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[Fifty]

I have no idea. But the game is mine now. I'd be glad to answer any questions you guys might have regarding the game.

 

[DMczaf]

fifty has Madden?! Blame Canada

 

[Fifty]

Great....First thing I do is turn off all EA TRAX. Thank god. Now the menus can have our custom soundtracks instead of that swill. You can also choose from the few good TRAX and keep them with the rest of your music if you want to.

 

[Matrix]

I wish I was Fifty,except without his MVP baseball skillz.

 

[Fifty]

-Premium pass doesn't seem to be up yet. No worries.

-Online stats and career info is exactly like NCAA, which is awesome.

-Aug 4th roster update is downloadable, I downloaded it automatically.

- Everything is very smooth with logging in online

The update is great. Woodson is off the Raiders. Ricky off the fins (boston's still on). Heh, even Tim Brown is off the Raiders. Cool stuff. I'm about to play an actual game, I'm just doing the easy stuff now.

 

[cubanb]

so jealous

 

[Matrix]

Fify,what are the Texans ranked? better or worse then in NFL2K5.

 

[Fifty]

I thought that info was already posted. Ok, well I'll tell you in a bit. I'm playing a game now. You guys want real impressions, right/

 

[Matrix]

Doh they most likely were posted and I forgot them

Yes impressions please..please no dropped balls and slowdown!

 

[Fifty]

Texans: 73 OVR, 81 OFF, 72 DEF

No slowdown so far. The AI is much like NCAA's from what I've played so far. There are no crazy tips that I've seen, but I can't rule that out. The players work very well as a unit and when I toss a ball over the middle the MLB didn't think twice about catching it. The few completions I've seen have had a man right on the WR at the time of the catch. I'll update this post as I go on.

 

[cubanb]

any easy short passes being dropped?

 

[Fifty]

No. I actually saved my game so I could go into practice mode and test more specific things out, and I haven't seen a dropped pass in 9 open tries.

Dear god the hit stick rocks. It's just amazing. So brutal...

Zone seems to actually work!

The DBs are very, very smart.

 

[dskillzhtown]

Sweet, I just left EB to pay off Madden. I traded in 5 of those Circuit City games and now Madden is paid off. Basically 5 games that I enjoyed for a week or 2 for Madden. Good deal.

 

[Fifty]

Rushing Attack is a great minigame that you can play online. It's basically the HB minicamp game, except you each get a chance on O and D. Obviously the running side tries to get TDs and gain yards, and the D tries to stop them. You get extra points for TDs (yards give points as well) and extra points for a fumble or a consecutive hit on D. It's a really fun way to kll some time by the looks of it.

-The Hit stick balance seems to be very fair. By that I mean that it really rewards skill...You can't just tap it and get fumbles, you need to line the player up to have a good shot at a massive hit, and if you aren't in the perfect spot you might just make fool of yourself. I started off doing tons of hits, but against a better RB I found myself pressing X for a normal tackle instead of risking the massive hit. Gunstar, you and Dawkins will really, really enjoy this feature.

 

[dskillzhtown]

How are teh graphics/animations? Do you notice a huge difference in quality?

 

[Fifty]

No. The animations have improved, especially the hits, but no. That's not to say they haven't improved somewhat, but I'm answering the question you asked.

 

[Matrix]

Sweet,thx Fifty

 

[Fifty]

God this game is fantastic. I love the franchise mode. I didn't think I'd have much time to play it, because I usually spend all my time online, but it's so well done that I know I'll make time for it if I have to. The storyline central is great, and the depth is just stunning.

 

[DMczaf]

How's the defensive AI, Fifty? Do they react a lot more realistically?

 

[Slo]

MADDEN

 

[Fifty]

How's the defensive AI, Fifty? Do they react a lot more realistically?

Than ESPN?

Heh, either way they do. It's better than last year's game, and much, much better than this year's ESPN. The zone coverage is the smartest I have seen in a game, and the players actually do what they're supposed to do on man plays. So yes, it's very realistic.

 

[dskillzhtown]

God this game is fantastic. I love the franchise mode. I didn't think I'd have much time to play it, because I usually spend all my time online, but it's so well done that I know I'll make time for it if I have to. The storyline central is great, and the depth is just stunning.

Hate to bombard you with questions, but is the Tony Bruno deal just random content or actually about what is going on in your season?

 

[Fifty]

I welcome all questions . So far it has been random, but I haven't gone into the radio show menu, I've just been hearing what automatically plays when you're just changing rosters...etc, in the menus. I'll see what's in the actual "Tony Bruno Radio" area.

Ok, when I go into the 'EA Sports Radio" area, it gives me 3 options. One skips the current radio segment, one replays the current one, and the final option lets you listen to music. So far they've just been random interviews and call-ins..

 

[Ramirez]

Steelers ratings?And Deuce?

 

[Fifty]

http://sports.ign.com/madden05/steelers.html


http://sports.ign.com/articles/536/536657p1.html

scroll down for a list of all teams.

 

[Bog]

Where's Ricky, if not on the Dolphins? Free Agents?

 

[dskillzhtown]

Sounds great. Thanks for the answers. The radio show seems to be pretty entertaining from what I have read. I'll have mine tomorrow hopefully. I am looking forward to see if they finally added shadows to Reliant Stadium. They looked great in ESPN, and accurately reflected play in that stadium.

 

[Fifty]

Where's Ricky, if not on the Dolphins? Free Agents?

