identify issues that the developer or publisher is either unable or unwilling to fix. I firmly believe the biggest problem behind the littany of bugs and issues we see in games these days (especially on console games) has more to do with process than with the people doing the testing.
August 25th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
Don’t know about the 360 version but on the PS2, you can bomb all day.
Makes the game a bit like it was 3 or 4 years ago.
Or some versions of NCAA where you can’t complete short and medium passes but the bombs are there all the time.