Madden 12 Isn't Terrible But...
Every year the graphics get better and the presentation becomes more elaborate. By any rational means those statements should equate to each Madden incarnation becoming a greater game than the previous. Yet that rarely is the case. EA Sports tinkers with their product on a yearly basis and as I've noted before, their changes subtract as much quality as is added.
I will admit a slight bias against the current line of professional football video games. Not that I ever preferred the 2K Sports options, when they were available, but more so because I believe the NCAA Football games that EA produces have been more engaging, and fun, during the last two console generations. The noticeable exception is Madden 2005 which is as close to perfection as the franchise has come. Although I've played each college and pro game on the current generation of systems, I've spent the most time with the 2009 versions. They are not the best by any means, but it amazes me the regression that Madden 12 has made in comparison to it's sister franchise.
There are improvements in the new game. Largely thanks to EA's nasty habit of stripping the first games on new consoles in order to repackage old features. Those lost features are finally making their way back in time for the death throes of this generation of systems. However, they seem to have come at a needless cost:
1. Why did the Madden team decide to eliminate the analog stick kick mechanic in favor of the old style push button meter? Seriously? Is there a reason? We went backwards and called it progress? Is EA Sports a video game company or the federal government? NCAA Football 12 kept the practical swing stick mechanic. Which works fine, except online where the lag hampers the reaction time. But the push button style wouldn't fix that. New servers would fix that.
2. Why have they changed the way to call hot routes, audibles, and other pre-snap adjustments? This was unnecessary. It didn't make it easier. It was just change for the sake of change.
3. Why is Madden still not using the right analog stick for pump-fakes? Quarterbacks directionally pump fake to hold players. Why does the NCAA Football team get this but not the guys at Madden? There should be different characteristics for the two games... but it's football, the controls should be identical. It's the same damn company.
4. Can we skip the cutscenes after the plays? Seriously, this adds twenty minutes on to the game. At least create the option. There was a Wall Street Journal piece last year that covered how much football is actually played in a sixty minute game (or three hours). The average total was eleven minutes of actual football. The creators behind MLB: The Show know how boring baseball can be, and gave arcade players the right to skip through the filler.
5. Why is my backup quarterback high-fiving everyone who scores a touchdown? Doesn't he have a clipboard to hold?
6. Now we can't challenge plays unless it's on "gameflow"? Is this because you could never get that right anyway?
7. Why do I have to give my new franchise a name before I know what city I'm moving it to? Also, where have all the logos gone?
8. On that subject... Where are the options to create the alternate jerseys for moved franchises? Not that it matters. The uniforms don't stay the color you create them anyway.
9. The menu screen in franchise mode is just nonsensical. Change for change sake. Here's why it bugs me. They went through the trouble of implementing the system of cuts for preseason players, then streamlined the menu system to prompt for the next game so the user can just skip over all the hard work the creators put in. Why? I wouldn't trust the CPU to auto-cut, it barely auto-scouts properly. Maybe if I used the St. Louis Rams the CPU would just cut everyone.
10. The commentary is terrible. It honestly hasn't been good since Summerall left. He and Madden had voices made for video games. I don't know how it worked so well. And I'm sure there were moments of ridiculousness, but damn I miss it. Summerall was a perfect robot voice, because he was a robot. Madden sounded gimmicky, but Madden always sounded gimmicky. It seems so long ago that ACE was the place.
Those are nit-picky problems. I know. But it's frustrating how the yearly product seems to change things that are fine instead of creating a better overall experience. Again, any government analogy should apply. I will give credit to the Madden team for the presentation. Overall the cinematics of the game are impressive, and at least the franchise mode is getting close to returning to the greatness of Madden 2005.
However, like any good Madden-nerd, I'm not satisfied with the glitz and flash. And perhaps I'm being too practical of a business mind, but why would I want to pay a team to recycle old parts and repackage it. If I'm an executive at EA, and I'm worried about quality (I know ha, ha) don't I want to stop paying my employees for double or triple work? Why can't they figure out a way to create a logical endurance progression for players instead of messing with the kicking mechanic? Defenses get tired at the end of games, especially ones that have been on the field for too long. It should be easier to run on them.
I'm not a programmer. I'm just a gamer and a football fan. So there may be some mystery to creating Madden that I don't understand. Plus, knowing the fascist nature of the NFL's image control, I'm sure there are plenty restrictions. However, I know that EA has a cash cow and it has the potential to fashion it into a perfect game year after year. I'd settle for just seeing it happen once.
