Are you ready for some (more Madden) football?
Posted on August 13th, 2009 – 6:54 AMBy Randy A. Salas
Tonight’s the night. Madden NFL 10, the latest release in one of the most popular video-game series, comes out at midnight. And it will be hard not to know about it, because an advertising blitz for the game will accompany tonight’s season premiere of Monday Night Football (yes, even though it’s Thursday night).
Really, I don’t get all worked up for the latest Madden games each year. To me, their popularity is due more to updated rosters than anything else. Sure, there are all kinds of bells and whistles added each go-round, such as “the all-new Pro-Tak™ animation technology,” and the Wii version has been “completely redesigned and built from the ground up.” But I think most gamers just want to play using the most current version of their favorite teams. (Update: I haven’t played the game yet, but the Associated Press and Game Informer are calling Madden NFL 10 the franchise’s best entry in years, if not ever, in their early reviews.)
Why do you play the Madden games? Do you buy the newest one each year?
I’ll always love John Madden Football ‘92 for the dearly departed Sega Genesis. That was the version in which it was fun to deliberately injure a player, because then an ambulance would race onto the field to retrieve him — running over the other, uninjured players in the process. Hilarious.
Madden NFL 10 will be available at midnight at stores such as Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Gamestop.
14 Responses to "Are you ready for some (more Madden) football?"
Ha! Great video. Oh the memories are coming back.
Randy-
You have mentioned The Speaker Company in a couple other posts, have you had any experience with the quality of their in-ceiling speakers? I was thinking of getting a couple pairs…Do these types of speakers need a case for the back of the speaker? I just don’t think they would perform well echoing throughout my attic…
Situationer: I haven’t used The Speaker Co., but it’s highly praised by Don Lindich, whom I trust, and gets raves from its many satisfied customers. Basically, it’s run by a company (whose holdings include heavyweights such as Denon and Boston Acoustics) that sells direct from its factories. For the price, it’s hard to do better.
Regarding the ceiling speakers, another customer shared your concerns. He initially noted that the bass response was underwhelming. Then he followed up with this: “I built a ‘cabinet’ behind the speakers with 2×6s, 1/2″ plywood and some expandable foam. The difference is SIGNIFICANT. What used to be a dull pop is now a resounding thump (bass drum). This is a must for installing these speakers (or any ceiling speakers) in an attic!”
Hope this helps. E-mail Don if you want more.
To me its not worth the $60 every year. EA always claims they make huge improvements with each installment, but really you could buy this game every other or third year and be just fine.
Thanks for the reply Randy!
I figured I would have to build some sort of box behind them.
Every year the game magazines say that this years Madden is the best one yet. I seriously can’t remember a single year that they didn’t say that. It is because of two reasons.
First, the magazines don’t want to upset EA, because they need access to the games to stay ahead of web journalist and also because EA is one of their biggest advertisers.
Second, they don’t play the games long enough to find any faults. When you have to review 10 games a month, plus interview people and play out the magazine, you don’t ever get more than a day or two to play a game. So they don’t get past the surface where things seem shinny and new.
Having played the demo of this years game, the playability is probably the worst since the launch of the Xbox 360. They slowed the game down to try and fix the problem’s they’ve had for the last few years with the run game, and in the process it feels like you are playing in molasses. I felt like I was watch my guys run in slow motion trying to get open.
That being said, I will of course buy it. Mostly because by the time the new one comes out each year, I’m sick of last years version and need something new to play. The game sorely needs a true owners mode though, where you can build food stands and t-shirt shops and manage your money to build your team, as you had in the end of the PS2’s run, or in games like MLB 09 The Show. That will be what takes this game to the next level finally, not just a flashy redesign of the interface and menu screens like we’ve got the last 3 years.
I thought last years version was also very slow. I could play an entire game(5 min quarters) and not even have 200 yards of total offense. One drive would take an entire quarter. Has EA forgotten it is still suppose to be a video game. Make the graphics as real as you want, but the game sould still be entertaining and FUN.
Big reason why I buy the game every year is the online play. To keep the online play you really need to upgrade the game each year… honestly I don’t think I even played it last year in the no online play. I will be buying it soon after the release.
In today’s Orange County, Ca. edition of USA Today (and possibly other newspapers as well), Syd Davy (a.k.a. 100% Cheese Free. You may also know him as the only man to catch Randy Moss in the end zone) is on a 2 page ad for Madden 10. “If you don’t play Madden NFL 10, you’re just a dude wearing makeup.”
All I need is Tecmo Super Bowl for Nintendo. You can keep your crappy Madden games. The next best game was Joe Montana’s NFL Football ‘94. It’s a close second.
EA is trying to strike the right balance between arcade sytle play and an actual football simulation. With Madden 10, it’s taken a giant leap toward an actual football simulation, and that’s a good thing IMO. The slowed-down gameplay really helps you pick up blockers and wait for receivers to come open before passing. It’s harder to just send your receivers streaking down the field, launch a pass, and then hit a button combo and catch it over three defenders. Ratings seems to actually matter this year, too. Teams w/ poor offensive lines struggle to run. QBs like Jamarcus Russell are frustratingly inaccurate, just like in real life. I’ve been playing this game for two days and so far I would give it an 8.5/10, the best next gen version of the game by far.
NFK 2K5 is still the best football simulation since Tecmo Super Bowl. Madden needs it’s exclusivity agreement revoked.
I used to go out and buy the new Madden every year… But i’ve found the game to be seriously lacking in the last 2 or 3 years. So until I play it at a friends and see some serious leaps ahead of 09, I’ll save my $$.
Situationer, I have not heard the in-ceiling speakers from The Speaker Company but have heard good things about them. Based on past experience my gut feeling is the entry-level models will be competent and a very good value, and the higher-line models will likely be exceptional performers that belie the price. I know that their NT series in-walls are rebadged MB Quart speakers that are made in a Chinese plant and Audioholics.com were extremely impressed with them and gave them a very high rating.
If you are going for speakers from The Speaker Company I would recommend you look at their higher line in-ceiling models if budget allows. The entry level pieces will likely satisfy, but the better ones will make you genuinely excited. This has been my experience comparing their P-series to T-series and TSAT speakers and their M.O. for the in-wall and in-ceiling speakers seems to be identical.
