This is the first edition of our weekly mailbox. Madden Planet receives a steady flow of mail each day and the plan is we'll take a selection of our weekly mail and post it on here for you to read... Here are the first few we received this week.
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Re: Enhanced Blitzing
I like your information since it reconfirms what I have been thinking about online play. I recently started playing and was having major problems with the blitz. I consider my self competitive with madden until I started playing online. Some players are just better than me but others are certainly using different strategies. When you can't take more than two steps before three guys are on you every play there's a problem. Couple of issues outside the enhanced blitz. Offense needs to call an audible at any point once the huddle is broken, also hurry up offense is very difficult in this game. These tatics can often help an offense against a very aggressive defense. Offensive linemen jump offsides when you audible during hurry up. Also fumbles are rediculous on punt returns. Positioning with receivers after the ball is thrown has been reduced.
Enhanced blitzes are one thing and should be countered with additional blocking, hurry up offense and audibles all which are impossible to run due to time constaints or players jumping offsides. Nano blitzes are not right and adjustments need to be made. I have not been getting online recently until I'm better and better prepared to compete with the defense and most of all learn counter the blitz. The passing game has changed since last year, I think offense from last year plus defense from this year would be perfect.
greenmanchine
Seems like this kind of cheesy blitzing is an all too common occurrence when playing online. Sadly some folks will stop at nothing to add another win to their record.----------------
This should replace your biased review. Anyone that knows football and is a real football gamer, knows the ESPN Football 2k5 is the superior game. Please post the truth.
A head to head comparison between Madden 2005 and ESPN 2K5
Madden 2005 :
Hit Stick :
EA have implemented what many people would automatically just consider as a gimmicky feature in a very useful risk-reward type way. It actually adds a lot to the gameplay and might inspire folks who don’t usually control their DB’s to pick up the thumbstick and do some jockeying. [Nice feature, but nothing worse wetting my pants over to rush to get this game.] Score : 3/5
Defensive Playmaker Controls : Never before has it been possible to change so many elements of your defensive play ‘on the fly’. That means after you’ve broken the huddle you can change the assignments of individual players in a highly effective way. [It’s a nice feature, but ESPN does it better] Score : 3/5
Storyline Central : An immersive addition to franchise mode, but not without the odd repetition especially early on while position battles are playing themselves out. It might just deter some folks from sticking with it but rest assured later in the year it becomes much more varied and unique. The radio show element is very cool. [Sorry but I buy a football game to play football, not listen to a repetitive complete nonsense, that most of the time, doesn’t say anything about my team or any I need to know about my team. Once again, we ask
EA stop adding nonsense features and actually improve the gameplay, graphics, and AI.] Score : 1/5
Player personalities : Bringing cyber athletes to ‘life’ has been a key element of the football games from
EA this year, not simply Madden but also NCAA. It’s not over the top, it’s not stupid, it’s integrated extremely well and it throws another element into the game that folks have never had to consider before. [Once again, we ask
EA stop adding nonsense features and actually improve the gameplay, graphics, and AI.] Score : 1/5
Franchise progression : Players change over the course of a season, in some cases they improve while in others they decline. Progressions aims to take care of this by altering their ratings over the course of the season and accouting for those changes. However, they only change and are assessed every 4 weeks whereas a player can change every game or even during the game and you could argue the ratings should reflect that. [Umm, they actially found out how to do this?] Score : 1/5
Create-a-fan : Similar to the create-a-sign feature in NCAA, and while you can only see 3 or 4 ‘virtually’ real fans in the crowd at least you can dress them however you like. There are a wide variety of things you can do with your fans, from putting a hat on them to deciding which shirt they wear and stuff like that. There isn’t the same range of choice you have when creating your own personal golfer in Tiger Woods – adjusting the height of their eyebrows definitely can't be done here – but it’s good nonetheless. Done effectively if not spectacularly. [Another gimmicky feature that does nothing to improve their gameplay, which has been lacking for the last five years.] Score : 1/5
EA Sports Online : A similar interface to last year but with a score ticker, very cool… tourneys are back along with some new features like the mini games and a so-far unannounced feature. More importantly, it’s stable and reliable. [Would be nice if that actually had smooth on-line play.] Score : 2/5
New gameplay : but we’re picking out the running game for this one since it’s not been covered yet in this comparison. This is where Madden excels, some might say on the field is where the game is really made or broken anyway. Thankfuly it really is where Madden excels then. The running animations are even nicer than before and there’s the whole planting-foot deal when the player turns and changes direction. [Worst running game of all football games date. NFL Gameday 2001 had better running than this game, and that is embarrassing.] Score : 2/5
Stadium presentation : graphics in the stadiums are much improved with lighting effects. I really like the fact that the glass front of the corporate boxes shine now in a highly realistic way and perhaps that is down to the new lighting system that
EA advertised. The stadiums are vastly improved. They promised they would be improved, they are so it scores high.
