how the hell does madden get past QA

[ric1287]

This game is garbage, plain and simple. How the fuck does it get past (if there even is any) QA? There's so much wrong with this game (360 version) that i cannot even play it anymore.

-no announcers
-worst physics/collision detection of any 'popular' game on the market
-receivers somehow lack the ability to jump, and can only move their hands up and down in a retarded attempt to catch a pass.
-difficulty levels aren't actually changes in difficulty, but rather various levels of cheating by the AI
-most games consist of 1 penalty if lucky - realllllly lifelike EA. Not one holding call in an entire game?
-"blocking magnets", where some how you get sucked into a block from 5 yards away
-what i have dubbed "the magic turbo back tackle" where somehow the defender can leap from 10 yards behind you and secure a tackle.
-worst presentation of any sports game: no celebrations, horrible field effects, fan/sideline graphics from early N64 era.

This is the only conversation i can imagine between developers and QA:

QA: "Hey, uhh, the guys on the sideline look like they are from SNES"
EA: "ehh, not important"
QA: "OK, but can you at least fix the way players move and hit each other?"
EA: "Nah, thats no biggie....how'd you guys like the sweet new ring feature and Marshall Faulks' voiceover?!!!!!! Pretty cool huh?!!!!"
QA: "....."


They really need to bring back 2k so there can be some level of competition so they can actually improve the goddamn game instead of just changing the player ratings and rosters. God dammit EA is ruining video games, i really wish that the million jackasses who buy this shit every year, and dont play any other games, would stop. Eventually EA will just charge us $60 for a downloadable patch of all the new 'features' they've added.

/rant and i know this is about 7 months old, but who cares.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I agree with pretty much everything you said. The scary thing is that the version you probably have (most recent) is a big step forward from the year before. I have avoided Madden for years because it is one of those franchises whose developers seem to think it will sell just because it has Madden on the front. And they are right. This is also the first year in a long time that I decided to skip over Tiger Woods and NCAA.

 

[techwanabe]

Read game reviews "before" buying to avoid buyers remorse.

 

[Modeps]

no competition == no reason for improvement (no, I dont consider All Pro Football competition)

 

[purbeast0]

2 letters for you.

E A

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
I agree with pretty much everything you said. The scary thing is that the version you probably have (most recent) is a big step forward from the year before. I have avoided Madden for years because it is one of those franchises whose developers seem to think it will sell just because it has Madden on the front. And they are right. This is also the first year in a long time that I decided to skip over Tiger Woods and NCAA.

tiger has been going downhill since 2004. 2005 was cool cause it had online play, but when i hopped online and saw averages were about 27 under par, you know the damn game is just a tad too easy. now with all the fluff they've added it's even easier, aside from putting, which they completely screwed up.

 

[Kev]

I rented this year's madden and it is the last one I will ever play.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

I've heard Madden 08 sales across the board are about half of what they have been in the past. Maybe people are finally starting to wake up to the problems EA has gotten too fat and lazy with their exclusive franchise to deal with.
I know at least half a dozen people who haven't bought a Madden title since the exclusivity deal went into effect, I picked up '06 for $2 on clearance at Best Buy, but I wouldn't pay anymore than that for one of these bugfests.

 

[oznerol]

I own every Madden since like Madden 2001. 2007 and 2008 for the 360, the rest for the PS2.

It has its ups and downs - I was a big fan of the PS2's franchise mode which they've pretty much bastardized in every "next-gen" version. Still, I'll get it every year because regardless of its flaws it's always incredibly fun to play with friends. We used to have Madden tournaments in college that would go on all night. There's 4 of us who still keep in touch and now that it's easy to play online we can keep our rivalries going.

It seems to me like they don't have a clear vision of what they want in the franchise, though. From the direction the newer versions are going, it looks like they're attempting to make it less intimidating for new people to get in on it, but then they also are focusing on the multiplayer aspect - in particular with the online community. I suspect next year (Madden 09) there will be online leagues. But for some reason, every time they add something new - and usually it's something useless like the rings and superstar mode and whatnot - they take away something that kept me playing it long after the football season was over.

That's fine, I guess, but like I said, I was a fan of the single-player franchise mode - building a team from scratch and going through 25 years with it (many years just simulating the whole season). The management aspect of the game kept me coming back more than the gameplay. It was like a very light sport RPG, with the occasional football game. I think those days are over.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
2 letters for you.

E A

hit the nail on the head right there

QA @ EA? lol lol really? I want to see their QA process!

seriously, EA tends to do little innovation, so it'd be very surprising that the Madden series would improve play mechanics. I mean, really all they do is jazz up the engine a little bit and keep the play mechanics pretty much the same, so sometimes it appears to play a little better by using a little better physics or whatnot, but nothing changes.

 

[Deeko]

I just don't see how they screwed up the next-gen version of the game so bad. The PS2/gamecube/xbox verison is still great, but they completely gutted the game for next-gen consoles. When it FIRST came out on the 360, I attributed it to the next-gen version being rushed...why else would they remove the gameplay polish, the announcers, many popular game modes, simple graphical features like the nets behind the goal posts, destroy the menu system...it HAD to be rushed, right?

Apparently I was wrong, cuz 08 is still nowhere near as good. Now, the gameplay is WORLDS better than 07 was, I could barely even play that one, but it's got a long way to go until it's worthy of the Madden name. The exclusive license couldn't end fast enough.

 

[GhettoBlaster]

Originally posted by: ric1287

-difficulty levels aren't actually changes in difficulty, but rather various levels of cheating by the AI

That's been true since the beginning of sports games.

 

[Queasy]

There was QA. It just was ignored and the product was released with known defects and/or an incomplete product. This happens all the time with EA. Especially with their sports games. I don't know why you'd be surprised.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
2 letters for you.

E A

Sports. It's in the game.

 

[ric1287]

i just don't see why people go ape-shit over this game still. It hasn't changed at all since the first PS2 version other than slight graphical improvements. People need to stop buying it, and not just the 'gamers'....but the 23 y/o guy who only buys 1-2 games a year, thats the only reason this shit still exists.

Anyone know when the monopoly of NFL license runs out?

 

[digiram]

They probably fired 1/2 of their QA staff after getting the exclusive NFL contract.

 

[foghorn67]

I hated football games since the exclusive NFL contract.

 

[zerocool84]

This is why I have and always will support 2k sports.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: ric1287
i just don't see why people go ape-shit over this game still. It hasn't changed at all since the first PS2 version other than slight graphical improvements. People need to stop buying it, and not just the 'gamers'....but the 23 y/o guy who only buys 1-2 games a year, thats the only reason this shit still exists.

Anyone know when the monopoly of NFL license runs out?

Yes, I used to work at gamestop and typically the Madden buyer ONLY buys sports games. Like you said, 1-2 titles a year. It's not the real gamers who buy it and keep it going.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: ric1287
i just don't see why people go ape-shit over this game still. It hasn't changed at all since the first PS2 version other than slight graphical improvements. People need to stop buying it, and not just the 'gamers'....but the 23 y/o guy who only buys 1-2 games a year, thats the only reason this shit still exists.

Anyone know when the monopoly of NFL license runs out?

you must not have played any recent versions of madden if you think they play like the ps2 version w/slight graphical improvements.

the ps2 ones actually play BETTER imo.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: zerocool84
This is why I have and always will support 2k sports.

you ever play nba 2k7? I hate that game so much.

 

[GenHoth]

I still play NCAA '04, there is NO reason to get another copy