As is the case with all of you, I am an avid gamer. I have played video games since I was tall enough to reach the joystick on an arcade machine. I love video games, and have greatly enjoyed witnessing their evolution throughout the years.
We have seen and experienced huge strides in technology that have greatly amplified our enjoyment factor. The technological advances that have taken place have not only given us better and better graphics (think of Kung-Fu for NES then think of Street Fighter for the 16-bit systems then think of DOA4 for the 360), but have also allowed the developers to weave incredibly intricate and involving storylines. For the most part, the videogame industry strives to deliver quality products to ensure they get our money. The vast majority of the time, they get us great value for our money.
Compare those franchises which have not only survived but are tremendously successful, not just by measuring their sales, crossing from platform to platform and generation to generation. Franchises like Resident Evil, starting with the "out of the blue" dominating force that became the PlayStation 1 (PS1) crossing to the PlayStation 2/Gamecube generation. They delivered very high quality games and the difference in the generational versions was marked enough. Franchises like Final Fantasy, which although at times they delivered questionable versions, one could really tell the difference as the generations of systems improved.
Then, we have the franchise that prompted me to write this piece... EA's Madden. To be fair, and accurate, Madden is the grand-daddy of the grid-iron games. However, they have gotten so complacent over the last few years. I was playing Madden 07 on my Xbox 360 a few nights ago and, from a graphics standpoint, it's a work of art. The level of detail that they can now achieve is really breath-taking.
A fellow 2o2p'er and I were playing our League game and we got to talking about the franchise. We realized the last time he and I had played football against each other had been on the one game that really brought it to EA. The one game that smacked them in the mouth, pulled their punk card and scared EA into having to secure exclusivity rights to NFL properties to ensure they could not compete. That's right folks, the undisputed ultimate underdog... ESPN NFL2K5!
2K Games, brought out a very high quality game, at half the price of Madden and put EA in their place. Admittedly, the 2K football games were, in my opinion, much more of an arcade gameplay style. Depending on the version (2K through 2K5), it was either the running game or the passing game that were easy to master. I clearly remember on 2K4, being able to run over 200-yard games with Trung Canidate!!, and on 2k5 being able to pass for ungodly amounts of yards per game (with a huge QB Rating) with just about any QB. The Madden franchises maintained a higher level of "realism", as far as gameplay went.
Back to my point... the other 2o2p'er and I were actually comparing a prior generation, two year old game, against a "next generation" game! And the comparison still favored the older, past generation game. That comparison should never have to take place. Why are we allowing EA to deliver sub-par games? What makes them sub-par? The strength of a game lies in its attention to detail. Let's point out the things that 2K5 did right:
- 100% support for the Online game. They have 100% league support. They have support for up to 32 players, together, for a real NFL season. You are able to issue trades and manage your team when injuries occur. The game tracks all of your stats for you and your entire league. Very impressive!
- True Challenge Calls. Let me paint a picture: you're on Offense; you drop back as the quarterback and your opponent called the right defensive play. Their line-backer is charging straight for you. You try to get the pass off but he is on you like white on rice! He wraps you up as you try to release the pass. Then it happens... fumble!!!! The line-backer recovers the ball and, luckily, your full-back tackles him. You see the instant replay on the giant screen. Your arm was going forward!!! Challenge!!!!! On NFL 2K5, it asked you, "*Are you challenging the fumble? *Are you challenging that your arm was going forward and it should be an incomplete pass? *Are you challenging the spot of the ball?" This challenge system works in online multi-player games as well as offline gaming. AWESOME.
- Atmosphere. You can set the atmosphere down to the detail of what song you want your stadium to play when you sack the opponent's quarterback. You can tweak the song for many events in the game, such as interceptions, turnovers for a touchdown, offensive touchdowns, on third-and-long and fourth-and-long. Amazing!!!
- Correct Instant Replay Footage. 99% of the time, if you challenged a play, and the instant replay showed proper footage... you won the challenge!
- Booth Reviews. It's past the 2 minute warning, the refs didn't make a call they should've...? Pause, control the instant replay and focus in on the infraction/bad call scenario. Resume game, and the computer recognized what you were doing and the booth would request a review!!! Hah!! Love it! Available in oneline and offline gamines.
Now, let me review our complaints about Madden '07:
- NO online league support!
- NO challenge online.
- Unable to specify what call should be challenged. How many challenges have I lost because the computer decided I was arguing the spot of the ball on a questionable catch? Many.
- Bad calls. Watching their receiver catch a ball at the edge of the sideline, then come down with the ball his first foot a foot past the sideline, his second two yards further, and hearing the ref say "Play stands!" WTF?
- No booth reviews. Past the 2-minute warning and the booth and refs are blind!!
Why is it that EA can not address these issues? They simply took the easy way out and bought the rights and ensured they were the only game in town. Given that I wholeheartedly believe in
capitalism, I have no problem with that concept. They had the bank and they used it. But, I am also a firm believer in customer service/support. Your being the only game in town should not give you a pass on delivering a high quality product. Your reputation should be so important to you and you look at what your prior competition did right. You can then match or surpass your competition and its feature set. EA has not done this and unless we, the consumer, light a fire under their butt you will not see them take the initiative to do so. I can assure of one thing, if 2K comes out with a non-NFL sponsored generic teams/players football game, it will definitely be added to my library.
