E3: Madden NFL 10 Impressions

The improvements to Madden 10 were quickly evident at E3. Many of them are visual which means you’re immediately exposed to them and they are impossible to miss. Others such as the game speed are readily apparent as well. That suited it well to the environment that E3 offers where time with the game can be limited and the crowds can affect the experience. Reaction to Madden has been overwhelmingly positive for the most part and it received multiple “Game of E3″ nominations while there. Continue on for my impressions from the event.

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E3 2009 Day Two Videos

Once I got back from E3 it became much easier to upload and process the videos. So here are all the rest of the vids I took while out there for Madden 10 and NCAA Football 10.

For Madden this includes an extended recording of Redskins @ Seahawks, a couple intros and half time highlights. These are all on All-Pro difficulty. For NCAA there are a few showing gameplay on All-American (be warned I was trying to play and record at the same time) and also two replays of “setup” plays where you can see how the defense reacts.

Still to come over the next couple days will be my full impressions article on Madden and a wrap-up of the entire event. Continue on to check out the videos and leave your thoughts in the comments.

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E3: NCAA Football 10 Impressions

During the first day of E3 I played NCAA Football 10 on the default Varsity difficulty. I made the statement in my brief recap that the game had a very similar feel to 09 and it seems people ran with that as though it meant it wasn’t changed or improved which is not the case. The differences are just not as obvious as the ones Madden received. After bumping it up to All-American the improvements made to the game became more evident.

The adaptive AI has a strong presence and I’ll describe an example of that from the defensive side later in the article. Going up against the CPU offense there were instances of them throwing deep and mixing up the play calling better than seen in recent editions.

As witnessed in the UW-WSU video the CPU RB had a play where he probably would’ve run out of bounds last year but instead caught me off guard by pulling off a sharp cut and going up-field for about 15 more yards. There is more inaccuracy from QBs and a great deal of that is dependent on ratings. There is a pass rush and I actually encountered a CPU Missouri blitzing the crap out of me over a series of plays and I was not prepared for that to happen. Also a factor is if the QB waits too long and gets hit during the throw the potential is there for those waffling passes to be picked off.

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E3 2009 Day One Videos

Here is a collection of videos taken from the first day of E3. These focus on Madden 10 and NCAA Football 10. Planning to do several more videos from the event today that will either go up late tonight or tomorrow morning.

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E3 2009 Day One Recap

This will just be a short recap of the first day’s events. More detailed write-ups on each game will follow within the next couple days. Got a lot of videos to post up but given the slow internet connection it may not be feasible to do until Thursday morning. Feel free to drop any questions in the comments and if I know the answer I’ll reply or mention them in the upcoming articles.

First short Madden 10 video (Broncos vs Jaguars)

Madden 10

Immediately noticeable is the upgrade in presentation. One of the first things I saw was Phillip Rivers named the player of the game, and after the game ended a scene of him standing on the field being interviewed. Lots of cut scenes, pre-game activity, highlights at halftime and after the game. Everything seems to fit in fluidly within the context and pace of the game.

Have a lot of answers about Online Franchise. As mentioned yesterday they really got a lot done in the one year for this and I’m very impressed. One neat option is the ability to play an Online Franchise by just yourself. It can be any of 1-32 teams. So if you want to do your franchise but take advantage of the web elements you can make it an online one. There is one big concern with the mode but apparently there are some things in the works to address it, so I’ll hold off on posting about that for the time being and will update when I know more. Luckily though they built Online Franchise server side so there is the potential of additions and improvements to the mode even post-release.

Not wanting to comment too much on gameplay until I get more time in with it tomorrow and play on a higher difficulty. I will say that the decrease in game speed is something everyone picked up on right away. It seems pretty natural and allows plays to develop well but it does take some adjustment to get used to. Also the presence of a pocket thanks to Pro-Tak is very welcome and refreshing.

Two additional camera angles in “zoomed” and “wide”. We seemed in agreement that “wide” may end up as a community favorite. Uniforms can be mixed and matched just like NCAA. Also maybe too many shirtless fans in the Superdome…

NCAA Football 10

Most is known on the game except for Road to Glory so I’ll be posting up some gameplay vids. Overall the game has a very similar feel to 09. Despite that there are some clear improvements that have been made with the CPU AI, linked plays, and game planning. One tip is to be cautious about when you want to play aggressive. I started the game that way and got three face mask penalties in the first two possessions. That is probably better used situationally. Teambuilder is obviously the big selling point and that has proven to be a huge success since it was launched yesterday. More to come after getting more time in with it.

Madden 10 Wii

Got a chance to play co-op with a new mode called Road to the Super Bowl. This can be done with half season or full season and incorporates the possibility of playing cooperatively and choosing which player to control. Play through it in either five on five or 11 on 11 mode. The co-op aspect was pretty fun and should be an attractive way for people to play the game on the Wii together. It simplifies things both in terms of focus and with the controls.

Fight Night Round 4

I actually didn’t get time to play FN today. I did notice that it was probably the most actively played game there. Consistently all the stations were full with an audience watching on. Goes to show how much popularity the franchise still holds.

Backbreaker

Had a good 1 1/2 hour showing of the game. Can’t speak on it until June 15th however.

