RSS
Home
Madden 10 Review - Is it really in the game?
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
The motto for Madden 10 is that if you see it on Sunday, you'll see it in the game. And in terms of graphics, they've done a great job. Madden 10 is definitely the most realistic-looking Madden, with animations that really draw you into the game. I personally love it when my defender dives from behind to hit the running back just right, causing him to turn and slip as he tries unsuccessfully to keep his balance. In short, agile backs really look shifty, power backs break through tackles, and wide receivers make smooth over-the-shoulder catches.
Unfortunately, the things you don't see on Sunday have been neglected. Football is a game of strategy, but few football games have taken advantage of the deep level of strategy, relying instead on the more arcade-like aspects of the game. This year's NCAA Football 10 did a great job of adding some of this strategy with game planning and set up plays allowing you to really make the most out of that play action pass. For Madden 10, the enhancements are a bit more on the bells and whistles side of things.
Madden 10 Review - Worst Interface Ever?
The first thing you'll notice when you go into franchise mode is the new interface. I'm not sure what makes the Madden dev team think they need to tweak the interface year after year when it was pretty good several years back and has been getting steadily worse, but they've gone and done it again -- this year outdoing themselves by creating perhaps the worst interface in gaming history.
It's bad. It's "I couldn't do such a bad job if I was trying" bad. I mean, really, would I actually think of making "Restart Game" the default when trying to exit the game? Probably not. It takes a certain level of genius to create that bad of an interface.
From the utterly stupid menu that forces you to use triggers to switch through the menu options to the downright frustrating lack of the ability to sort your depth chart based on their speed when trying to find a quick guy to return kicks, the interface is the single most frustrating element of the game.
Madden 10 Review - Great Presentation Sometimes Gets in the Way
The overall presentation in the game is excellent. It really does draw you in to the game and gets you pumped as the commentators go over your stud players or when the chain gang comes out to measure whether or not your quarterback was successful in that third and inches QB sneak. Even the halftime show is well done, with plays of the game being a nice way to enjoy how studly you played during the first two quarters.
Unfortunatley, some of this presentation does get in the way, including the half time show, which can't be skipped and forces you to go through a bunch of stuff that is somewhat less thrilling than seeing your best plays of the first half. I also got a little tired of the "did he make it in?" animation by the refs each time I got tackled near the goal line. Can't these guys ever make a quick decision?
But while it does sometimes get in the way, the overall presentation of the game is pretty darned good except for one area: The Collinsworth and Hammond commentary is a real snoozefest. Nothing sucks the excitement out of the game than hearing Chris Collinsworth talk about how your running game hasn't gotten going but that last play was pretty good so maybe it will be the start of something. I can take the bugs where they talk about a back almost getting stuffed in the backfield when the back was hit well after the line of scrimmage, but those two monotone voices droning on with the most boring chatter is just too much.
My one big presentation pet peeve: The presentation-mode camera when the offense breaks the huddle that I constantly have to cancel out of to get my defense set properly. Honestly, does anyone on the dev team actually play the game?
Madden 10 Review - Gameplay More Exciting Than Collinsworth and Hammond Commentary
Luckily, the gameplay itself is pretty exciting, so if you can keep Collinsworth and Hammond from putting you to sleep, you can have quite a blast playing the game. There have been plenty of new additions to the game, like the line forming a realistic pocket, quarterbacks being able to throw the ball as they are being hit (which you'll come to regret when it flops into a defensive lineman's waiting arms) and the pro-tak system that lets you fight for extra yardage.
The new features aren't without their bugs. The offensive lineman AI in particular will have you scratching your head as your pulling guard just ignored the blitzing defensive tackle in favor of twiddling his thumbs in the middle of the field. And other bugs pop up, like the frequent holding calls on field goals and extra points, the occasional shutter as the graphics engine stalls out, or even the offensive lineman who breaks down into a severe case of the shakes rather than joining the other big men along the line.
But these bugs are minor in comparison to the overall solid gameplay that Madden 10 offers. There's a nice balance between pass protection and blitzing defenders that will sometimes give you all the time in the world to find the right receiver and other times leave you wondering why your running back didn't pick up the middle linebacker streaking through the line. The realistic pocket is a great addition that makes it a little more difficult to just scramble around as moving outside the pocket will actually produce more pressure on your quarterback, and rocket passes are reduced by a slower animation as your quarterback must get their feet set for the throw.
Combined with much more realistic graphics and animations, the gameplay is a stellar experience that could only be enhanced by bribing Madden to come out of retirement so we can get some fun commentary instead of being put to sleep. Okay, that and the bugs being fixed.
Madden 10 Review - If Wishes Were Horses
Overall, this year's Madden is a solid game with a horrible interface that we'll hopefully get used to over time and the most realistic-looking gameplay we've seen, but it is not without the same basic disappointment that some Madden football fans feel year after year. The dev team seems to spend much more time on bells and whistles so they can make exciting announcements during the game's build up to release and fewer and fewer time on making a good, solid football game.
It might be nice if one year they focused on making the game a more accurate, realistic and strategic football game rather than concentrate on making it a pretty presentation, but I wouldn't advice holding your breath.
Madden 10 Final Score: 78
You may have to suffer through bad decision after bad decision and become occassionally frustrated with a poor interface and presentation that sometimes gets in the way of the game, but the actual play on the field is solid, and some of the new Madden features like redesigned player speed, enhanced quarterback abilities and more separation between starters and backups are actually pretty cool.
Madden screenshots
NCAA Football 2010 review
Dragon Age joins Madden 10 on the nickel and dime them tour
Related Articles:
Comments
