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.

Presentation received a huge upgrade as everyone is well aware of. The videos I put up show a good mix of what has been done with the pregame activities and player warm-ups, numerous variations of cut scenes, halftime highlights, coaches handshake or player of the game being seen interviewed, and the post-game highlights. They all come across naturally and within rhythm of the game. You could even look at details such as the rain and snow hitting the camera lens which everyone loved the look of. There certainly is more that can be done in the future, especially specific to certain players or stadiums, but it is an immensely impressive job they’ve been able to do over the course of just one year.

Almost everyone I talked to mentioned the slowed down game speed at some point. While it did take some time to adjust to it really seemed to improve the feeling of the game. There is more of a sense of comfort when playing which allows you to think and strategize to a larger extent. You can see the plays develop and watch as holes open providing opportunity to react more naturally. While I went in skeptical that I would prefer the slower game speed I definitely came out of it feeling that I do.

Pro-Tak has been discussed at length on numerous occasions and examples can be seen through my gameplay videos. I was encouraged that it didn’t take over the experience. It was evident that it was there but at no point did I feel like it was going over the top in an attempt to show off the new technology. The best part of it was the formation of an actual pocket which was an extremely refreshing addition. Finally pocket passers can have an advantage of their own if they utilize the tools at hand rather than scramblers being able to buy a ton of time meaning they were the most valuable.

I really like the right stick for QB elusive moves. It felt natural to use it and was effective at buying time. Very satisfying feeling to know the rush is coming but be able to make a quick slide out of the way. What I’ll need to get used to is continuing to look downfield while doing that.

I was evaluating the time the QB had to throw throughout. On Pro it was understandably quite long and the QB was generally comfortable in the pocket. Bumped up to All-Pro and that did change somewhat. I found it to be inconsistent with some plays offering excessively long periods of time to throw but on others it felt more realistic. I also seemed to find that it was more balanced in head-to-head games but less so in games against the CPU.

Something else to consider is that hitting the QB while throwing results in errant passes. So while the pass rush seemed ineffective at times, if the QB held onto the ball just a fraction of a second too long he was getting hit and passes were going up for grabs. So that helped to add to the balanced feel the more I played.

I talked on multiple occasions with Ian Cummings about this very subject and it continues to be something that is monitored and tuned. Ultimately I ended up feeling like it was close to being right. I certainly would prefer it falling on the side of too much time instead of too little. However approaching slightly more consistent rush and increasing pressure from the defensive line in CPU games would probably be a beneficial adjustment.

The CPU AI is immensely improved from what I saw on All-Pro difficulty. The CPU was throwing the deep ball, breaking off big runs, and mixing up the play calling. Going up against that for the first time caught me off guard and I ended up paying the price. Surely there will be weaknesses found but I was impressed with the way the CPU attacked in some situations but played it safe in others such as a draw on 3rd and long.

When “Fight for the Fumble” was first discussed there was a great deal of trepidation from the community as well as myself. However in my time playing the game I only saw this trigger once. Because of that it had much more impact than if it happened every game or multiple times a game. The occurance was in the Seahawks-Redskins video when Patrick Kerney took down Jason Campbell with a very impactful hit. With the ball loose there were two Redskins right by it and one Seahawk who was positioned farther out. The Skins had the advantage and rightfully retained possession. The main problem from the sequence was that the Seahawks players celebrated as if they had come away with it.

When playing the game even the little touches like the Seahawks players lime green gloves and accented shoes really stood out. In a way I felt a sense of pride seeing those things represented in the game. If I had closer attachment with a baseball team I suspect I would feel the same way since The Show nails many of the smaller details of baseball along the same lines. So it’s definitely appreciated that Madden is starting to work these things in and realize how much NFL fans appreciate them. Another example is the QB signature styles. The first time I saw Jay Cutler in the game I immediately recognized him because of his stance and throwing motion.

In that environment, with a non-stop flow of people around and multiple games going on in the vicinity, it is not possible to get a good feel for the audio. While some commentary has come across I am most curious as to the crowd noise. Being a Seahawks fan crowd noise and home field advantage have always been a big part of the NFL experience. So the game lacking in both areas has always bothered me. While unfortunately it doesn’t appear there is any sort of HFA built-in there is hope that the crowd will be more active and responsive to plays on the field. We’ll just need clean captured gameplay to find out if that is the case.

