The Official Madden 2008 Thread

[MaddHatter]

After a dissapointing 2007, I can't say how excited I am about 2008. They've brought back everything they lost from the old gen to new gen conversion and added so much more. The Graphics are still great, but the gameplay will be 100x better. We all know Vince Young took the cover after LT turned it down, but here's what to expect...

Midair Collisions
A quarterback lofts a pass to a streaking receiver that is well covered. The receiver jumps and extends his arms to receive the ball just as the corner buries his helmet into his ribcage. The receiver is upended and falls on his back while the ball bounces into the hands of the safety creeping over to help. If you're going to expose yourself in traffic, expect to get hit. We can see the alligator arms growing now.

Big Time Catches
To balance these big hits in the secondary, EA has made star receivers play like, you know, stars. Guys like Larry Fitzgerald are going to go up and get the ball and they're going to take the hit. What's more, you'll see them reaching out for one-handed grabs and leaping into the end zone for six. That's not to say a good corner isn't going to shut down some of these plays. But a scrub DB? "He's toast," Cummings said.

To do this, EA had to better emphasize the roles receivers play by looking at situational awareness and catch-in-traffic ratings. So expect to see a big difference with possession guys like Keyshawn Johnson and showboats like Terrell Owens. Johnson won't stretch the D, but he will do the little things -- in the end zone on a timing patter, he'll catch the ball with his hands and fall right to the turf to avoid the hit and secure the football. Along with highlight catches, you can also trigger possession catches that ensure you catch the ball, get the feet down and tuck it away safely at the expense of some speed running after the catch.

Hurdles

A few years ago, players were able to cheat with the hurdle button to escape tackles. The easy solution was simply to remove hurdles. They're back in 08, and a great tool for ball carriers looking to evade tacklers going for the knees. On the flip side of that coin, you are exposed in the air, as we saw in this video:

LaDainian Tomlinson takes a pitch and sweeps right. As a linebacker bears down, LT hurdles. Bad move. In the air, LT is unprotected. The LB takes his legs out from under him and LT flips over, fumbling the ball toward the sideline. "If a guy is running at you and you jump at him, you're dead," said Cummings. "We emulated that."

Hitstick 2.0

If LT is going to hurdle to avoid a tackle, you have to be able to answer on the defensive side of the ball. Enter Hitstick 2.0. This will allow you to tackle high or low by flicking up or down on the right stick, respectively. This opens the door for all kinds of possibilities.

If you're an undersized corner and Lorenzo Neal is barreling toward you, you better take out his knees at risk of getting trucked. If it's Warrick Dunn dancing toward you, on the other hand, you may want to hold off on the hit stick altogether at the risk of losing your shoes. But if you're Zach Thomas and the situation is right, a high tackle is going to ring some bells.

Gang Tackles
We saw a bit of gang tackling last year on the PS3, but this year the feature looks to be fully fleshed out. Cummings said with confidence that it's "the best gang-tackling engine ever created," a bold statement considering the old 2K franchise. But consider this:

You can stand a guy up and come in with a linebacker to clean house. Yeah, it's been done before. But from here, Cummings said you can add on dynamically at any point. So maybe it takes two, three, four guys to haul Larry Johnson to the ground. Or if you're running in with a linebacker, you can actually knock the other defenders off the ball carrier with a poorly-aimed hit. Or blockers can come in and try to knock defenders off. Or you can try to strip the ball. A runner can cover it up. The list just keeps going.

The Line of Scrimmage
EA enlisted an engineer that played offensive line in college and the Canadian Football League to design a new blocking scheme. This season you'll see double teams, stretch blocking and linemen extending to the second level. A lot more holes will open up this year and you'll need to follow the game plan to take advantage.

For running backs, that means reading and following blocks. Of course, a few gargantuan defensive tackles can ruin your trap play faster than you can say Corey Simon, so it's important to be able to improvise. Last season if a hole didn't open up, a back would simply run in place behind a lineman-- ice skating as it's known in the biz. This year, big backs will push the pile and force their blockers forward. Smaller backs like Reggie Bush will hesitate behind the line, waiting for an opening to develop before bouncing outside. Both moves are context-sensitive and automatic when you run into a blocker.

