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05 December 2009
Many of us a ConsoleSports.net are big fans of Madden 10. This is really no surprise, since Madden 10 is easily the best and most critically acclaimed of this generation's Madden titles. I gotta give a big hats off to Ian Cummings and the gang down at EA Tiburon for so brilliantly producing a very high-quality and refined Madden release this year. When you factor in gameplay, presentation, graphics, sound, commentary, and sheer fun-factor, Madden 10 is tough to beat.
How good is it? Well, as an older gamer, -I'm 37- I was one of the the guys who rushed to my local Babbages software store on release day of Madden 92 on Sega Genesis. Myself and the guys on my college dorm floor played the heck out of the original Madden for Genesis, and we were all elated to read the news in the gaming trade mags that said the game was gonna be a yearly series. We circled Madden 92's release date on our calendars. Since then, the series has had its spectacular moments (like Madden '93, Madden 2001 and Madden 10) and the occasional mis-steps (like the passing cone of Madden 06, and ..uh...everything about Madden 06 on Next Gen... ;)
However, as good as Madden 10 is, there are many areas that can still be improved, polished, and refined for next year. How can EA/Tiburon make an already great game even better? I have compiled a bunch of my own thoughts on the matter just to sorta kick around a few ideas. Here they are.
Let's start with talking about my views on gameplay in this article, which will be followed up with presentation, and online articles-
Gameplay:
*It's time to do something about some of the bad forward-progress spots that ballcarriers get from the AI refs in the game. Defenders can often nudge a receiver back over the 1st down indicator, and the WR will go into an animation that takes him even further backwards (like some evasive move). Even though he earned the first down with his catch, the ball often still gets spotted short of the first down, regardless of forward progress.
*It is time to fix near-sideline receptions. Decent wide-receivers should do more near the sidelines to get their feet in on near-sideline receptions. Also, AI controlled wide-receivers should also run out of bounds due to such a touchy momentum model. I've won some cheap games against the AI because of their receivers running out of bounds when they clearly could have made the catch and run upfield.
*Player momentum needs an overall. Hitting a receiver on a hook or even a standstill often causes the player to exert forward momentum to catch the ball. In doing so, the receiver sacrifices important yards, and this is compounded with poor forward progress spots in the game. In this regard, the momentum model is too restrictive.
*Wide receiver AI needs a good kick in the butt overall. One good example is on stop patterns, hooks, and comeback patterns. Often the receiver just “stops” and the AI defenders will stand in front of him. Okay, so his initial pattern didn't get him open, but he should still look for holes in the zone (or move around against man coverage) once his main route terminates. It would be really cool if they tied this to some wide receiver intelligence rating of some sort. No veteran NFL receiver would ever stop his pattern behind a defender and just “sit there” until the QB gets sacked or has to throw the ball elsewhere. Of course, this would also require defender AI more dynamic to help counter this as well.
*The play of pulling guards needs significantly improved. As it stands currenly, even offensive guards who routinely can get out in front of a runner on a trap, counter, etc. don't seem to be able to get out in front of the play on many of the designed plays. There's a few such plays where it is almost guaranteed that even an average defensive end will able to be up-field before the pulling guard can get to him, causing these types of run games to be nearly suicidal for an offense to call.
*Gang tackling needs further tweaked. Quite often an offensive player who is engaged with a defender seems immune as it pertains to the game allowing a human controlled offender to apply a hit on him while he's stood up by an AI controlled defensive player. This just shouldn't be. The game should allow for this kind of extra contact so the extra man in can go apply a punishing hit.
*Outside linebacker play needs improved. It seems like all offensive lines are very adept at stopping outside linebackers who blitz. This is reflected also in the sim results. Guys like James Harrison and DeMarcus Ware are absolute beasts, yet they tend to be about as dangerous to QBs as a stationary blocking sled. It seems that even the most pedestrian offensive tackle can easily block All Pro outside linebackers on most blitzes from their position.
*Passing- I just feel it needs to be more “fun”. As it stands now, it seems too “automated”, in my opinion. I'd like to see gamers have more control of the passes in terms of aiming/leading/overthrow/underthrow. Yes, I realize that is kind of already in the game, but it is very understated and you don't always feel like it is working/responding.
*Play action passing needs improved. There's too many plays where the initial fake just takes way too long in duration, making many of those plays logistically worthless. The fakes need to be quicker, and give you passing control of your QB much faster than many of them allow. I do realize that there should be risk involved in play action, but with many of the PA plays in many of the playbooks, the risk is just way too great in my opinion.
*Put pump faking on the R-stick like it is with NCAA 10. This should be a tool in every quarterback's arsenal for moving safeties around. Sure, you can pump fake in Madden 10, but aiming the fake is often hit and miss and seemingly random- so you can't really move safeties around like you could with R-stick directional pump-faking.
*I'd really like to see some individual coverage options such as shading a WR inside or outside with some additional controls to defensive playmaker. Real corners will play inside or outside leverage games against various receivers, and also depending upon the coverage behind them. This would help defend against those people who make a living off of drag-routes all day long, or slot outs, etc. The risk reward here is making a hot “cornerback positioning” call- such as inside position, only to have the receiver run an out, and have greater separation than normal.
*Most NFL kickers need to have better legs in Madden. Few kickers in the NFL miss “short” unless they are trying from well beyond 52 yards or so. They usually miss left or right. However in Madden 10, its not uncommon to see human controlled kickers miss short from 45-52 yards, even if they are close to the max on the meter. I can see the “missing” part, but missing “short” at that range just isn't realistic. Granted, it can happen, but if you do manage to max out the kick power (or come close), no NFL kicker shouldn't be able to drive the ball- distance-wise, far enough for kicks from 45-55 yards out. Perhaps a better system should be a bit more “forgiving” of the kick power, yet less forgiving on the left/right control of the kick. Maybe that difficulty meter should fluctuate (in terms of aiming difficulty) in contrast to the distance of the kick. (Also- it seems that the AI controlled kickers seem to have better distance than the same kicker when you control him and get max power. That obviously needs to change too.
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