I will admit a slight bias against the current line of professional football video games. Not that I ever preferred the 2K Sports options, when they were available, but more so because I believe the NCAA Football games that EA produces have been more engaging, and fun, during the last two console generations. The noticeable exception is Madden 2005 which is as close to perfection as the franchise has come. Although I've played each college and pro game on the current generation of systems, I've spent the most time with the 2009 versions. They are not the best by any means, but it amazes me the regression that Madden 12 has made in comparison to it's sister franchise.
There are improvements in the new game. Largely thanks to EA's nasty habit of stripping the first games on new consoles in order to repackage old features. Those lost features are finally making their way back in time for the death throes of this generation of systems. However, they seem to have come at a needless cost:
1. Why did the Madden team decide to eliminate the analog stick kick mechanic in favor of the old style push button meter? Seriously? Is there a reason? We went backwards and called it progress? Is EA Sports a video game company or the federal government? NCAA Football 12 kept the practical swing stick mechanic. Which works fine, except online where the lag hampers the reaction time. But the push button style wouldn't fix that. New servers would fix that.
2. Why have they changed the way to call hot routes, audibles, and other pre-snap adjustments? This was unnecessary. It didn't make it easier. It was just change for the sake of change.
3. Why is Madden still not using the right analog stick for pump-fakes? Quarterbacks directionally pump fake to hold players. Why does the NCAA Football team get this but not the guys at Madden? There should be different characteristics for the two games... but it's football, the controls should be identical. It's the same damn company.
4. Can we skip the cutscenes after the plays? Seriously, this adds twenty minutes on to the game. At least create the option. There was a Wall Street Journal piece last year that covered how much football is actually played in a sixty minute game (or three hours). The average total was eleven minutes of actual football. The creators behind MLB: The Show know how boring baseball can be, and gave arcade players the right to skip through the filler.
5. Why is my backup quarterback high-fiving everyone who scores a touchdown? Doesn't he have a clipboard to hold?
6. Now we can't challenge plays unless it's on "gameflow"? Is this because you could never get that right anyway?
7. Why do I have to give my new franchise a name before I know what city I'm moving it to? Also, where have all the logos gone?
8. On that subject... Where are the options to create the alternate jerseys for moved franchises? Not that it matters. The uniforms don't stay the color you create them anyway.
9. The menu screen in franchise mode is just nonsensical. Change for change sake. Here's why it bugs me. They went through the trouble of implementing the system of cuts for preseason players, then streamlined the menu system to prompt for the next game so the user can just skip over all the hard work the creators put in. Why? I wouldn't trust the CPU to auto-cut, it barely auto-scouts properly. Maybe if I used the St. Louis Rams the CPU would just cut everyone.
10. The commentary is terrible. It honestly hasn't been good since Summerall left. He and Madden had voices made for video games. I don't know how it worked so well. And I'm sure there were moments of ridiculousness, but damn I miss it. Summerall was a perfect robot voice, because he was a robot. Madden sounded gimmicky, but Madden always sounded gimmicky. It seems so long ago that ACE was the place.
Those are nit-picky problems. I know. But it's frustrating how the yearly product seems to change things that are fine instead of creating a better overall experience. Again, any government analogy should apply. I will give credit to the Madden team for the presentation. Overall the cinematics of the game are impressive, and at least the franchise mode is getting close to returning to the greatness of Madden 2005.
However, like any good Madden-nerd, I'm not satisfied with the glitz and flash. And perhaps I'm being too practical of a business mind, but why would I want to pay a team to recycle old parts and repackage it. If I'm an executive at EA, and I'm worried about quality (I know ha, ha) don't I want to stop paying my employees for double or triple work? Why can't they figure out a way to create a logical endurance progression for players instead of messing with the kicking mechanic? Defenses get tired at the end of games, especially ones that have been on the field for too long. It should be easier to run on them.
I'm not a programmer. I'm just a gamer and a football fan. So there may be some mystery to creating Madden that I don't understand. Plus, knowing the fascist nature of the NFL's image control, I'm sure there are plenty restrictions. However, I know that EA has a cash cow and it has the potential to fashion it into a perfect game year after year. I'd settle for just seeing it happen once.
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