Fatigue
Guess what? Temperature and location play a factor in a football game. If you're a Green Bay Packer playing at Dolphin Stadium in September, you're going to feel the heat while the Dolphins are well-adjusted. And don't start on the Dolphins playing in Foxborough in December. Weather will play into the home-field advantage next season.

But fatigue is caused by a lot more than a hot day. Consider this: If Reggie Bush scampers left, then right, then backward, then left and right again and finally into the end zone as only Reggie Bush can, he's going to be tired at the end of the run. In Madden, you'll notice him slowing and, with a different set of running animations, you will see that Bush is gassed. But really, does that guy ever get tired?

For those of you that enjoy sprinting from sideline to sideline with Michael Vick, it's time to get a new strategy. Then again, the defense will tire too...

After a play, you won't see the same canned animations of 11 players jogging back to a huddle in unison. Players will huff and puff with their hands on their hips, longing for the oxygen tank on the sidelines. This will add a new dimension to clock management as you can't simply run Hail Mary after Hail Mary with a no-huddle offense. Those long patterns (and the jog back to the line) take a heavy toll. Instead, you'll need to complete a pass and -- dare I say it -- spike the ball to stop the clock. Just waiting a few extra seconds to snap the ball will have an effect.

Celebrate Good Times, C'mon!
After all these amazing plays, you have to leave a little room for some player celebrations. Forget about those sluggish cutscenes and shots of the stands from last year. If you blow up a play on defense, a teammate will run over, pick you up off the ground, give you a slap on the helmet and a quick, "Hell yeah!" and jog back to the huddle. This all runs within the game engine and helps keep the action flowing smoothly -- a natural problem in football games.

After scores, keep your eyes peeled for signature celebrations like Chad Johnson's river dance, Donte Hall's X and Rex Grossman's gator chomp. EA already has at least 60 celebrations in the game, although we don't know yet if you'll be able to choose one for yourself after a score.

Madden's new moves are made possible to a new animation system borrowed from the FIFA franchise and NBA Street Homecourt. The goal is to make players move as realistically as possible. Instead of turning in a lazy arc, players are going to plant their feet, drop their shoulder and make cuts. We watched as LT hit a hole hard and made decisive cuts through the second level to rip off a big gain. It's also important to note that these cuts are quick -- in FIFA, players would often step in the bucket and a foot plant would slow players down. As LT spun around a defender, cut left, broke a leg tackle and was finally dragged down by a neck tackle, the animations blended smoothly together, inspired by the Homecourt system. Cummings has pushed his team to ensure that players can break out of animations and pull off another move or change direction at any time. When a receiver runs and out and catches a pass near the sideline, he doesn't have to let his momentum carry him out of bounds during the catch animation. Now he can haul the ball in, do a quick chop step and cut 90 degrees up field. It doesn't look like much by itself, but when you compare all these movements to Madden 07, the improvements stand out like Orlando Pace in a buffet line.

As for AI, EA wants star players to play like star players. Peyton Manning is going to pick a part a defense, call audibles and shift his team at the line. On the flip side, a QB like Rex Grossman is going to be inconsistent. Cornerbacks like Champ Bailey are going to shut down an entire side of the football field. You've never feared a cornerback before in Madden, but that's about to change. EA is also rewriting the defensive zone AI to eliminate money plays, especially deep balls and corner routes.

As such, look for matchups to play a more important factor in 08. Taller receivers will take advantage of small DBs on fade routes. A tight end like Antonio Gates split out wide will burn a slow linebacker trying to play man coverage. EA is trying to emphasize the chess match that is the gridiron on any given Sunday. And don't forget about the defensive side of the ball. If you think you can roll out with a QB right toward a healthy Jevon Kearse without throwing out a double team, you got another thing coming.

And finally, EA is bringing back the features that never made the jump from current-gen Madden like owner mode, defensive hot routes and classic rosters. The stellar Superstar mode returns, as well as the Hall of Fame, although EA is missing a few notable players like Montana, Marino and Rice that make appearances in All Pro Football 2K8. Is it a coincidence that Madden 08 will be so feature-rich now that 2K is back in the game? Probably not, and that's a good thing as EA has yet another incentive to make the best football game on the market.