I got flagged for a late hit which I didn’t know was even in Madden 10 until it happened. I attempted a hit stick right near the sideline and while I didn’t connect completely it was enough to illicit the flag. The ball carrier had just crossed out of bounds. I don’t think you’ll be seeing any late hits other than the borderline ones like that. Seems like a good compromise considering the NFL didn’t want them in at all.

It may have just been me but the run blocking seemed to be the weakest aspect of the game. While I was able to break off some really nice runs, I was also stopped in the backfield more than felt should be normal. I consider myself to be a stronger runner than passer in Madden but I really found myself opting to pass far more because of this. The CPU didn’t seem to have the same issue going against me though as shown by how Portis tore me up.

I did note to Ian that players catching passes as they fall to the ground are not aggressive about getting back up or scratching forward for more yards. They just seem to lay there or roll around a bit until someone comes by to touch them. The ground catches only happened a couple of times but in those cases they had the ability to pick up extra yards had they tried but the animation wouldn’t allow for it.

Of course there were some oddities that would generally would come along with a build still in development. In a minor error I noticed instances when the home team and score was listed above the road team and score. For whatever reason that stood out and irked me each time I saw it. I got sacked once before I could even hand the ball off on a dive play. That in particular really bothers me when it happens. I didn’t see any of the sideline catches, in fact I had players making the catch but not attempting to get the second foot in. With under two minutes left in the half I had a coaches challenge and it showed the coach in a cut scene throwing the red flag. Cool scene but it should have been a booth review. Also there were some broken cameras such as showing the QB sitting on the bench on the sidelines but with the camera positioned directly behind the bench. All things considered they were pretty minor especially knowing they are still working the bugs out at this stage of development.

Obviously I’m incredibly excited about Online Franchise. I was able to talk to various members of the Madden 10 team in order to find out more about the mode. After how much I got caught up in Online Dynasty in NCAA Football 09, when I never have traditionally been a dynasty player, I know this could have similar impact for Madden.

The number of user controlled teams can be 1-32. So you can even run an online dynasty on your own if you wanted to take advantage of the web or mobile functions. Owners can be added or dropped at anytime with the CPU controlling any other teams. I did ask whether a user could control more than one team but the answer was uncertain so in all likelihood that is a no.

Many of the features of the traditional franchise mode do transfer over to Online Franchise. Injuries and player progression should be handled the same way as offline. Drafts can be completed on the web or the console. The online franchises can go for as long as 10 years.

Unfortunately there are some aspects of Online Franchise such as the weekly recap show that do not carry over to the online side. The importing of an NCAA Football roster will only be available to offline franchises. And player movement is an area of the mode that is not structured so I’ll go into that further.

The biggest issues I discovered will be the lack of contracts and salary cap as well as the lack of trade logic with CPU teams. Those are very complicated areas and they were simply unable to get them implemented in time. This means users will have to come up with their own system to complete those functions. The Madden team is well aware that these are serious downfalls to the mode so while they are attempting to get in some options to make free agency and trading with the CPU possible within franchise.

Essentially that means granting the commissioner power to hand out free agents and approve trades. This way organized and committed franchises could operate their own free agency and trading system out of forums and then have the commish push the transactions through. Certainly this is not ideal but at least makes those things possible.

It is the people who randomly join franchises that seem likely to either encounter a negative experience or EA will have to offer the option to turn it into a quasi season or league by locking player movement outside of user to user trades. Unlike Online Dynasty in NCAA Football which requires an invite there will be the ability to join random Online Franchises in Madden. Given this news I’m not sure it wouldn’t be better to have them be solely invite based like NCAA.

On a positive note Online Franchise is being run server side rather than from the discs. That means there can be fixes, updates, and additions even after release of the game. Those things wouldn’t have to go through the normal patching process either because of it.

Despite the couple drawbacks they really got in a lot more than most people would’ve expected in just the one year. As we are seeing, Online Franchise has elements to it that make it more complicated than NCAA’s Online Dynasty. Hopefully they’ll provide the support they are saying is possible up to and through release to make the mode as good as it can be in this first year.

