Madden 2005 initial impressions.

no one in this thread even mentioned the presentation stuff (which is obviously first rate). its all bonus to me. the *great* animations on the FIELD make the players come alive, before, during and after the play. the rotating thing is a definite weakness, but it has been worked on alot, big changes in direction are greeted with fantastic realistic timing and animations, not the quick afterthought Madden semi-cut tried this year (i have and played both)

the tackles are 100% dead-on PERFECT. they start off as the usual great ESPN animation but like the real NFL, at anytime any number of tacklers can join in! you're riding Jamal Lewis in a slow wrap up animation with a cornerback while he's driving you towards the 1st down line. suddenly two LBs finally get there, WRAP themselves around Lewis AND you, and drive the pile backward! the guy underneath twists arounds his legs while the LBs have him from the top, NO ONE LETS GO till they're all on the ground and everyone spins off each other and anyone caught underneath them. this happens EVERY play and really adds to the football gameplay. you AIM the second contact the way you want the pile to go, and then see it executed perfectly in realtime (not a mocapped script), individual weights and momentum (read: real Physics) with everyone actually GRABBING something. no player clipping, generic tackle anims or bounce offs. light years ahead of the generic scripted Madden tackles.

this kind of attention to detail is in EVERYTHING on the field. the line of schrimmage has amazing animations/feel when you're being held up but still bullrushing trying to get around a Olineman, you can get to the QB with the OLineman still hanging off you! the swats, cornerback bump battles, jump catches, spin catches, over the head catches, low catches, scrambling for fumbles (especially great) kill Madden's in quantity and realism. these all happen during the gameplay and you'll drop your jaw to see how smoothly they flow from one another, ESPN makes you think it was all one long enormous mocap session for just that one play. they spent the same amount of time on animations before and after the play too, like when they call timeout from the ground after a hit, drop an easy pass, get a first down, make a great play. great great great stuff.

yeah the franchise/drafting stuff may not be up to Madden's standards, but thats extra to me too (i know its not for many).

to me, its all about the actual gameplay and how 'football' the GAME feels, and hell yeah ESPN is a whoooole lot prettier. its just as much a chess game as Madden is this year too with all the audibles, defensive hot routes, player matchups, player swapping, and individual def. assignments. more importantly, aside from the lack of leaning into runs, the MECHANICS like tackling, touch passing over defenders, defending passes, cutting then squeezing through holes, PUSHING lead olineman on a run, all feels (and looks) ALOT realer than Madden's 5 year old engine can handle. no matter how they keep trying to add make up on it.

i agree, take a serious look at both the latest installments before you comment

Why does there always have to be a bitch battle between people over these two games?? LOL

I'm not talking about people here necessarily, I see this kinda stuff all over.

I'll never understand it. There's plenty of room for both games. Both games are great in their own right. If you like one over the other that's great. Seems like people are always trying to convince others that one is better than the other, but when you look around at gaming sites and magazines, the reviews are usually neck and neck.

So basically it's a toss up. Why can't we all just play the game you like and be happy. :)

there isnt 'room' when people just buy Madden blindly cuz of the name, and wont support or even LOOK at the underdogs, no matter how improved, highly rated or reviewed. then they talk about how awesome the one game they have and played is, on 'discussion' boards like this.

Fever's gone (r.i.p. Read n' Lead, a true innovation, as are the best player faces in videogame football), and ESPN is super undervalued at $20, what happens next year? ESPN gets cancelled too and Madden adds player moustaches and new GroundsKeeper Mode. and we gotta pay $50 to play our updated teams on a 6 year old engine.

any other games that add so little every year are called EXPANSION PACKS and don't cost $50. EA has been getting over on its customers for years.

I dont get any of anyones reasoning behind likeing the espn game better. The presentation is superior to madden... AKA the part of teh game taht has nothign to do with playing, or a franchise... The animations were cool for about ten minute when I played the espn game. ESPN took so much time in trying to make an animation look real, that they fucked up the way players actually move. When you cut in espn the guy goes straight left, then straight up. most of the time when you have a fast player you get run down by a linemen becuase of the way the animations are. OK, so if you watch the instant replay it looks cool, who cares, in actual gameplay it takes away from the experience.

