Chris The Rock Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 I've long been a fan of Sega's football releases, and this year's is by far the best. It's nice to finally see the game getting its props from the reviewers. I've also enjoyed Madden football since the very first release on the Genesis in 1990. If it had not been for the fact that Madden wasn't available on the Sega Dreamcast, I may never have played another football game (although I did enjoy 989 sports NFL Gameday series in the late 90's). In 2001, I bought Madden 2002 and really enjoyed it, although it was different from the feeling of the NFL2K series. After getting Xbox, however, I have owned Sega NFL games exclusively. With the low price on 2K5 this year, I decided that I'd splurge and get both Madden and ESPN 2K5, but instead of getting them both on the Xbox, I got the Collector's Edition of Madden for the PS2, mostly because of the extra features. After playing both (although admittedly, I've played quite a bit more ESPN 2K5), I can say that without a doubt - that I enjoy ESPN 2k5 more than I enjoy Madden. Madden looks, feels, and in my opinion - plays - more like "a game" and less like real football. Oh, yes, I know there are exceptions to this, but I calls 'em as I sees 'em. And I suppose it's a good idea for a video game to behave like a video game. I will say, though, that it is nice to have both. And I'll also say it's nice to be able to have them on different systems, in different rooms of the house. It's much easier to enjoy the games for what they are, rather than constantly comparing them to each other. If there were one perfect football game this year, I imagine it would be a combination of these two games. I really like the ease of Madden's Playmaker and Hit Stick controls. I also like all of the mini-games, tutorials, and extras that Madden packs in, especially in the Collector's Edition. However, no better feature has ever been introduced than the new VIP system in 2k5. I can't wait to see how that feature gets better over the years. The Graphics and Sound in 2k5 also leave little room for improvement, and are far beyond what Madden has to offer. (Especially the wretched commentary in Madden! Egch!) At the end of the day, the perfect game this year (in my opinion) would be 80% 2k5, 20% Madden. Maybe 70/30. Since this board is mostly free of fanboys, I'll bet we could have a good discussion. That is, if we're not already sick of hearing this elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Zot Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 I'm dying to pick up 2K5, it has been sold out the last 4-5 times I've been in the game isle. Plenty of Maddens, but I need to start with the $20 title and move up from there (mental thing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyN Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 Ive played Both and I like ESPN's gameplay more. Its a little realistic in certain areas which i like, such as passing and defense capt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bryan Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 I have Madden. See my PS2 online thread. I'm my favorite opponent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 I have both games and since getting madden all I've picked ESPN up to do is play online in the leagues. With a good set of sliders I'm getting much better overall gameplay from madden. The franchise mode is far supperior and more engrossing. I think I actually liked ESPN's franchise better last year. There are things I like about both games but I really like the playmaker control. As well as the new defensive controls on madden. The defense AI is much improved this year and shutdown corners will shut you down. I haven't used much of the hit stick as I don't get too good of a line most of the time. There are a few things that I really like about both games. And both games are excellent. I need to play some madden on XBL to see how it is so I can compare everything. The one place I will say that espn wins hands down is the graphics and presentation. Although madden still wins in overall polish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnEBGood Posted August 23, 2004 Report Share Posted August 23, 2004 im not sure how to put this....ive been a madden fan my whole life...EA thru and thru. then this past weekend i played ESPN a whole lot...and wow....once i got used to the controls, etc etc...i was rather impressed...esp for the price. so i dont know....im too damn torn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Failsafe Posted August 26, 2004 Report Share Posted August 26, 2004 Originally posted by JohnEBGood@Aug 23 2004, 06:20 PM im not sure how to put this....ive been a madden fan my whole life...EA thru and thru. then this past weekend i played ESPN a whole lot...and wow....once i got used to the controls, etc etc...i was rather impressed...esp for the price. so i dont know....im too damn torn. I can sense the same feeling approaching for ESPN Hockey 2K5 and NHL 2005. I've been an EA loyalist for life, but ESPN seems to have done such a damn fine job with football, I dunno. :? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Union Carbine Posted August 26, 2004 Report Share Posted August 26, 2004 I've played both. I love the presentation in ESPN - it is lightyears ahead of EA but I like Madden's gameplay a touch better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTello Posted August 26, 2004 Report Share Posted August 26, 2004 What I find interesting is that both game series, the EA's vs. the ESPN's are getting so tight that it leaves little room for either one to let down. Obviously this is bliss for us as gamers, but I'm sure both companies sweat hard over who'll slip first and release a significantly inferior product. We'll see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LupinLives Posted August 26, 2004 Report Share Posted August 26, 2004 I have played both and I just don't like Madden's gameplay. The running game feels more like pinball than football. It would take a lot to get me to spend fifty on another Madden game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrillho Posted August 26, 2004 Report Share Posted August 26, 2004 I have both also. And I rarely play anything but ESPN now. I preferred madded in the past because running the ball felt more realistic, and Just holding A to run full speed was always better than mashing on the A button in sega. Also when running in Sega's previous versions I always felt it was real floaty, like I wasn't attached to the ground, and the running backs had no weight to them. However Sega seems to have fixed that this year and I really like it alot better than Madden now. Also the graphics in madden are absolute Dog Poo this year. I play on HD and Sega just smokes it in that aspect, especially with player modeling. On Madded they all look like stuby overmuscled meat heads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted August 26, 2004 Report Share Posted August 26, 2004 I can sense the same feeling approaching for ESPN Hockey 2K5 and NHL 2005. I've been an EA loyalist for life, but ESPN seems to have done such a damn fine job with football, I dunno. IMO there's no comparision in the hockey world. The gameplay in ESPN is 10x better than in EA's game. But I've hated just about every EA hockey game since the switch to 3D, even before the 2K series was out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnEBGood Posted August 27, 2004 Report Share Posted August 27, 2004 EA lost me in the hockey realm after last year's debacle of the controller config. Boooooo!!! :bang: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlot Posted August 27, 2004 Report Share Posted August 27, 2004 I lost interest in EA's hockey when they introduced that slow-mo shit. Just. Plain. Stupid. I know you could turn it off but it was the final nail in the coffen for me after dissing Dreamcast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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