As I'm sure most of you know, I was at the Madden 10 community day this past weekend. VSN actually had two of us there, as Dave came down as well. The other guys were The Watcher, LBzrule, BeZo, Joburule, rgiles36, and KANE669 from OS.
Now, I don't know how many of you frequent OS, but outside of me, most of those guys have been absolutely outspoken critics of the Madden franchise. You know Dave is. BeZo definitely being the most passionately anti-Madden, but The Watcher is one of those "it's still EA, nothing's going to change" types. But it's not just that they're critics, each one of these guys has a particular understanding of one aspect of the game. I think I was primarily brought down to take a look at franchise mode. LBzrule is probably the most knowledgeable guy on any Madden site when it comes to the technical aspects of football.Kane has a photographic memory for player equipment (I shit you not, you name an NFL player, he can tell you what the guy wears from memory).
So it was a great group of guys to bring down, and the input was amazing. We played for 18 hours and really wish we'd had more time because once the "New Game" feel wore off, that's when we started really digging into the meat of the game and finding stuff to talk about.
LBzrule and I had an awesome discussion with Anthony White, the playbook guy. We talked Xs and Os for a good two hours or so.
As for the game itself, we're under NDA, of course, so what we can and can't talk about it strictly controlled, but once I get some clarification on what exactly I can get into, I'll spill the beans as openly as I can.
I will say this- this is not Madden 09: The Sequal. It's a new feel, a new approach. You've seen a lot of little changes, but there are big ones to come. There's one in particular if I told you now, you honestly wouldn't believe me. It's not big, it's huge. That'll come around draft time. Whether it's a good direction or not, I'll let you decide as the information continues to come.
Now, I don't know how many of you frequent OS, but outside of me, most of those guys have been absolutely outspoken critics of the Madden franchise. You know Dave is. BeZo definitely being the most passionately anti-Madden, but The Watcher is one of those "it's still EA, nothing's going to change" types. But it's not just that they're critics, each one of these guys has a particular understanding of one aspect of the game. I think I was primarily brought down to take a look at franchise mode. LBzrule is probably the most knowledgeable guy on any Madden site when it comes to the technical aspects of football.Kane has a photographic memory for player equipment (I shit you not, you name an NFL player, he can tell you what the guy wears from memory).
So it was a great group of guys to bring down, and the input was amazing. We played for 18 hours and really wish we'd had more time because once the "New Game" feel wore off, that's when we started really digging into the meat of the game and finding stuff to talk about.
LBzrule and I had an awesome discussion with Anthony White, the playbook guy. We talked Xs and Os for a good two hours or so.
As for the game itself, we're under NDA, of course, so what we can and can't talk about it strictly controlled, but once I get some clarification on what exactly I can get into, I'll spill the beans as openly as I can.
I will say this- this is not Madden 09: The Sequal. It's a new feel, a new approach. You've seen a lot of little changes, but there are big ones to come. There's one in particular if I told you now, you honestly wouldn't believe me. It's not big, it's huge. That'll come around draft time. Whether it's a good direction or not, I'll let you decide as the information continues to come.
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