Everyone here seems to be aruging about the animations for some reason and not taking into account any of the other factors. you look at the game as if all that matters is when you play one game. Off season mode is elementary compared to madden..

Next year id be willing to bet that madden adds in a bunch of stupid presentation just to shut up the critics. That way, all the players that dont care about gameplay and just want the pregame show to be pretty will be happy.

ESPN uses a better rendering system and has more detail in their graphics, but those graphics during gameplay are less representative to acutaly players motion then in madden.

There should be a seperate thread for this argument. one for people that only play one of the games and are hugely biased, and another thread for those people that own both games and have played both of them through atleast one season and know the differences. Its just getting annoying having the same arguments with people that having even played both games. My final opinion is that ESPN is pretty to watch, but is inferior to madden as a complete game.

I AGREE! I just got Madden last night, and it's 100 times better then 2k5.

I have tried the 2K series several times in the past and for me I just prefer Madden.

I'm sorry if that annoys some people, but as long as Madden is a quality product, (which it definitely is no matter what some sega fanboys may say), I see no reason to buy another game.

It's not like Madden receives horrible reviews while 2K receives glowing reviews. They are both very highly regarded. I can see your point Ill if Madden was clearly on the decline and people were still buying it, then they would definitely be buying it on the name alone. But that's simply not the case.

I have to agree with skinsncanes on this one! I bought 2k5, took it home and I initially didn't like it b/c I wasn't used to it. The controls, gameplay etc. But, once I got used to all of that, ..... it sucked even worse. The gameplay is absolutely atrocious!!! And that's all that matters! Anybody who disagrees and thinks ESPN 2k5 is the bomb can keep your swapmeet game and argue your point(s) until you're blue in the face. Just because you're an elitist doesn't make your game better.

There should be a seperate thread for this argument. one for people that only play one of the games and are hugely biased, and another thread for those people that own both games and have played both of them through atleast one season and know the differences. Its just getting annoying having the same arguments with people that having even played both games. My final opinion is that ESPN is pretty to watch, but is inferior to madden as a complete game.

didn't u say that u stopped playing espn around week 7 or so? ;)

I have tried the 2K series several times in the past and for me I just prefer Madden.

I'm sorry if that annoys some people, but as long as Madden is a quality product, (which it definitely is no matter what some sega fanboys may say), I see no reason to buy another game.

It's not like Madden receives horrible reviews while 2K receives glowing reviews. They are both very highly regarded. I can see your point Ill if Madden was clearly on the decline and people were still buying it, then they would definitely be buying it on the name alone. But that's simply not the case.

I know I'm arguing so strongly for epsn 2k5 cuz in my mind its a very solid football game and I'm trying to help save fellow skins fans some money, lol.
Yes all the franchise stuff is nice in madden but for those who enjoy an actual game of football, I highly recommend ESPN 2k5. Neither game is perfect but with each being roughly the same game and with each having the edge in various categories, u really can't go wrong with spending $20 bucks for an incredibly gorgeous game. If u go for the madden then have at it cuz its almost assured that its going to be a very solid title every year, like I said I'm just trying to help open some eyes and help some pocketbooks, lol.

any other games that add so little every year are called EXPANSION PACKS and don't cost $50. EA has been getting over on its customers for years.
it's too bad they won't just have each year be an expansion-like upgrade cuz almost every sports title is just a slightly retooled and enhanced copy of last year's game with new rosters.

oh and my suggestion of buying espn 2k5 is mainly for x-box owners cuz I honestly haven't seen the gameplay of the ps2 version and can't give a fair grade of it.

if 2k5 was on pc i'd try it out, but until then....

I got Madden CE for only $20 after trade-ins

:thumb:

Madden vs ESPN is like a Coke vs Pepsi or Bush vs Kerry. Everyone likes their choice and no amount of talking is going to sway any views.