Overall it would be difficult to come away from playtime with Madden 10 and not be impressed. How well it holds up over time is obviously a question that can’t be answered at this point. However the presentation and gameplay improvements feel completely fresh and the potential of Online Franchise means Madden 10 is set up to be one of the best sports games of the year. Check back on Monday when I’ll be sharing some team and player ratings!

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.

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.

One of the new additions to the game is the “linked” setup plays. Thankfully I learned about this more and experimented with it because it turns out I didn’t have a complete understanding of how the feature works. Running a play that is “linked” to another will build it up towards being setup. Generally they are run plays connected to play action passes. Interestingly the rate of build-up is based on the success of the plays. So if you run a dive play and get stuffed you may not increase the percent or it will be very minimal. However run a dive and get 15 yards and it might go up to 50%.

My first few times through I was trying out the setup plays when they were at 60%, 84%, and so on. I was prepared to say that I really didn’t see any difference in how effective they were. Only on the second day did I find out that a play has to be 100%, completely setup, for it to matter. When I ran the fully setup plays I did notice the defense bite but by no means did it mean I was automatically successful. Several of the attempts at fully setup plays ultimately resulted in incompletions. I noticed that the safeties will bite on the play actions when they’re setup, while on setup run plays the linebackers may not take that initial step towards the line of scrimmage which can open up opportunities. Again much of that is based on the individual player ratings.

It did become clear that using the run to setup the play action was far better strategy than using the PA to setup a run play. While you may be more likely to bust a run when it is setup I didn’t find much success in those situations. It made more sense to take advantage through the air. This feature also adds an element of strategy in deciding when to pull out those setup plays. Again though knowing it only improves the odds of finding the opening for the big play and doesn’t mean it will actually come through should be reassuring to everyone.

Forgetting the setup plays the defensive AI makes adjustments automatically based on your play calling. I noticed after having run up the middle several times (trying to build up a play) the defensive tackles pinched in pre-play and crashed. The linebackers and safeties also started creeping up. It’s one of those improvements that many people won’t outright spot but will make a big difference.

I did try out the player lock on defense from a few different positions. The camera angles work relatively well. There are still times where the perspective is difficult to deal with such as when a ball carrier runs past, it is tough to react and adjust. Having the option to click onto any player though is great if not completely practical except in a Road to Glory and hopeful online co-op in the future. Clicking the stick to lock in worked well but it also meant I couldn’t pump up the crowd and I do that religiously when playing defense!

Game planning is another addition that provides the user with a way to influence how the team plays. What I most like about this is since you can only control one guy at a time the CPU has in general just played a standard way in the past. Now you can set it to conservative, balanced, or aggressive for offense and defense. Set to aggressive and your players will go for strips and try to break tackles. Basically they look for the big play in all situations. Set to conservative and the players will try to avoid the big mistake and play it safe. This will affect both the CPU controlled players and the player being user controlled.

I saw the effects of this immediately in my first game when I set both to aggressive. This is likely how most people will begin until they realize the downsides. On the first two possessions I was called for three face masks. In another game I said the hell with it I was going aggressive again. On one of the kick returns my guy practically refused to go down which ended up resulting in a fumble. I would recommend aggressive for situational use as opposed to playing that way for a full game. Conservative fits my play style better anyway so I shifted back to that for the most part. Balanced would provide a similar style to how the CPU has generally played in the past.

Presentation wise there isn’t all that much new. The bands during pregame appear to have been the main addition. That does absolutely nothing for me except add something new to skip through. There are no team entrances or new style of replays or cut scenes that I came across.

Ultimately if you liked 09’s gameplay you’ll like 10. If you liked 09 but felt there were several issues then you’ll probably be satisfied with what they’ve done for 10. However if you had a strong dislike of 09 I wouldn’t expect that feeling to shift based on the gameplay related changes and additions.

Teambuilder is definitely the most intriguing aspect of NCAA Football 10. By all accounts that is already a smashing success on the web-end. The fun had with Online Dynasty masked some of the flaws with the game last year. Because those issues have been addressed and along with the potential of Teambuilder this remains one of my most anticipated upcoming titles.

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.

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.

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.

