Thanks to everyone at maddennation.com for all the info... here it is enjoy madden fans....
Pure dynamic gameplay. You control the animations -- the animations don't control you
In another sequence, Carson Palmer throws to Chad Johnson on a comeback route on the right sideline. A cornerback goes for a big hit that Johnson simply avoids. Then, dancing left and right, he picks his way through the secondary on his way to the end zone and the Ocho Cinco Riverdance.
Some call it responsiveness. Others call it twitch. Whatever you want to call it, Madden 08 is fast and fun. Remember back in the days when you didn't need the juke button to lose a defender? You could simply hesitate, wait for a defender to commit, and run out of the way. It's strange how the Madden team has looked back at what made past games great. It's brought back all those old twitch elements and eliminated old exploits like corner routes and Michael Vick domination, and we're not talking about the championship pit bull circuit. Quote: Thanks to some extremely responsive controls, the gameplay in Madden is already feeling like an improvement over previous years. When running the ball, for instance, our natural inclination in the past has been to bounce outside and try to get around the corner--thanks to shoddy inside blocking. In Madden 08, you can feel free to run those inside routes, and especially with the more elusive runners, you'll usually be good for a positive gain. New animations, such as a running back turning sideways to slip between defenders or would-be tacklers bouncing off the big bruisers, make the experience that much more compelling. Similarly, the passing game makes a clear distinction between possession receivers--those guys who make the catch and keep the ball even after a big hit--and spectacular play guys who can go up for a ball you've intentionally thrown high and come down with it. On defense, gang tackles bring the pain against the ball carrier, and the secondary is more responsive than ever when breaking to the ball. In all, star players feel like stars in Madden 08 (we're thinking of the Bears' Devin Hester and his blistering 100 speed rating, which really feels like something special in the game). Quote: If you couldn't already tell, Madden NFL 08 looks like the game we've all been waiting for since the Xbox 360 launched almost two years ago. While the weapon mechanic and modes are cool and everything, we were most impressed with just how damned good the game looked and played. It ran smoothly, the gameplay was incredibly responsive, and the animations are downright awesome. Madden fans, you finally have a reason to step into the next generation!
Yes, the developers have finally brought everything together into a fully realized, cohesive whole, starting with the graphics. We've all been **** about the lackluster 30 frames per second we've seen in the last few entries, and it's obvious that the dev team has been listening to our complaints. Madden NFL 08 runs at a buttery-smooth 60 fps, with nary a hitch to be seen. The game is incredibly responsive, so you'll actually feel like you're completely controlling the jukes and spins that you try to pull off. Even better, the animations look much more realistic, from the gang tackles to the receptions made while tip-toeing near the sideline. All told, this is the closest anyone's ever come to digitally recreating the game of football.
If you're one of the many people that complained about the direction the franchise has gone in the last few years, you'll be happy to hear that not only is the game going to be the best Madden game on Xbox 360, it might be the best sports game PERIOD.
Branching animations- Quote: It starts with overhauled animations, specifically tons of new branching animations. How many times in previous Madden games did you throw to a tight end or wideout near the sidelines, only to have the animation take the guy out of bounds when he clearly could have gained a few more yards by staying in bounds?
The big benefit of this new branching technology seems to be more animation "breaking points" wherein the player holding the controller regains control of the player on the field quicker than ever before.
No, you won't be watching Reggie Wayne execute triple back-flips into the end-zone, but on those crossing routes where he's heading to the sidelines, you'll likely see him plant his feet once he's hauled in the ball, and angle up-field to gain those crucial extra yards. Quote: Fans of the user catch are going to love the extra control you have over receivers. Making a subtle change of direction no longer takes you out of the play, ready to throw your controller at the screen as the pass falls to the grass incomplete. Instead, you can fire the ball downfield, switch to a receiver, come right back to the ball and leap for a spectacular catch.
Branching animations will be visible in practically every part of gameplay, it seems.
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. Quote: The running game is also getting a reboot, with help from the FIFA team. Improved animation means that different stride lengths for different players will result in different animations, and that means the improved physics systems will have more to work with.Another big part of what will change running is improved "inverse kinematics," meaning that instead of having your team move on the field as if they were paper dolls being dragged across linoleum, the physics system will actual simulate how much grip on the field a player's feet have. It's one of the few sequences that EA had video to illustrate with, as opposed to just PowerPoint slides, and the difference looks dramatic. And that feeds into the entire system of branching animations and stat calculations, since the game can now do a much better job of calculating how much grip on the field your feet have.
"inverse kinematics"- In action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_20WHZI9Ao
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so5uvbV7354
Quote: First off, branching animations mean no more canned animations locking you into a bad position. The goal is to put control back in your hands faster, rather than locking the character into an animation. Instead of watching your receiver keep on trucking right out of bounds instead of heading up field, or watching someone "jetpack" up and not being able to do anything about it, all because the animation has begun and you can't do anything until its finished, you'll be able to take control of your players at virtually any time. Since what animation is appropriate is calculated more often, you can send your player upfield or tear that jumper out of the air. Branching animations might not be such a big deal to players who get through Madden in a haze of football Sunday beer, but having even a moment more of control during a play is going to be huge for serious players.
