[ALL] Leftwich's Top 100 Games of All Time

[Bomberooski]

Have any Metal Gear games been on the list?

 

[leaffan]

NHL 94 had great control, great gameplay, and the camera angle was perfect. The goalie AI was bizarre (a lob shot from mid-ice would result in a rebound and a quick scoring opportunity, but a slap shot from point blank range would always be caught), but you could see the entire ice and play accordingly.

I remember playing a future NHL iteration, and the camera angle was nuts. The camera followed the puck around, so you would simultaneously get sick and also have no idea where the other players were.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k_g8CDjT3w"]SNES - NHL Stanley Cup - YouTube[/ame]

It was almost impossible to score without cheating or getting some lucky once in a million goal too.

I think I ended up playing a whole season + playoffs in that game. My eyes are still trying to get over it.

 

[Leftwich]

Have any Metal Gear games been on the list?

:smug:

also whereis castlevania symphony of the night?

I actually have never really played a Castlevania game. I mean i dabbled maybe once or twice but from what i hear most of those games have an insane difficulty curve and after playing Ninja Gaiden it really turned me off from games with wicked difficulty.

 

[SethMode]

:smug:


I actually have never really played a Castlevania game. I mean i dabbled maybe once or twice but from what i hear most of those games have an insane difficulty curve and after playing Ninja Gaiden it really turned me off from games with wicked difficulty.

The old ones are pretty tough, but not Ninja Gaiden tough. Symphony of the Night though isn't very hard at all...it's more like Super Metroid (well, really, it IS Super Metroid only with vampires and shit). It's very, very fun, and still holds up really well. I'd recommend giving it a shot, it's really nothing like the old 'vania's or Ninja Gaiden.

 

[Maynard]

those early EA Sports titles were awesome! they were so much fun

 

[Leftwich]

10

Madden 2005

Platforms: Playstation 2/ Xbox/ Gamecube/ Playstation/ PC



Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to the top ten of my top 100 games of all time. The tenth game is of course Madden 2005. A lot of people will say Madden 04, Madden 95 or Madden 2001 as the greatest Madden of all time but the revolutionary things that were included in Madden 2005 would change the franchise forever. This was the last Madden before the Next Generation consoles as well. Madden 06 on the Playstation 2 was great but shortly after that came out most of us were switching to the Next Generation and the abomination that is this generations Madden. So sit back and enjoy the first game of the top ten greatest games of all time….at least in my opinion.

Madden is an old franchise that dates back to 1988 and through many consoles and innovations we ended up with the finest Madden I’ve ever played. The whole Playstation/Xbox generation of Madden games got better and better as the generation wore on but it peaked with Madden 05, again I am not trying to downplay Madden 06 because in my opinion it reached a plateau and Madden 06 just rode it. Anyway what Madden 05 brought to the table in August of 04 was nothing short of amazing. In Madden 05 the developers switched their sights to the other side of the ball. Madden 04 was offense but Madden 05 chose defense. The innovations to defense were numerous and game changing. Things I could not live without in my current Madden. If I were to try and go back to Madden 04 I couldn’t do it. Why? The Hit Stick changed the game. Everyone knows what the hit stick is but I’m going to explain it to you anyway. The Hit Stick is the right thumb stick on either the Xbox or Playstation and when you’re playing defense a flick of it will deliver a devastatingly brutal hit to the ball carrier. My first memories with it were when I was playing against the computer. I was the Jaguars and the computer was the Titans. I was obviously playing on defense and Derrick Mason had just caught the ball and was running across the middle. I took control of Donovan Darius and absolutely leveled him and forced a fumble. I don’t know about you guys but I remember when I popped my Hit Stick cherry. One of my favorite things about the Hit Stick is the animations you get while using it. A typical tackle is pretty bland but when you lay the lumber on the ball carrier, bodies go flying. The Hit Stick is now something I hold dearly to my heart when I play Madden or NCAA Football. If EA ever took it from me I would banish the series for the rest of my life. Another major update to the defense is the defensive hot routes. Defensive hot routes are basically changing individual defenders assignments instead of the whole group. If a quarterback has been rushing on you all day then pick a play and change a defender to spy him. If you think you can make a big sack then change one of your defenders to blitz. It really changed the strategy on both sides of the ball when defensive hot routes were introduced.

There were also some things added to offense as well namely formation subs. If you feel a player would be better suited to play in the slot instead of someone else then you could sub him out. Formation subs lead to cheesiness when you would have dual running backs and putting your absolutely fasted player in the slot but when used correctly it was a very good strategy. Finally the AI on both sides of the ball was improved and it was apparent in how the corners, safeties and linebackers played. Throwing a 50 yard bomb off your back foot into triple coverage was over. You paid for you mistakes this year. Those were the major updates to the gameplay but the developers weren’t done there. I have always been a big fan of offline franchise in my Madden games and this is probably the best year of franchise mode in Madden and this is the biggest reason why this game is number 10. First off the Newspapers were my absolute favorite part of the Franchise. Seeing my team on the USA Today or the Jacksonville paper felt like such an accomplishment; I really wish they could do something like that again. Also the Tony Bruno show playing in the background was fucking fantastic. It made my season feel real and having pro athletes and coaches calling in was just icing on the cake. During the Free Agency period you could now look at a player’s interests before signing him. If he wants a big name coach and you are small time then you’re going to have to offer him a lot more money while on the opposite side of the spectrum if you have a good location and the player is seeking that then you can get him at a discount. Everything felt so real it was crazy. This was also the first year to feature player progression during the season. If you start a rookie quarterback with low awareness and he throws a lot of touchdowns and consistent good games then his awareness will go up. If you throw a lot of picks and just play downright awful then you will go down in awareness. It was amazing how good this franchise was and carrying over a lot of the owner aspects from last year like relocating, new stadiums, setting prices for food, tickets and just everything made this feel like the absolute most polished franchise to ever touch a console. I know a lot of people give NBA 2k a lot of credit for their association but it can’t hold a candle next to this one. Another minor feature included in Madden 2005 was create a fan. Kind of a gimmick but hey I loved to see the people I created on my sidelines. It was actually pretty deep and customizable so it didn’t feel like cookie cutter fans were showing up in your stands.