EA Press Conference (June 1st)

I’ll be in attendance for the EA Press Conference on Monday at 2pt/5et. This is where Peter Moore will be talking a lot about the importance and growth of online play and is expected to make multiple online related announcements. I’ll be live blogging and tweeting from the Orpheum Theater in LA. You’ll be able to watch it live on EA’s website here.

E3 (June 2nd-4th)

Madden 10
This is the most anticipated sports game at E3 and rightfully so considering the direction it has taken for this year. Until now most of what has been known about the game are the technical improvements (Pro-Tak). With the online announcements there will be even more reason for excitement.

What could the new online modes “for the competitive and cooperative gamer” be? Speculation certainly is heavy towards Online Franchise which would really cover both sides of that. It could also be a variation of Online Team Play allowing users to control a single player in a team environment.

Those are innovations that came from other EA Sports titles though. My gut feeling is they wouldn’t make a big announcement about Madden getting a mode that their other games already have. Could it be a combination of both? Or something completely unique? Regardless it’ll be interesting to see what they have in store.

The Madden build comes at about the 80% mark of development and will be hands-on for everyone in attendance. The majority of the build may be unlocked offering the ability to change up teams and settings. Full presentation will be included and that is an aspect that the full scope of has yet to be revealed. So there should be ample opportunity to get a feel for the game, though balance issues are still being tuned to prepare for the release build so that has to remain a consideration. The Wii version will also be there with some news and hands-on impressions as well.

NCAA Football 10
The game will probably be close to finished by the time E3 rolls around. In the past because of where E3 fell in the development cycle EA has been able to offer up NCAA Football in polished form.

Because of the proximity to release it meant ability to choose teams and change settings and check out various modes. If that is the case again there will be lots of info and impressions to provide for NCAA. I don’t expect a full build though as there is still news to come regarding Road to Glory mode that is being held back until later in June.

When Teambuilder was announced I was told that the website to begin creating teams would go live 4-6 weeks before release of the game. E3 happens to fall within that range. I would not be surprised at all if Teambuilder launches during E3. That would provide for interaction at home to go along with what EA is talking about direct from the event.

Fight Night Round 4
With FNR4 releasing at the end of June this should be a near completed if not final build on the floor with wide open options. There will be lots of hands-on impressions to be had more so than news since most everything about the game is known. I’m sure the controversy over button controls will be discussed and hopefully word on whether they plan to patch in the control option can be confirmed one way or the other.

Tiger Woods 10
This should be a final build considering the game is out just a week after E3. Given that the demo is out for the PS3/360 more time will probably be spent with the Wii version. Impressions of gameplay and how well the Wii MotionPlus works with it will come.

Grand Slam Tennis
This should be a final build considering the game is out just a week after E3. Impressions of gameplay and how well the Wii MotionPlus works with it will come.

NHL 10 and FIFA 10
Apparently these two will only be shown behind closed doors. That means the games will be presented by producers, some features and improvements shown, but likely will not be hands-on. I don’t believe I will be getting in to see them.

The BIGS 2
With the game releasing July 7th this should be a hands-on offering with wide open options. It is the only 2K Sports game that will be at E3. Given the arcade nature and coming off the well received original it wouldn’t make any sense for them to be restrictive with it.

Backbreaker
While Backbreaker will be at E3 they have decided to offer an exclusive preview to a privileged media outlet with the game being kept behind closed doors. Everyone else will just be seeing new trailer that goes out. The publisher is also expected to be named (which will be news if it’s not Atari as had been listed by Gamestop). A release date will not be announced though right now late fall/winter appear to be what they are shooting for.

This is a major disappointment as E3 would’ve been a chance for Backbreaker to really make a splash. As I’ve stated previously I was looking forward to playing the game and thought a lot about the legitimacy of Backbreaker (as a football game) would be determined by their presence at E3. Preventing anyone from seeing or playing for themselves unfortunately just increases suspicion around the title. However I remain intrigued and will be getting a chance to check it out on Tuesday afternoon so I’ll be able to provide first hand impressions at some point if not that day.

Coverage

You can look forward to videos and pictures of some games, I’ll be tweeting throughout so make sure to follow me on Twitter, there will be multiple podcasts and vidcasts, and of course new content as often as possible. The postings may come more in the evenings considering the time being spent at the convention center during the day. A final pre-E3 update will go up on Sunday.

