Thoughts on Madden 2004...

[Hans Moleman]

What does everyone who has the game think about it? I'm not too impressed so far. The game is all offense. To see how weak the D was a ran the same play 5 times in a row for 10+ yards each time. I'll probably have to adjust the sliders to get it right. Even my bro is already sick of it. Looks like my GC and NCAA Football 2004 will get some more PT.

[number1sixerfan]

What difficulty was it on? It seems a lot easier thatn madden 2003? I hope not, because that was easy to me.

[fbs1992]

idk about any of the console versions, but the pc demo is rediculously hard, i have yet to score a touchdown

[PointlesS]

how's the online play? my brother has a ps2 and a broadband adapter and I'm just wondering because along with him...I'm planning on getting a ps2 + madden and the adapter...along with two of my other brothers...so we could have like our little 4 way tournaments and stuff...

[fastitocalon]

I have Madden 04 for pc and NCAA 04 for xbox, for playing i play NCAA for owner mode which is awesome btw i play madden

[Sol]

I tend to like the way NCAA plays, but I just got madden today so it needs time to grow on me. The last madden I got was 2002 and the improvements are huge. I really dig the owner mode. It adds another level of depth. I might just simulate all the games and do all the owner mode stuff.

[Hans Moleman]

Originally posted by Sol
I tend to like the way NCAA plays, but I just got madden today so it needs time to grow on me. The last madden I got was 2002 and the improvements are huge. I really dig the owner mode. It adds another level of depth. I might just simulate all the games and do all the owner mode stuff.

I think I'm gonna be like fastitocalon and use NCAA for the gameplay and Madden for owner mode.

[number1sixerfan]

Originally posted by Hans Moleman
I think I'm gonna be like fastitocalon and use NCAA for the gameplay and Madden for owner mode.

What's so wrong with madden 04? I need to make a decision on whether to get it or not.

[senorgotti]

Madden 04 seems harder then 03 to me, but thats prolly just the team I'm playing. Owner mode is cool but the playmaker part is meh. If anyone else buys it for the cube make sure you get the big memory card that has like 260 blocks, cause you need 158 mem blocks available to save in franchise mode.

[Hans Moleman]

Originally posted by number1sixerfan
What's so wrong with madden 04? I need to make a decision on whether to get it or not.

I just played another game to make sure I wasn't imagining the crappy gameplay... and it looks like I wasn't. I expect realism out of a game and so far I haven't gotten it. The first play of the game I throw a pass and manage to not be touched by the defender two feet in front of me and score a touchdown. Then, my opponent scores a 80+ yard touchdown by breaking two tackles. In fact, all the touchdowns weren't "earned." No dramatic drives down the field or anything. The programmers really like to show off the animations where your players can't tackle cuz my opponent scored at least three touchdowns on 80+ yard runs. I would expect this more in college football than in the NFL where the best of the best are going at it. I'm also disappointed about the receiving animations. In NCAA the receivers and defenders actually look back and watch the ball in the air as it's coming toward them and react accordingly. In Madden they haven't changed things (or maybe I haven't noticed)... your reciever magically turns around and sees the ball when it's right next to them. I've also noticed little things, like when you throw a pass that you know is off the mark the reciever will magically speed up to catch up with it. I mean, for God's sake, there are such things as incomplete passes. Maybe I'm just expressing my bias toward college football but I really can't get into this game. Don't get me wrong, it is a good game, it's just that I think NCAA Football 2004 is the better simulator even if it lacks some of Madden's features.

[Trunks]

Madden 04 is a lot harder when you play on all madden with 2 players on the same team (one QB/one receiver) but even on one player on all madden its still pretty hard.

[number1sixerfan]

Originally posted by Hans Moleman
I just played another game to make sure I wasn't imagining the crappy gameplay... and it looks like I wasn't. I expect realism out of a game and so far I haven't gotten it. The first play of the game I throw a pass and manage to not be touched by the defender two feet in front of me and score a touchdown. Then, my opponent scores a 80+ yard touchdown by breaking two tackles. In fact, all the touchdowns weren't "earned." No dramatic drives down the field or anything. The programmers really like to show off the animations where your players can't tackle cuz my opponent scored at least three touchdowns on 80+ yard runs. I would expect this more in college football than in the NFL where the best of the best are going at it. I'm also disappointed about the receiving animations. In NCAA the receivers and defenders actually look back and watch the ball in the air as it's coming toward them and react accordingly. In Madden they haven't changed things (or maybe I haven't noticed)... your reciever magically turns around and sees the ball when it's right next to them. I've also noticed little things, like when you throw a pass that you know is off the mark the reciever will magically speed up to catch up with it. I mean, for God's sake, there are such things as incomplete passes. Maybe I'm just expressing my bias toward college football but I really can't get into this game. Don't get me wrong, it is a good game, it's just that I think NCAA Football 2004 is the better simulator even if it lacks some of Madden's features.

