Madden 2005 vs. NFL2K5
Okay... I got my fix last night watching Joe Gibbs's Redskins come back to beat the Broncos at the Hall of Fame game. Indeed I am ready for some football! As part of this annual Phoenix-like refreshment of my football soul, I need to purchase a Football game for my PS2. In the past it was a no-brainer: Madden towered above all other games. In recent years, however, I have found Madden to be increasing complex to the point where I would now call it a Football simulation rather than a Football game. So my eyes have now turned towards ESPN's NFL2K5. Does anyone out there in Insiderdom have opinions on these games? Pros and Cons to each?
Comments
I will get Madden anyway, because I have to see for myself which game is better, but NFL 2k5 is not a bad purchase by any means, so really it is up to you.
This year, I went with ESPN for my baseball purchase in lieu of EA's MVP. This game is pretty good and in comparison to EA's offering I was happy. So when VC and SEGA announced the $20 football price, I was completely won over. And I must say that ESPN NFL 2K5 is the funnest football game I have ever played. I am a casual, non-diehard gamer and I can't stop playing this title. I recommend it to any and everyone.
"Down! HUT! HUT! HUT!"
In lieu of that I vote Madden. I own it every year but play NFL 2K* with friends, and just like the feel of Madden.
I'm playing NCAA '05 (College Madden, if you will) and it just rocks. I fully expect to find Thursday that the king still rules.
J
posted on Aug 10, 2004 5:38pm PST
(Original Discussion was last modified by Sroz39 at 05:43pm Aug 10, 2004 PST)
Bottom line with madden....
VERY DISAPPOINTING
First the good:
1. The DB play is much better, and the defence in general is fun to play. I don't feel like the computer will pull out a last minute drive to win all the time.
2. The gameplay is good. They got rid of speed-cheating. Very good.
3. The draft is f***ing amazing. It is done very very well. I'm not going to get into it too much. There's too much good to mention.
4. The lighting system is pretty good.
5. The pre-snap defensive adjustments are great. Really gives you alot of control over what you want to do. Sometimes not enough time to do everything, but it's still great.
Now, the bad....(hang on, it's a long ride)
1. The graphics are ugly. By far the ugliest madden ever, for it's time. (I'm not saying madden 95 looked better than this year's madden. But for it's time and graphical expectations, this is the ugliest madden ever.)
2. Storyline Central is the most disappointing "new addition" to a madden game ever. Sooooooo generic and unrealistic. It also makes no difference to your team, unless you let a chimp manage your roster.
3. The ratings are inflated. A team with all 80's at every position is a BAD team in madden 05. This also adversely affects the draft. What is the point of having such a great draft system, if you can't start ANY of the rookies, unless your team is complete s***. A waste of great programming.
4. Position battles have a certain charm, however, you can just go and start whoever you want anyways. Also, the player that won the job, then when I take him out, hardly ever complains. If they wanted to make storyline central and position battles relevant, they would have had every player that wins a job then loses it, absolutely fuming and demanding a change RIGHT AWAY.
5. Did I mention the game is ugly? How come my created running back, at 216 lbs., without touching any arm or body sizes, looks like a f***ing gorilla?
6. The hit stick is pointless. Unless you create a fumble, which has happened to me only once, and I hit a guy almost every third play with the hit stick, there's no momentum shift like the game claims. At least in ncaa, you can rattle a guy and get the crowd going. Madden? Nothing.
7. The commentary is pure trash. If madden is in fact leaving the series next year, then this is actually a GOOD thing for the game. I have never been more disappointed with the audio in a game as much as madden.
8. The RFA system, franchise tag, salary cap increases, and contract demands are ALL flawed. The RFA's, the computer never matches your offer, the franchise tag is useless cuz it never gets to that point where you need it, the cap increases have been a problem for years and this year is no different, and re-signing players for the lowest amount is too easy because of the interest meter and they already tell you upfront what the lowest amount is that they'll accept. Who negotiates by starting low and hoping to go high?
9. Did I miss something? Oh yeah, this is the ugliest sports game since High Heat Baseball. I don't think I can state enough times how brutal the graphics are.
10. They didn't touch owner's mode. At least a minor tweak here and there. But nothing. Bad, very bad.
In closing, before you guys tell me to f*** off and post on sega's site, understand this; I have been playing madden since madden 94, so if I want to post about how disappointed I am with this year's game, then I have as much right to do so as everyone that wants to sing the game's praises. But it's pretty sad that when I play madden 05, to get ANY enjoyment out of the game, I have to keep telling myself "ESPN doesn't exist, ESPN doesn't exist". Face it guys, Sega made the better football game this year. And I figure that once the euphoria wears off on most of you because you're playing the newest madden, a large bunch of you will play 2K5 again. And enjoy it.
Originally posted by jeffyboy
In lieu of that I vote Madden. I own it every year but play NFL 2K* with friends, and just like the feel of Madden.
I'm playing NCAA '05 (College Madden, if you will) and it just rocks. I fully expect to find Thursday that the king still rules.
Yeah, I vote Madden too. I liked the addition of the Playmaker controls last year. It just feels like you're actually taking snaps and running an offense in Madden, whereas NFL2K5 is prettier and faster paced...better for playing anything other than solo or one-on-one. I'll probably skip Madden 2005 and get NCAA 2005 though, since I already own Madden 2002 and 2004.
And of course...no ESPN games for GameCube.
The first person football thing is cool, though. I still prefer the NFL2k series-and what matters to me is the on field play, I don't want to play GM or have to click through a menu that tells my defensive backs to watch video.
If you like to pretend that you're the GM, Madden is probably better. If you like to pretend that you're playing football, NFL2k is probably better.
This is just my subjective feeling after playing both games for a few years now.