If you have any questions about these games or aspects of them you’d like me to investigate feel free to leave those in the comments and I’ll keep them in mind!

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.

Madden 09 on the Wii was a decent game. Outside of the 5 on 5 mode however there really wasn’t any reason to play that over the 360/PS3 version. Even as the game tried to be attractive to the casual crowd it remained a little over-complicated and unnatural to play.

The most obvious change for 10 is the new art style which presents five different body types, all of which are exaggerated to fit the different positions. The Wii version isn’t supposed to be completely serious so having that unique look is refreshing. I got a good laugh out of seeing Matt Hasselbeck so oddly shaped. The graphics aren’t going to be spectacular so they should attempt what they can to offset that. The cartooney style they have this year does an admirable job. I almost thought they could’ve gone more ridiculous looking though. It half looks like they went for the new style and half that it was unintended and just a result of the mediocre graphics of the Wii.

Last year the game introduced “Call Your Shot” where you could draw receiver routes on the screen and run quasi-created plays. For 10 they’ve added what is being called “Call Your Coverage” to defense. Simply point on and select a player and then place their assignment. Choosing an offensive player they will be put into man on that individual while choosing an open area will put them in a zone coverage.

The controls in 09 were deemed to be too complicated so they were simplified this year. Instead of selecting the receiver then making a throwing motion you just point the wiimote at the receiver you want to throw to and hit the button. Also instead of having different moves based on the motion made now just shake the wiimote and the game will make the best suited move for the situation. The old control scheme can be switched back to, but really I think the crowd who just wants to play and enjoy the game will like the changes that have been made.

All the stadiums have been completely re-built. While they aren’t 100% accurate they are a reasonable representation of their real-life counterparts. The gameplay screen is easier to read with score and clock now much larger.

I was encouraged by what I saw of Madden 10 on the Wii. These are just some basic changes that have been made to the game and the new direction it is headed. They developers seem know what has to be done and that is to create something that attracts the casual/family crowd as well as those purchasing it as a complimentary title to the 360/PS3 version.

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.

When the ball is loose and multiple players are around it they may jump on the ball which starts the “fight for the fumble” cut scene. This becomes a button mashing game, however instead of just being one button they switch it up throughout the “fight”. After some time the ref comes in, pulls the players off, and signals who has possession. It is an intense cut scene to watch. One thing I tried to make clear is the frustration that would be had if a fumble is obviously recovered but then the “fight for the fumble” happens and the ball changes possession. It was encouraging to hear they are working to make sure that will not occur. The hope is to tune the “fight for the fumble” so that it only happens about once per game. It is an exciting moment, and if it happened more than that not only would it get frustrating but it would lose that appeal.

One of the goals this year was to slim the game down. A new streamlined menu system is one of the first things that will be noticed. They’re attempting to keep the gameplay screen as clean and simplified as possible. The play selection has gone back to a single bar of three plays with no window style presentation. I hope they will have a way to change personnel, view stats, and watch replays without pausing the game though. That wasn’t evident in the build we saw. Also while weapons remain but the icons won’t be visible on field.

Controls wise they have pulled that display off the screen though it is optional and can be put back up. Defensive line moves now use the right stick instead of the bumpers which should make for a much more natural feel. A new addition is the QB Avoidance Stick. In the pocket the controller will rumble when pressure is coming. By hitting the right analog stick the QB will make a quick move. Push up and he’ll step up in the pocket, right to shift right, and left to shift left. From what I saw the QB was usually able to execute the move successfully however it doesn’t mean that there will be another couple comfortable seconds. In many cases the QB bought a little time but then got hit as he was throwing. This is another really nice improvement seeing the QB get the ball off but the throw being affected adversely by the hit.

When I attempted to describe my feeling towards the games coming out of the event it was that NCAA Football 10 was exciting while Madden 10 was impressive. That was just the nature of what they had to show given their different points in the development cycle. Much is still to be revealed for both games. It is only a little over a month until E3 and that is shaping up to be a huge event for the EA Sports titles.

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.

The innovation with Online Dynasty last year changed the whole atmosphere surrounding the NCAA Football series. This year there appears to be another mode that will have similar impact. The return of create-a-school was heavily desired by the community but the NCAA team wanted to do the mode right and provide a much larger experience. The result is Teambuilder.