Man you make it seem like nfl 2k3.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Bah...all you lousy people with your cool new football games!

I'm still playing NCAA Football '03 and Madden '02. I have a question for those of you who've played NCAA football '04: is it worth the 'upgrade' from 2003? I've heard of the new extras and gimmicky stuff, and that looks good, but are there any noticable graphical and/or gameplay improvements? This may sound weird, but I've always been a little obsessive compulsive about the helmets. I noticed in '03, teams like Florida State's helmets were a dark brown, when in reality, they are a brighter gold/tan almost. Same with Notre Dame's helmets. Anybody notice any improvements in this area?
And what about gang-tackling? Have they finally decided to throw that in yet? It's about damn time. And finally...any new animations that add to the game at all?

[proxemo666]

well i went to blockbuster to rent madden2004 and i have a few complaints or maybe a bunch. first of all on all madden the comp cheats like my girlfriend at a club. its almost impossible to gain huge plays against them and yet the comp does it to you like its the only play they know. ive been doing fantasy and i have urlacher and j.taylor as my star players on d and the rest of my linebackers and a couple of my linemen are skill level 85-90 out of 100 which is still pretty damn good. when the comp runs the ball, its like all my linebackers are afraid of breaking a nail. also choosing a play is useless because 8 out of 10 times the comp will shift to the side the ball is going (weak or strong side) before the ball is hiked thus last minute audibles and playmaker controls is the only thing i go by. burning db is impossible cause they magically get a boost and end up deflecting the ball even if you have a 5 yard lead on them. yeah its more challenging but that is only because they cheat. as far as gameplay goes, other people have pretty much explained it already. playmaker controls is a joke (after the ball is hiked i.e control blocking and control receiver) because if your not in the pocket your running for your life and if you have time to watch your qb from getting sacked and control your receiver/running back with the playmaker control you need to take it off the easiest setting and put a defense in there. i know this sounds like the game is horrible but i just got upset when i heard that the "new AI" is far superior and stuff. im glad i rented it first cause it just solidified my decision in buying ncaa2004. my 15 cents (longest post i had on sharky's to date )

btw, this review is based only on the all madden setting. i have yet to try the easier ones cause i dont wear a dress

[number1sixerfan]

Originally posted by proxemo666
well i went to blockbuster to rent madden2004 and i have a few complaints or maybe a bunch. first of all on all madden the comp cheats like my girlfriend at a club. its almost impossible to gain huge plays against them and yet the comp does it to you like its the only play they know. ive been doing fantasy and i have urlacher and j.taylor as my star players on d and the rest of my linebackers and a couple of my linemen are skill level 85-90 out of 100 which is still pretty damn good. when the comp runs the ball, its like all my linebackers are afraid of breaking a nail. also choosing a play is useless because 8 out of 10 times the comp will shift to the side the ball is going (weak or strong side) before the ball is hiked thus last minute audibles and playmaker controls is the only thing i go by. burning db is impossible cause they magically get a boost and end up deflecting the ball even if you have a 5 yard lead on them. yeah its more challenging but that is only because they cheat. as far as gameplay goes, other people have pretty much explained it already. playmaker controls is a joke (after the ball is hiked i.e control blocking and control receiver) because if your not in the pocket your running for your life and if you have time to watch your qb from getting sacked and control your receiver/running back with the playmaker control you need to take it off the easiest setting and put a defense in there. i know this sounds like the game is horrible but i just got upset when i heard that the "new AI" is far superior and stuff. im glad i rented it first cause it just solidified my decision in buying ncaa2004. my 15 cents (longest post i had on sharky's to date )

btw, this review is based only on the all madden setting. i have yet to try the easier ones cause i dont wear a dress

Well, it looks like I won't be buying madden 04. Oh well.