I think he's out of the game. I didn't see him as a FA. He did file his retirement papers after all.. I'll confirm in a bit, although I'm very confident that the above is true.

 

[Bog]

I hope so. It'd be weak if he was just a FA that another team could pick up (in Franchise and such).

 

[dskillzhtown]

I wonder if they will have him as a FA for next season in Franchise mode.

 

[Fifty]

I just played game one of my franchise Madden is the king of football!!

14-10 Ravens. My first game of ESPN was 45-27

Todd Heap was the player of the game with 84 yards and 2 TDs on 5 receptions.

 

[Fifty]

I played my first game online. Smooth as a baby's bottom....although there were about 10 people online :O

I lost 14-0 to the Eagles (who would have guessed he'd pick them!), at least the guy was a legit player. Since the game has such a great career stat tracking feature, I figured I'd get a game in tonight I'm 0-1....but I'm the 21st ranked player!!! hehehehe

 

[effzee]

when is it coming out? tom or tues for most areas?


and am i the only poor soul who is getting it for gamecube? i dont have money to buy another system just a for an online experience....i find madden to be fine on gamecube cept the no online part.

 

[Ristamar]

and am i the only poor soul who is getting it for gamecube?

I have a GC copy reserved.

 

[effzee]

I have a GC copy reserved.

ohhh cool when is is coming out? i guess ill drop by EB on tues since i have work tom.

 

[shpankey]

Tell me about it, the shoulder charge button is WAY too effective when Garrison fucking Heasrt can push over Derrick Brooks for an extra 3-4 yards.

G. Hearst had one of the greatest runs I've ever seen (as a 49'er) when he ran like 90+ yards and literally bowled over like 3 guys on his way to a touchdown. I mean he was knockin' mf'ers out! I know D. Brooks is all planet, but don't count it out... Hearst is a pretty powerful runner actually.

And I hate the 49'ers as I'm a Cowboy fan.

http://forums.operationsports.com/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=90782&page=3&pp=10

Wsv771: XBox version DOES have custom soundtracks. Not in-game like ESPN's stadium music, but when you're flipping through music you can hear any tunes you have on your XBox as your background music. 'Bout time, too.]

They had that in Madden 2004. What does he mean "'Bout time"?

 

[Fifty]

I said the EA Sports radio seemed random, well I just hadn't got to the good stuff yet. Recently I've heard

- Trade announcements
- Fantasy Player of the week
- Injury updates

and all of this played while I was moving around my depth chart. It's a great feature.

 

[Matrix]

Sweet have you noticed any stupid trades like in espn...I was playing the Texans against the Jets with Farve as their QB :|

 

[Fifty]

I haven't noticed any yet. In fact the only trade I saw was one for a draft pick. Then again, most NFL trades happen in the offseason. The trade AI seems very good. I tested it by proposing some crazy trades and it didn't come close to biting.

 

[Fifty]

Lost in OT, but I found something really cool out. I'm not sure if this happens only in OT, or at the end of the 4th as well, but when a player is going for a game winning FG, the camera moves behind the kicker for a cinematic shot, and the ball, once in the air, goes in slow motion through the uprights (or wide of them) Pretty damn cool, although I wish he had missed

 

[yodathesoda]

I've been playing all night and it's good to play a football game where I don't worry about bugs or pathetic AI ruining anything. So far I'm impressed with the hit stick and the franchise improvements but still have to get better on D. Seems funny for the year of the Defense that my roomate and I just played a game where he beat me 66 to 48 or something like that on 5 minute quarters. Then again we just started and have been playing ESPN for weeks and have yet to really adjust. The game is just much cleaner than ESPN but I'm still on the fence as to which is the best.

 

[Malleymal]

good looking fifty on all the impressions...

 

[Ristamar]

So what's the deal. I thought the 12th was the street date, but I see that most places have the game listed as NOW SHIPPING, and some already have the game?. Is it supposed to hit all stores early?

EDIT: Thanks DM, looks like I'll be pestering EB with a phonecall tonight.

 

[DMczaf]

So what's the deal. I thought the 12th was the street date, but I see that most places have the game listed as NOW SHIPPING, and some already have the game?. Is it supposed to hit all stores early?

The 12th is the day that pretty much all stores will have it, the 9th is when it ships. Some stores (EB, Gamestop) will have it this afternoon or tonight.

 

[Malleymal]

yeah I may get it tonight... depends on what I feel like doing tonight.....

 

[cubanb]

found a place 40 minutes away that will have it at 6pm today. OH HELLS YEA

 

[WasabiKing]

I don't doubt the AI has improved, but I'm going to run my favorite set of plays against the AI and I'll see if the DBs and LBs pick it up after 3 or so calls. From what I remember from the E3 demo, it was still there, but I really think it was because the game mode was on rookie.

I really want to see how the awareness of a player affects offense AND defense. I don't really want to see a weak ass DB become the interception machine, you know?

 

[alejob]

So is EA getting ready to slap us with a monthly/yearly rate for the premium online thing next year or what?

 

[Ristamar]

Apparently my store here in PA will have it at 1pm tomorrow.

 

[DMczaf]

Played 1 game so far and I'm loving it, I just love the little things that Madden gets right over ESPN that come up huge later on while you are playing like AI thats not retarded and no wasted animations that cause your DBs to miss a play on a WR (like how a DB will sit there in a catching animation while the WR just runs by and grabs the ball).