[Be realistic, the Madden 2004 looks better than this years, graphics supposed to get better not worse each year. Once again
EA lies to us.] Score : 1/5
New commentary : well apparently there is new commentary every year, and we believe
EA when they say that. But… it doesn’t feel like it. Score : 1/5
ESPN :
VIP : a very cool addition, not only tracking your own playcalling tendencies but the tendencies of your opponents. Throw in the ability to actually download the thing and play against somebody elses VIP and we like this feature. Score : 5/5
Crib Celebs : now the crib is nice but here’s the problem with having celebs calling you on the phone. First, most of them flat out suck. And secondly, I don’t really want to play them at video game football. Past, retired or even current NFL players would have been a different deal altogether. Score : 1/5
New gameplay features : for this one we’ve picked out maximum tackle and QB evade, both of which are neat and cool additions to the gameplay and it's a fair comparison to what we discussed in Madden. QB evade is certainly useful although you have to be quick to pull it off, however if you do it’s a very neat move. Score : 4/5
Online gameplay : this is the biggie for ESPN, and where things really shine. The online leagues are extremely impressive and sure enough there are going to be inevitable glitches early on but the thing is detailed and so deep there are going to be teething troubles with anything so complex. It’s ridiculous the extent to which you can play around with the stuff online. Score : 5/5
ESPN presentation : again, this is another area where ESPN excels and they have replicated an ESPN broadcast very accurately and very comprehensively. Score : 5/5
ESPN 25th anniversary mode : similar to the mode in NCAA 2005 that allows you to play classic games. Some of these games chosen are highly suspect as ‘greatest’ games but in terms of 25 years of ESPN coverage they’re a decent job. Score : 3/5
Always online : Utilising the Xbox Live facility to be permanently connected and therefore giving your buddies the opportunity to contact you whenever they see you playing the game whether that is in your franchise mode or against an opponent online it pretty cool and a very useful addition. Score : 5/5
Customise in game music and sounds : This is the area where sports games should be headed, the ability to put your own music in the game and the harddrive of the Xbox makes it ridiculously easy. Score : 5/5
Breakthrough Moves : The official text is “dazzling animations such as back of the end zone catches, quarterback evasions, all-new runs, and slips, falls and trips due to real weather changes.” ESPN does this nicely, and does them well by and large. Score : 5/5
Defensive Playmaker Controls : Never before has it been possible to change so many elements of your defensive play ‘on the fly’, with superior AI and gameplay that Madden lacks for the last five years. That means after you’ve broken the huddle you can change the assignments of individual players in a highly effective way. Score : 5/5
Franchise Central for real NFL Coaches : You can have hands on training and preparations for every game. You make sure during the week what your team needs to do each week to stay successful. You are on a losing streak, means you need more practice time, you are on a winning streak, your players can be rewarded with time off. Decide the practice types and film room time and also organize individual player work outs to improve their performace. Score : 5/5
Franchise progression : Players change over the course of a season, in some cases they improve while in others they decline. Progressions aims to take care of this by altering their ratings over the course of the season and accouting for those changes. Score : 5/5
Create-a-fan : ESPN needs no create-a-fan feature, since ESPN actually focuses on gameplay and not letting their game be the same game for the last five years. Score : 5/5
New gameplay : but we’re picking out the running game for this one since it’s not been covered yet in this comparison. This is where ESPN excels, some might say on the field is where the game is really made or broken anyway. Thankfully it really is where ESPN excels then. The running animations are even nicer than before. Score : 5/5
Stadium presentation : graphics in the stadiums are much improved with lighting effects. I really like the fact that the glass front of the corporate boxes shine now in a highly realistic way and perhaps that is down to the new lighting system that
EA advertised. The stadiums are vastly improved. Score : 5/5
New commentary : The best commentary of all the football games. Score : 3/5
Winner: ESPN Football 2k5.
I don't think our review was particularly biased. Your interpretation of Madden appears far more biased than ours. Actually the only thing you did was knock all the Madden ratings down so that ESPN scored better. ESPN is a great game, there is simply no doubting that. It's possible to like and enjoy playing both games this year as well.----------------
Look At What's For Sale You Guys.
Link to EbayConsidering what can be bought and sold on Ebay these days it was a relief to find the link pointed to an EA Sports football shirt and nothing more.----------------
Hi,
Is there anything on the maddenplanet web site that tells a moron like me how to install the roster updates for my Madden 2005 (PC)? I download the ROS files but can't figure out what to do with them. A readme.txt would help idiots like me.
Thanks.
Joe Martin
It's actually quite simple. Just place the roster file in the My Documents\Madden 2005\Rosters folder and it should work.----------------
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