Madden 10 - proving once again that NFL 2K5 is still the best football game to date
Apparently, the only thing they must have thought that made 2K5 so successful were the intermittent clips of the fans in the stadium, because they missed the point completely.
Before going any further, Madden 10 is not a bad game. It is however, a standard Madden game, and there really isn't any new innovation here from the previous iterations, gameplay-wise.
+ Graphics (when they're there) are stellar. Stadiums look fantastic, mock-reflections in players helmets are nice; the game looks beautiful in 1080p
+ New menu system is more accessible and less messy than in previous years
+ Franchise mode continues to be a great draw, online franchise a welcome new addition
+ Audio features allow you to silence the commentary
+ Theoretically has the ESPN license in there... somewhere...
+ Control system is as difficult or easy as you want it to be
- Disappointing amount of technical issues, simple stuff that someone over there should've caught before this game shipped, i.e. highlights of a player running with an invisible ball, or the cutscene with the quarterback talking on the phone on the sideline, and having the phone turn invisible a half second before returning to the normal game camera
- Commentary is absolutely awful, and frequently incorrect. I heard, on three straight passing plays, that my running back was great for running for the big gain
- Disappointing to see that EA had all the tools to make it a first-class presentation with the ESPN license, a la 2K5 with Chris Berman, but failed to do anything with them
- New player rating system is a lot more stringent than in previous years, can be disappointing to see your favorite players are a lot lower than they were last year
- Control system slightly different than in NCAA 10, making it a potentially awkward transition between the two
I was expecting a lot more from this game. I'll still go on to play it, but in my mind it's just another year in Madden World as opposed to the game that was supposed to take NFL 2K5's crown.