E3 2009 Preview

Next week is going to be huge for the world of gaming. After two years of a lackluster reinvention of E3 it now returns back to the spectacle it was before. Gaming companies are buying back into it with big announcements planned and lots of highly anticipated games on display.

This is definitely the case for EA Sports who will have a significant presence at E3 with seven upcoming titles being offered up. In addition to the games on the floor Peter Moore is expected to reveal the new online modes for Madden 10. Here is a look at the games that will be at the event and what to expect.

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Early Madden 10 Wii Preview

Ever since the Wii exploded onto the scene there has been the question what the user base would respond to when it came to licensed sports games. By in large the efforts so far have been met with apathy. The only one that has been a real success is the Tiger Woods series. That and Grand Slam Tennis now get the enhancement that comes with Wii MotionPlus. Nascar Kart Racing recently joined the success column as they went away from sim to completely arcade. However team sports games don’t  seem to translate as well to the console and attempts to straddle the hardcore-casual line (All-Play) have not worked out.

Thankfully EA Sports seems to have realized this and we’re seeing the start of a new direction for the Wii with Madden 10. No one gets excited about playing the PS2 version of Madden on the Wii. Instead the idea was to create a completely new and fun experience. This is the first year the Wii version has been developed at the Tiburon studio which is significant and should result in better offerings going forward.

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Early Madden 10 Preview

On Monday I wrote about NCAA Football 10 coming out of the EA Sports Season Preview Event. While that game showcased features, Madden NFL 10 instead put technical improvements on display.

By now everyone has read about the Pro-Tak technology that allows for up to nine man gang tackles, “fight for the fumble”, pushing the ball carrier, and the formation of a real pocket. Pro-Tak is providing far more than just a small improvement to the tackling animations. It really has a huge affect on everything that will happen on the field and how immersive an experience the game will provide.

In the demonstration lead designer Ian Cummings attempted to show off much of what the technology has allowed for this year. In what could be a good sign it took numerous attempts to see things like a fumble pile-up or large gang tackle. The build was of the Super Bowl rematch and maybe a back like Brandon Jacobs would’ve been more appropriate for some of these animations. Willie Parker dragging defenders isn’t all that realistic or as likely to pull that off in the game. Still it was great to see the players jump on and attempt to affect the play.

It is another benefit of the procedural awareness as well. You’d get offensive players on one side and the defensive players pushing back. Depending on strength and numbers the running back could be sent back (even could result in a whistle to end the play without ever going down) or the pile may push forward gaining crucial yards. You can even go up and hit stick the pile. Interesting factoid: Ben Roethlisberger is the only QB in the game who will attempt to push a pile.

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Teambuilder and Season Showdown Preview

The EA Sports Season Opener Preview last week afforded the opportunity to check out two big feature additions to NCAA Football 10. Teambuilder takes the simple create-a-school mode to a whole new level while Season Showdown presents an online integrated competition to represent the college of your choice.

Continue on to read a preview of both Teambuilder and Season Showdown. Included are two video interviews with NCAA Football 10 designer Ben Haumiller as he runs through what to expect from each.

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EA Sports Season Opener Overview

Coming out of the EA Sports Season Opener event I wanted to drop a few thoughts on some of the games that were on display. I won’t have full extensive write-ups on them but from my interaction with them will now have additional insight leading up to their releases. I also had the opportunity to interview Peter Moore which I’ll be discussing in the near future. Check out the screenshot gallery for the latest images from these games.

Tiger Woods 10
Outside of Fight Night I’d say this was the game getting the most buzz. Not as much for the 360/PS3 version but more for the Wii. The Wii MotionPlus was in hand and that may end up changing the way sports gamers view the console’s offerings. The Wii version of Tiger actually outsold the other versions last year and the gap could widen now as this may very well be the version that gamers, even the hardcore, gravitate towards. Of course that all depends on how long a wait consumers will have for the controller add-on which doesn’t appear as though it will be out before these games release.

Grand Slam Tennis
It’s difficult to briefly describe how much impact the MotionPlus has but it is dramatic. Grand Slam could end up surprising people with its depth and realism while still retaining the fun factor Wii titles aim for. The visual style of the game is great. You have the ability to use just the Wii remote or you can add the nunchuck for additional control over movement. John McEnroe appears for the first time ever in a video game which helps to represent the emotion of the sport and tournament feel the game is presenting.

EA Sports Complex
Got to look around at what the Complex has to offer for Playstation Home. It is going to open up probably within the next two months with a racing mini-game and poker. Unfortunately as is the case with Home there may be wait time to actually get to play them. What EA did though to try and combat that is have several different options so as to spread everyone in the Home space out. Next up will be a golf mini-game in the mold of closest to the cup. EA is definitely putting some effort into Home.

Fight Night Round 4
I’m not going to be able to speak to the gameplay however visually FNR4 looks incredible. For anyone who is skeptical that the screenshots or trailer are representative of the game I can assure you they are. The flow is what impressed me the most. Past fighting games have seemed a little mechanical to me however I didn’t get that sense at all seeing Tyson and Ali going at it and utilizing their own unique strengths. The 60fps probably plays a part in that. I recognized FNR3 as a very good game but I was never really able to get into it. I’m still at that stage with FNR4 but it is hard not to be encouraged by where the game is headed.