Online was back for PS2 players but I think this was the first year that it was on Xbox live but I’m not sure and that doesn’t even sound right so why am I continuing to type this out? I never really dabbled in the online because I didn’t like playing random people and I wasn’t part of the sports gaming community either. But from the few games I played it was fun. Nowhere near as good as it is today but they did feature online leagues for the first time but I wasn’t in any so I can’t give a first hand experience. As far as the graphics went, they were a small improvement over Madden 2004. At this point they were pushing the limit on the capability of the engine and Xbox. Sure ESPN came out that same year and it looked better but they were running a different engine anyway. Madden 2005 did move smoother than any football game out at the time. Running animations were smooth, collision detection was spot on so you never had awkward looking tackles and from the look of the players to the view of the stadiums were well done. I’ll admit it though; I don’t think I could possibly go back to playing it though. Madden doesn’t necessarily age well and what I thought looked great back then doesn’t look great now. To me last gen Madden looks very cartoonish. But at the time I was happy. I will make a huge gripe though. The Cheerleaders on the sidelines are ugly as sin. Every time I saw them I turned away, they looked like some monster zombies with pom poms. The sound in this game was incredible. If there is one thing EA Tiburon is good at it’s sound. Sure the commentary is recycled but it was Al Michaels and John Madden. You know who we’re stuck with now? Chris Collinsworth! Madden will you please just do commentary again? I digress, the sounds of pads hitting, the roar of the crowd and the yelling of the players sounds authentic and pleasing to the ear. I honestly don’t think I have a complaint other than the sometime awkward sounding commentary and the lack of new content in the commentary but for the most part I am not paying too, too much attention to it. Last but certainly not least is the soundtrack. Madden has always had a catchy soundtrack and in Madden 2005 it was no different. A nice combination of music with bands and artists like Chevelle, Will I Am, The Mooney Suzuki and many more. I actually preferred Madden 2004’s soundtrack but at least in Madden 05 it was fresh and different.

There you have it, my tenth game and highest rated sports game on my list. This was as good as Madden has ever gotten for me and I sorely miss these days. Hopefully if 2K ever makes a game again then Madden will step it up but until then we will be left with what we have. Watch the video below to take a trip down memory lane back to a day when Madden was good.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXtuwL7K97o"]Ray Lewis Madden 2005 Commercial - YouTube[/ame]

Greatest Madden Commercial of all time.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJk9wzl6rf0"]Madden 2005 Gameplay -- Bears @ Giants, Part 1 - YouTube[/ame]
​

 

[MvP]

I always thought Madden 2005 was the best Madden game as well. Crazy thing is it might not even be best football game to come out that year. Good pick.

 

[FirstTimer]

Madden 94>Madden 2005.

I've hated every Madden since like 2001 or 2002 though. The franchise AI just blows.

If Madden 2005 is here we better be seeing NCAA 2004 too.

:shifty:

 

[j.hen]

ESPN 2k5 >>>>

:shifty:

 

[Maynard]

madden 2005
:jonesy:

 

[Buzzman]

madden 2005
:jonesy:

The introduction to the hit stick was jizz worthy.

 

[Senser81]

Madden 2005 was still inferior to NCAA 2003. I have a feeling that no NCAA games will be in the top 10, yet most of those versions had superior gameplay to the Maddens. I thought Madden peaked in 2003, and from that point on the NCAA game was much better. Thats just my opinion, but I feel that Madden was so terrible after 2003 that I can't imagine 2005 being the 10th best game in history. That would be like saying Eli Manning is the 10th best QB in NFL history.

 

[Buzzman]

Did people even read his post? he already said Madden 05 would be the last sports title on his list.

 

[Senser81]

Did people even read his post? he already said Madden 05 would be the last sports title on his list.

Must have missed it, not that it changes anything in my posting. Where did he say that?

 

[Woy]

I liked old gen Madden 2006 the best out of the Maddens, then NCAA 07 on the old gens as my favorite NCAA.

ESPN NFL 2K5 > Madden 2005 though.

 

[Buzzman]

Must have missed it, not that it changes anything in my posting. Where did he say that?

The first sentence in the tiny paragraph right above the Ray Lewis youtube video.

 

[Golden Taters]

Gameplay wise, no EA game beats NCAA 2004. Perfectly balanced offense and defense and it didn't have glaring issues like the other games after it. Can't remember Madden 2003, but Madden 2005 was a lot better than 2004 and 06.

2K5 was easily the best football game made, though. No question.

 

[Bomberooski]

Holding my breath for the beginning of the Top 10!

 

[red33]

madden 2005 was horrible with the glitches online.

 

[Champ]

People cant figure out if its '94 or '93. Such a great scene.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChtBbasZrjM"]Swingers - NHL '93 - YouTube[/ame]