August 9th - 15th

Section: 

We had our ESPN week and now it's time for Madden's turn. Like ESPN it has recieved stellar reviews but on average they have scored a bit higher than SEGA's offering. Are a few review points here or there enough to drop $50 bucks on a football game when you have a $19.99 title available? Maybe. Depends. Sorta. You'll have to decide soon, it should be hitting some stores on Monday! Not much else but an add-on for MS Flight Simulator and a budget political sim looking to capitalize on the upcoming election coming out this week. 

On DVD we've got Kill Bill Vol. 2, The Prince and Me and more! Not much more really, but more none the less.

Comments

There's no way I can go without Madden. Can't wait!

Is the main draw of these games improved gameplay or licences for real players' names and stats? It seems to be the latter.

CHESSMASTER 10! *ROAAAARRRR*. I thought we discussed this, Certis. Chessmaster 10 was supposed to be your game of the week. There will be much gnashing of teeth.

Nice, Kill Bill 2... I might finally see it!

It's a bad Monday when Sway is ROAAAARRRRing in the morning.

In one of the Sunday paper adverts, I saw that there will be a "special" version/edition of Madden that has 3 previous Madden's included to play. Maybe '88, '91, and '01? I'm not that great at short-term memory, even worse when it's something I'm not interested in, but I definitely remember it said that there were 3 previous season's included to play.

Maybe they were having a hard time justifying the $50 against the $20 competition?

I doubt that's the sort of feature you could slap together from the time that SEGA announced the price change to now. Regardless, that feature is the PS2 version only Ducki.

Ah, yes. I felt bad about not remembering any more info than that, so here's the gamespot review info.

While that's pretty much it for the Xbox and GameCube versions of Madden--as far as features go--the PlayStation 2 version does have a little something extra; that is, it does if you happen to pick up the special Collector's Edition of the game. The PS2-exclusive Collector's Edition of Madden 2005 boasts a number of additional features, including three classic Madden games, a trivia challenge mode, and a few bonus video features. The three classic games consist of a pair of PlayStation-era titles (from different ends of the console's life span) and one 16-bit-era game. We don't identify these games specifically, because the game itself doesn't identify them by name. Rather, they're opaquely titled Madden Vintage, Madden Retro, and Madden Classic, respectively. Each of the games has up-to-date rosters, and the PlayStation games even include the modern commentary.

While the addition of the classic games and the trivia mode are nice and all, they aren't so remarkable that you'll simply have to run out to get the Collector's Edition or anything. The classic games are the sort of thing that you're likely to pick up and play once or twice, enjoy for exactly that amount of time, and then never touch again. The same goes for the trivia, because, while there are more than plenty of different questions, it is, after all, just trivia. None of the video stuff is especially engaging, and unless you're an absolutely diehard Madden enthusiast, you really won't want to watch it. In fact, that last statement really sums up the whole Collector's Edition: If you're a diehard Madden fan, you'll like it. If you aren't, you don't need it.

Still no years listed. Sorry if I got you XBoxers' hopes up.
Edit: From the official forums I found this.

Who wil lactually sit there and play madden 93, 98, and 01 when they got 2005 to play?

Not exactly a verifiable source, but fits the "2 PS1 and 1 16bit" description better than the years I vaguely recalled.

I barely have enough time for one football game let alone two..

Perhaps if they had come out at the same time it would have been nice to study the reviews and decide which one was worthy..

As it is..based on the reviews I've read the differences are so marginal that it almost seems to come down to the only reason being to buy Madden is if thats the game you've been playing for several years..

Does this mean Ray Lewis will get injured during the preseason, just like Vick did??

MADDENCOVER IS CURSED!!!

I really don't get this - get this year's Madden, and as a bonus, we'll throw in outdated sh*tty old Madden versions for the extra $30 you are spending over ESPN. Huh?

This just in - now when you buy a new plasma tv at Best Buy, they will throw in an old 9 inch black and white from 1950 with a grainy picture and scratchy sound for free!

For me it is about implementation. While ESPN and Madden have many of the same features, I am excited about Madden not just for the name, but because - and I will be in a minority here, perhaps - I've been disappointed in many issues I see in 2k5. Most of them will be a matter of opinion, though certainly not all, and I can't argue that there is a better game available for $20, but 2k5 has simply not sated my console football lust. It has its good parts, but from a gameplay perspective I'm just not as happy with it as I'd hoped.

I'm looking forward to our coming season, though not because of the game, but because of the competition and interaction with the community. I'm not saying 2k5 isn't a good game, but for me it's not _the_ game. I may expand on some specifics at a later date.

Still waiting for the specifics....................

Get comfortable, I haven't decided whether I want to go on the record about it, or let it go.

Elysium wrote:

Get comfortable, I haven't decided whether I want to go on the record about it, or let it go.

Get it out. It's never good to let these things fester. You'll feel better once you get it off your chest.

Oh, I Female Doggo at Certis about it til he actually asks me to stop. I'm far more interested in afronting his delicate sensibilities than yours. Besides, I can just say any old sh*t to him, if I tell you guys, I have to seem objective about it. I hate that!

For Madden to capture my heart, it HAS to improve the running game.

NCAA Football 2005 still has the same problems. You know - you try to run up the gut, and you get caught in a big cluster of bodies. Nobody moves, and you just kinda run in place for a while.

In ESPN, this doesn't happen, because linemen don't just sit there deadlocked. One's pushing the other, and the other's pushing back, and SOMEONE is going to get moved. It makes for a MUCH better and more accurate running game.

Of course, ESPN has its flaws, like defensive back AI that seems to just plain lapse at times. Of course, DBs are a flaky bunch.

Still, although ESPN reclaimed my heart after last year's showing was badly unbalanced, I do have Madden 2005 on preorder for Xbox.

I'm curious for you Madden guys... if this years edition was also not Live enabled.. would you have purchased it?

Or was NFL2K5 good enough to finally say...screw it.