Tag Archives: EA Sports

Madden 10 (Xbox360, PS3)

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Another year, another Madden. Like clockwork, the annual release hit shelves this past week with millions of people, myself included, rushing out to grab their copy. The first thing that comes to mind with each release is- what’s different from last year? While Madden 10 is a solid release, the answer to this question is “not much at all.”

GRAPHICS 9/10

While the graphics are pretty good this year, they seem to have taken a slight step back from last year’s.  I had a chance to compare the two versions side by side and while it isn’t really a huge deal, HD junkies with a keen eye will definitely pick up that Madden 10 is ever so slightly less detailed than 09.  Does this impact the game in any way? Not really. The stadiums all look awesome and the player models are still pretty realistic. But seeing as how Madden is a franchise that evolves very little with each offering, every little difference is subject to nitpicking.

GAMEPLAY 9/10

The gameplay is almost identical to last year, with a few minor exceptions. There is the inclusion fo the trendy “wildcat” offense in addition to the usual roster updates. Most of the plays and schemes are the exact same as 09 though. One new gimmick that has been added that is more annoying than anything is the new “fight for the fumble” mechanic. When you’re in a dog pile with the potential for a fumble, you will be prompted to mash a certain series of buttons in connection with what is shown on screen.  On paper it may seem like a good idea, but its implementation just seems really out of place. It seems better suited for a Dance Dance Revelution game or something than it does in the Madden universe.

Another minor gripe is with the presentation. While the game plays with new camera angles to make it feel like an authentic NFL game, there are times where the camera is just horrible. For instance, right before the ball is snapped, sometimes the camera will pan back slightly at a wierd angle. This is a huge pain in the ass when trying to execute a running play up the middle where you need the best possible vantage point to try to determine how effective your blocking is. It’s a bit hard to explain, but once the camera does this to you, you’ll understand exactly what I’m talking about.

ONLINE 9/10

The online portion is pretty solid. You can take your saved franchise team online and grind it out against the competition on Xbox live. This is pretty cool and offers a nice alternative to the “Play Now” type of challenges. Other than that, nothing has really changed from last year’s online portion. the online action is still pretty solid and lag free for the most part.

PRESENTATION 8/10

It is hard to create basically the same game year after year and present it in a way that is supposed to seem fresh. Madden 10 has some updated menus (as always) and a few new modes that most people probably won’t even try (NFL Superstar anyone??). The in-game presentation, however,  has improved quite a bit from 09. Chris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond step up the commenary department from last years lackluster ESPN radio commentators.  Old man Madden even has more dialogue in this one (that can be good or bad), especially when you decide to ask his advice on what play to call.  It just seems that more attention went in to the presentation aspects of this years game, and that polish definitely shows. The bottom line though, is that this is almost the exact same game as last year.

OVERALL 9/10

Madden 10 is not very different from 09 at all, which is actually not a bad thing since 09 was so solid. If it ain’t broke…. The only thing I’ve noticed with each year is that it is just a matter of fine tuning the previous version. Once you nail most aspects of the game, there is little that is left to improve upon. I love this year’s Madden (then again I love EVERY year’s) but this is one of the few times I was hard pressed to justify paying full game price for what is more or less a patched version of last year. Most of the additions could have been made using downloadable content. Still, the football fan in me requires that I buy Madden every year, and I can’t complain since I enjoy the hell out of this game year after year and Madden 10 is no exception.

Entertainment Wrap #1

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Big releases this week in theaters are the children’s fantasy adventure “Inkheart” and the latest installment in the Underworld series, “Underworld:Rise of the Lycans.” Inkheart is a story about a book whose events come to life after reading it (cough, Neverending Story, cough). As much as I’d like to see the same old territory ravaged and redone yet again, the film stars Brendan Fraser. Nothing against Fraser but rumor has it that he undertook serious method acting for his role in the Mummy films and had an actual Egyptian curse placed on him.  Subsequently the curse has not only affected his acting ability but also every film he has been in.  However, kids may want to watch the movie and that usually means dragging parents along also. If possible, try to substitute watching Adam Sandler’s Bedtime Stories as it has a similar premise yet appeals to both kids and adults equally and is actually a pretty funny movie.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is the first in the series not to feature sexy female lycan hunter Seline, played by Kate Beckinsale. The movie is a bit of a prequel, giving background on the war between the vampires and the lycans.  The movie features Rhona Mitra, perhaps best known as the female heroine of “Doomsday” and coincidentally she looks enough like Beckinsale to fit right into the Underworld mythos. Although the character of Seline is noticeably absent from this film, the addition of Mitra should work nicely.  Also worth noting is that part of the screenplay was written by Danny McBride, the actor who played “Red” in Pineapple Express and also appeared in such uber comedies as Tropic Thunder, Hot Rod, and The Foot Fist Way. While his screenwriting ability is relatively unproven, he is just such a cool guy one can’t help but give him the benefit of the doubt.

DVD

“The Express” comes out on DVD this week. This is the true story of college football star Ernie Davis, who was the first African American to win the Heisman trophy.  The movie features Dennis Quaid as the coach of the team and Rob Brown as Davis. Although sports movies like this are a dime a dozen, some of them manage to hit the right notes in terms of inspiration and just good vibes in general. While I’ve only caught parts of this film, the portions I saw were well acted and the movie looks worth a rental.

Also on DVD this week is Saw V. Without getting too much into this one, I posted a review for this film already for those wanting more info.  The other big release this week is “Max Payne.”  While the previews look somewhat promising, if only for the effects, word on the street about this movie is that it is pretty horrible. Rent this only if you’re a huge fan of the video game, if you’re a glutton for punishment, or if you’re like me and just too damn stubborn to fully trust anyone else’s opinion until you experience how horrible it is for yourself.

One more release that is probably under the radars of most people is “Repo: The Genetic Opera.” This is a rock musical sci-fi film that just overlaps and interweaves different genres that are completely unrelated.  Although I have not yet watched the film, the premise is extremely interesting. In the future, organ failure is the predominant cause of death among humans and as a result, corporations “lease” organs to those in need. When someone falls behind on their payments, they send the Repoman out to “repossess” the leased organs by any means necessary. This is all told in a musical style narrative. It seems like one of those cult classic type movies where people will either get it, or be completely lost on the whole idea. For the price of a rental, it may be worth the risk to find out which of the two groups you fall into.

GAMES

It’s been a relatively quiet period for new games in general.  January is usually a dead month since it follows the holiday flood of games rushing to get released in time for Christmas. This week, “Skate 2″, the follow up to EA’s excellent “Skate” came out for multiple platforms.  Having enjoyed the first game, I played the demo for Skate 2 and luckily not much has changed.  There are a few new trick mechanics to include hand plants and other tricks that weren’t included in the last game, but the overall build remains the same. Granted it was just a demo, but just from that it became clear that fans of the first game are sure to like the sequel.  Other than that, the week is pretty uneventful in terms of new games.

There’s the week in entertainment so until next week- that’s a wrap!