ESPN NFL Football on X-Play

[Chris F]

First off. Morgans got some HUGE-ASS ears and boobs.

 

They showed off ESPN and it looked GOOD. The presentation looked amazing. They showed off a few of the features, including the "pad" or whatever its called, and first person mode. It got 4 out of 5.

 

They rated Madden higher (5 out of 5). Madden is DAMN good this year, so I'm waiting on ESPN to come out before I pass judgement.

 

I think both games are going to be incredible!

[Carlucci]

The "crib" feature looks cool. I hope we can play the mini-games, like air-hockey and paper-football, online.

 

I Just watched the interview with Jeff Thomas, the VP of sports dev. for Visual Concepts:

 

One of the most important things he said was that they worked really hard on the online gameplay. He said they really tried hard to eliminate cheating.

 

He also mentioned there are more than 1500 unlockables in the crib, that you unlock by achieving things in the game.

 

There are 100's of cutscenes to bring the environment home.

"It really looks like a broadcast."

 

He also mentioned that if you play through and make it to the superbowl, the presentation is AMAZING, with jet flyovers, fireworks, etc. And if you WIN the superbowl, the wrapup that happens afterward will really "reward the player".

 

 

I only have the funds for one football game, so I'm getting ESPN Football.

[fishepa]

I'll be getting ESPN as well. Madden has been the same for about 3 years now.

[Robot Monkey]

Paul, there are some interesting new features in Madden, including a nifty owner's mode, so you might want to check it out.

 

That said, Live support is important to me. That (and other factors) make ESPN my choice.

 

As an aside, did anyone catch the Madden Icons on G4tv? I was surprised to learn that Visual Concepts developed the game one year (I think it was the missing year).

 

If you missed the episode look hard, because I think they only play it every 90 minutes.

 

-j

[adamsappel]

If you missed the episode look hard, because I think they only play it every 90 minutes.

 

 

It's funny 'cause it's true.

[merlot]

I was surprised to learn that Visual Concepts developed the game one year

 

I believe it was Madden '96, on the SNES.

[stillfastasleep]

I'll be getting ESPN as well. Madden has been the same for about 3 years now.

 

Going on its fourth year, and still sporting the same engine. This madden might be the highest reviewed madden yet, but, the flip side to this coin, is that this may be the poorest received madden from a gamers stance.

 

IGN's review 9.4, reader reviews 7.8. Go over to videogamereviews.com and check out the reader reviews. Madden is getting bashed by ps2 and xbox gamers alike. This isn't just a case of a bunch of hog-wild sega fanboys. Guys buying and loving NCAA 2004 are looking at madden and going, what's this. And, in other forums, same thing, a lot of people aren't happy with Madden anymore. This aging game engine needs to be replaced. It just doesn't cut it anymore.

 

Common madden complaints, wide gaps in difficulty levels, cpu cheating when you get ahead, the still lousy db AI, the still ever-boring commentary, team ratings that are too similar to each other, the lack of any significant upgrades to the graphics and animation routines.

 

I rented Madden and basically, the cheating AI is enough to kill this game for me on that basis alone. When your players fumble the ball seemingly at will, fail to make tackles they made easily before, it all gets to be a bit too much. EA keeps adding features to cover up the lack of any significant change to the football engine. With or without xbox live, I'm not buying madden, and this is from a guy who's purchased four copies of madden in three years. 2001 and 2002 for the ps2, 2002 and 2003 for the xbox. Thought I'd mention that before someone accused me of hating on madden. Also, never owned a copy of the 2k series, although I played a fair bit of 2k for the dc and did rent 2k3 last year.