Using the Teambuilder website (not yet live) you’ll be able to create your team from the ground up. Everything from the team’s logo, uniforms, the field, to the rosters are customizable. Check out ncaaStrategies write-up for a more details on what each category offers.  This essentially provides for a fully customizable game within NCAA Football 10. Transfer over logos from an image program as you aren’t limited to created logos that the game would offer. A nice touch is that once you bring in a logo you can grab the exact colors it contains right from it for use on the other creation elements.

Where Teambuilder goes even further is with the ability to share the creations online. You’ll be able to download other users’ created teams for use in the game. You can even take those already created and simply work off them by making alterations to your liking.

Bringing a created team into a dynasty will require replacing one of the current teams. In theory you could replace all 120 teams with created ones if so desired. Don’t forget with the addition of custom conferences all sorts of changes to the structure can be made.

The created squad starts by taking on a roster from any current team. From there the rosters are completely editable including ratings. I made sure to ask about how that could affect Online Dynasties. The commissioner controls what teams are imported in. So it isn’t as though people will be sneaking in over-powered teams as the commish can just deny those created teams from entering.

Your online opponent will see everything you created including the logos, uniforms, names, and colors. I made sure to confirm this as previous custom teams online in Madden did not display any of that to online opponents. While there will be an outlet to report inappropriate use the freedom is there to do anything. Given that most people are in Online Dynasties with friends it should be amusing to see the creations that people come up with.

The website to start creating teams with Teambuilder may be out as early as six weeks prior to release. There will be no better way to pass time while waiting for the game to come out.  By the game’s release there will be thousands upon thousands of teams created. I’ve heard ideas such as re-creating high school teams, classic college teams of the past, TV/movie teams, website teams, and so on. It is exciting just to imagine all the possibilities.

It was clear that EA had been holding back some big info in regards to this year’s title. Teambuilder was the talk of the event and has the potential to provide an extraordinary amount of extended value and enjoyment out of NCAA Football 10.

I was happy to have been able to learn more about Season Showdown. This is something that I have been somewhat down on, primarily due to it being described as innovative in the press release and then explained as something we’ve already gotten before that few people cared about. Fortunately there is much more to it than just tracking usage stats.

Season Showdown isn’t something you play but instead just accumulates through the course of naturally playing the game. This is unless you decide to play that particular week’s match-up online with your designated team. Each person locks into the team they want to represent and from then on earn that school credits. All the modes will collect the results for Season Showdown tracking including Play Now, Dynasty, Online Dynasty, Road to Glory, and Online games.

There are several different ways to earn those credits. There is just naturally playing games and it’ll tally those results. Then there is playing that week’s real life match-up online. There are also going to be two web games. One is a trivia game while the other is a quasi pick-em.

One of the biggest benefits to Season Showdown is that it offers incentive for people to play the right way. Every game online has issues with users who ruin the experience for others. Now though you will gain credits for doing the “right” things in the context of play and lose them for playing disrespectfully.

If you go for it on 4th and 10 on your own 20 in the first quarter you’ll lose credits. If you punt in that situation you will gain credits. Go for a two point conversion every time and you’ll lose credits. Should the circumstances call for a two point attempt you would not be penalized. I was told the standards that will be set are changeable so if there is support to adjust certain ones that is something they can do on a running basis.

Will that be reason enough for many of those people to avoid taking advantage of exploits? That still seems doubtful. However it is possible that people out there will want to support their school enough that it’ll cause them to (at least) consider making the proper decision.

All the credits will be tracked not only for the schools but for the individuals in numerous categories. After seeing how those stats are displayed I think it’ll be something that people will enjoy checking in on.

The main concern I had going in was that Season Showdown would only be about the “big” schools. The USC, Florida, Ohio State, Texas types. They did attempt to avoid that being the case. With several different ways for a school to chalk up a “win” on a weekly basis vs their opponent it won’t just be about which team was used the most online. They fully expect to see some big upsets and small schools ranked near the top.

At the end of the season there will be a 32 team tournament based on those rankings to determine the winner. Is Season Showdown something that is going to capture my attention on more than an occasional basis? Probably not. But at the same time I like the potential benefits and competitive elements that it provides and can definitely see a lot of people getting into it.

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.