Branching animations also mean the return of the ability to "jetpack" and "hurdle," since counters now exist. Since it was possible to jump to guarantee a catch once you were in the "jump and catch" animation, "jetpacking" was simply removed. Similarly, you could just keep slamming jump to try to get over a pile, safe in the knowledge that once you were in the air you were safe, locked into the animation. To fix that in previous years, EA simply removed the animations, making the exploits impossible. Now, you can try to jump for that catch, or jump over that pile -- but your opponent can rip you from the air, since the animation is no longer one canned sequence but a constantly calculated ballet. And if you're hit in mid-air, that's more likely to injure the hit player. Gang tackles will actually calculate the effect of each player as they add to the scrum. Some of these changes are possible because of improved stat calculations (which I'll get into below), but a lot of them are due to branching animation.
Quote: The more I played Madden yesterday, the more I was blown away, not just by the flashing eye candy of graphics and animations and gang tackles and 60 frames-per-second, but by the amazing responsiveness of the controls. From spins to stiff arms to jukes to the way you work your receiver back to the ball then sidestep defenders and take it to the house, David Ortiz calls 08 "the most responsive Madden ever" and I have to agree. This is going to be the game where your skills on the stick are the difference between a 5-yard gain and high-stepping 50 yards for the score.
The way the animations branch from one move to the next, the ability for runners like L.T. to bounce off a tackle, stiff arm the safety and maintain his balance as he shows everyone why he's the MVP are just so fluid, so smooth at this point,
Gang Tackling- Quote: 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.
As producers demonstrated in a video, tacklers can be added onto a pile at any point when trying to bring down a ball-carrier; equally important, tackles can be shed dynamically thanks to the aforementioned branching animation technology. One particularly cool video example of this showed Tomlinson, wrapped up by a defender, make a spin move, only to have an incoming defender run into the defender that first wrapped up LT, knocking him off the running back and letting Tomlinson gain a few more yards in the process.
There will also be gang tackles, so if you're the third tackler to the party, no problem! Just jump on in, and maybe even try to strip the ball. Plus, there will be more broken tackle animations for offensive players, so they can drag the pile, or wriggle their way out of the grasp of two different players. More new ratings/stats-
Quote: The ability to break down stats even further will make a change across the board, with catching being a great example. New stats will include ratings like separate catch and catch-in-traffic ratings, so that a receiver who's great in the clear may not be your go-to man in the thick of it. Basically, the computing power next-gen offers makes it possible to give players more stats, and while that's not as sexy as a gameplay video set to a rock song, it's those stats that really determine how the game plays out. Running into a friendly lineman from behind, for example, is no longer going to have your back simply running in place forever. Instead, the hit will take into account the players' relative sizes and strengths and resolve dynamically, with branching animations based on the results of those stat calculations. Quote: You can also expect to see loads of new animations such as receivers falling down in the end zone during touchdown catches, lots of juggling animations, and more. Also, wideout-specific player ratings such as "spectacular catches" and "catch in traffic" will play a bigger role in how your receivers perform on the field.
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.
New attributes will also be a factor. There's now Ball Carrier Vision, Catch in Traffic, Spectacular Catch, Route Running and Hit Power -- all things that used to be handled by Awareness. This means star players really have a chance to shine, as there will be more distinctions throughout the game.
"Jet-packing-" Quote: where a receiver always wins jump balls against defenders, should disappear thanks to new mid-air collisions. Now if you jump for a ball, a d-back can come across and put a helmet in your spleen. The result: dropped passes, broken bones, and plenty of "holy crap!" moments. And the hurdle's back! It was plucked from the game two years ago because it was essentially broken. But now tacklers can meet hurdlers in mid-air (with mid-air collisions) resulting in fumbles, flipped running backs, and, again, plenty of "holy crap!" moments.
The team has also added a route running attribute this year.
Hit stick 2.0- "when it comes to improvements for gameplay, it seems the team's essential goal is in finding balance--for every move on the field, there should be a counter move that a player can use to offset it. Going up against a receiver with a huge "spectacular catch" rating? Take him out in mid- air and hope for the ball to come loose. About to be bowled over by a rumbling, stumbling monsters like T.J. Duckett? Take advantage of what producers are calling "hitstick 2.0", where flicking down on the controller will cause the defender to go low and attempt to take out the legs of your much bigger opponent (pushing up will result in a higher tackle, which will be ideal for taking out runners who are looking to leap over the pile on short yardage situations).
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.
Balance in Madden 08- When it comes to improvements for gameplay, it seems the team's essential goal is in finding balance--for every move on the field, there should be a counter move that a player can use to offset it. Going up against a receiver with a huge "spectacular catch" rating? Take him out in mid-air and hope for the ball to come loose. About to be bowled over by a rumbling, stumbling monsters like T.J. Duckett? Take advantage of what producers are calling "hitstick 2.0", where flicking down on the controller will cause the defender to go low and attempt to take out the legs of your much bigger opponent (pushing up will result in a higher tackle, which will be ideal for taking out runners who are looking to leap over the pile on short yardage situations)
Hurdles- Quote: They are back for two reasons it seems one. One to jump over fallen players and also to jump over people who us the hit stick low. This should add another dynamic to tackling rock, paper, siccors anyone. The Line of Scrimmage- Quote: This season you'll see double teams, stretch blocking and linemen extending to the second level. You can expect blocking improvements all across the game, according to producers. Double team blocking, zone blocking, pull/lead blocks, players pushing off to the next blocking assignment, stretch and reach blocks... dare we say this is "next gen blocking"? Running backs will also benefit from a distinctive lack of "Mario running" this year. Instead of jamming up against the line and running in place, how a back reacts will depend on his size; big backs like Lorenzo Neal will look to push the line forward for an extra few yards, while smaller, elusive backs like Warrick Dunn will wait for an opening, or spin and juke their way through the beefy linemen.
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