Here's a link to some pictures of all the 1st round players starting with Aaron Ross with the NY Giants...

[ColossalCanadian]

i always get excited about the next years game(in all sports) but am rarely pleased with the money spent on the game, that said I WILL be getting madden 08 and hope that they do finally get their grove back, 07 wasnt bad and it was years ahead of 06(for 360) anyway, but i hope they fix the problems from 07 not just another roster update, it sounds good, but it usually does

[vcx]

I hate Madden games simply because it's all the improvements all the time and NHL series is all craptastic kiddie play all the time.

Pisses me off.

[TheGWH]

Originally Posted by vcx

I hate Madden games simply because it's all the improvements all the time and NHL series is all craptastic kiddie play all the time.

Pisses me off.

Very true, but hey I'd rather play Madden than NHL. NHL is sooo easy to score, I have it on the most difficult level and the scores are still 7-2 or there abouts (and yes with Calgary, so if I was any other team other than Calgary or San Jose it would be like 0-24).

Anyways, I was soo pumped for last year's Madden (matter fact it was my first one since 2001) and I was very impressed. I can't decide which was better: Superstar Mode or Franchise Mode.

This year's is going to be off the hizzy! BUT I'm poor so does anybody know if these features are going to be on the PS2 or regular Xbox? My favorite feature this year just might be the group tackling option. I can just imagine the whole Colts defense trying to take down Rudi Johnson, Deuce McAllister, or Larry Johnson hahaha.

[inSTAALed]

I hate football games.

They are boring.

Give me Halo 3 or Mass Effect or something like that instead.

[vcx]

And Madden isn't an easy game?

In the All Madden difficulty, i get Willie Parker getting almost 2,500 rushing yards with Big Ben winning the MVP and Superbowl...now you tell me how hard that is.

The NHL series is easy to score, why? They're F-tards. They still put in their god damn creator players with ratings in the high 90's. Who the freakin hell does that? It's like some joke to the idiots that create the game. They don't take it seriously at all.

I wrote a long lengthy letter to EA Sports about why there is such a huge gap between difficulties and styles of game play between NHL series and the NFL series...been waiting 2yrs for a response.

Shows how much they care, the F'n place they make it is in BURNABY.

[MS72]

dont come and bash madden, this is a thread to talk about the game in a good way, but forget that crap, madden is gonna be amazing this coming year.

[MS72]

btw, I cant wait for the demo of ncaa football and madden to come out on the marketplace.

[inSTAALed]

I would rather burn my 360 than put another madden/ncaa football game in there.

WHERE IS MY 2KSPORTS!?!?

SCREW YOU EASPORTS, YOU RUINED ME!

[MS72]

I didnt like it either, I loved ESPN 2Kinsertyear.

[inSTAALed]

I played 2k5 until I had every trophy and every crib item and I had an undefeated record online.

[TheGWH]

Originally Posted by inSTAALed

I played 2k5 until I had every trophy and every crib item and I had an undefeated record online.

2K Sports have the ultimate graphics out there, but EA gameplay rules all.

[vcx]

Originally Posted by MS72

dont come and bash madden, this is a thread to talk about the game in a good way, but forget that crap, madden is gonna be amazing this coming year.

Keep up, i wasn't bashing it, i was pointing out the fact that both games from the same brand has its easy moments. In Madden, once you get how it works, its easy as hell. NHL series, same thing. You figure out the triple deke and game over. With Madden, you just get into the groove of things and you can go unbeaten the whole season and win the superbowl.

It gets boring like that, you try to be crappy teams but then you can't help but trade and pick up veterans and voila...same position.

If anything, i'm pointing out the things that NEED to be fixed so both games can be great again...from both brands.

[MS72]

thats when online play comes in.

[inSTAALed]

People on the internet for football games just exploit it.

Once you figure out something that works online it's impossible to lose.

I only ever used 2 plays on offense and 1 on defense when I played online and I always won by 50 or 60 points.