Another NFL football season has almost come and gone.  We're deep into the playoffs now, and not too far away from the NFL Draft.  Its at about this time when I usually sit down and compose my own personal wishlist for the next installment of Madden on the game systems.

One thing I need to get out there right now is this: Madden NFL 07 for Next Gen was disturbingly bad.  I'm unaware of any series taking such a monumental step backward year to year than the "jump" between current-gen Madden to Next Gen Madden.   Madden NFL 07 Next Gen was so bad that we never even reviewed it.  It became a case of "Okay, lets wait to see if the fatigue patch fixes much"...which took months, and at that point we figured "Okay, lets see if we get any new content downloads" and all we got were offline alternate jerseys.  At that point, I was like "Okay- lets see if they finally release a latency patch"- and that took even more time...

Long story short, by the time I waited for the promised content to throw into a full review, it was 4 months into the game's life.  Anyone reading our forums or any other forums regarding Madden knew the answer already.  Madden 07 360 was an incomplete product that was bereft of the features we've come to expect since Madden 2003.

Thankfully (in the interest of potential improvements) the gaming press wasn't kind to the product.  It garnered some of the lowest scores for a Madden game in the past 7 years.   Of course, that didn't prevent it from being the biggest selling game of 2006, but when there's no alternative product, I guess we shouldn't be shocked.

But all that aside, I think its time to look ahead towards improvements EA should make to the game. Lets face it, two consecutive "stinkers" on Next Gen doesn't sit well with many people who expect a little more out of a Madden game than just going "wow" when a virtual Chad Johnson does a player specific end-zone celebration. 

So, without further delay, here's my own personal wishlist for Madden 08.

1. EA needs to come off of the strict reliance on weak, context sensitive motion capture and adopt new physics models, such as "rag doll" physics.  Seriously, how many times can DBs in good position to make a play on the ball get hung up on some ridiculous INT animation that has carries them anywhere but towards playing the ball, while the receiver makes an easy catch and torches them merely because the game picked a "bad animation" for the DB's potential play on the ball?  Conversely,  why is it that the QB throw animation chain for a 10 yard out requires the QB to go into a spread-legged, long throwing animation you'd expect if the QB was about to attempt to throw a 50 yard Hail-Mary?  Because of this, even the most routine throw takes too long to leave the QB's hand and makes him sack/fumble prone moreso than he should be.   I realize animation-chains must be part of the game, but when those chains are too long and too involved, it becomes a huge detraction from the game.  Also, what goes along with rag-doll physics is gang tackling.  It's been too many years of the "same old" from EA regarding player tackling, and we all see that.  Here's hoping we see something new and worthwhile in Madden 08

2. Features inherent to the current gen must all be included in next gen.  EA really angered many people (myself included) with the bare feature set last year that axed many of the higher-end strategy dynamics we've been getting since Madden 2003.  Somebody should find - and strangle- the EA brainiacs who figured we wouldn't miss defensive hot-routes, hot-man-to-man/double teams, smart routes, player specific declared defensive matchups (so your best CB will follow their best WR no matter where he lines up), as well as Owner Mode, referees on the field during plays, ... you name it.  As it stands now, strategically, Madden Next Gen has less than half of the Xs & Os stuff that current gen has.  There's no excuse for that.  EA needs to get it in, get it right, and quit "subtracting" things from the game ...and stop trying to push lame excuses for why they aren't in the game.

(i.e. "..but we built it from the ground-up")

3. Online Franchise/Season play MUST be in the game.  EA, there's no reason this isn't possible.  Your competition did it and did it well THREE STINKING YEARS AGO, and is still doing it well with its other franchises (NBA 2K7, NHL 2K7, etc.)  Quit making excuses and get to work, and while your at it, do something about the lag inherent to your own EA game servers.

4.  Lose the radio announcer- get two-man booth audio commentary.  Yeah, I know, that will probably be Madden/Michaels.  I'm okay with that as long as there's tons of lines of dialogue and not the heavily scripted same-ol' BS from current gen.  This just in, EA, the games are on DVD.  You can fit gigs of audio commentary on their if you put your mind to it.  Record it, get to work.  Now. 

5. Presentation. Get it.  Here's a tip EA.  Have one of your employees run over to the local EB/Gamestop and pick up a copy of NFL 2K5 for XBOX.  Play it.  Take careful note about how there's pre-game audio, camera pans, player discussion, commentary, half-time video replay highlights, post-game video highlights, players talking on the sidelines, throwing tirades after bad plays on the sideline, in-franchise end-of week video highlights from around the league's games- all that.  Got it? Okay, now put all of that in your product.  If it could be done on an old system THREE years ago, make Tiburon nutt-up and put it in a NEXT GEN CONSOLE MADDEN. 

6. The ESPN license- here's a tip- USE THE DAMN THING.  I really don't give a flying-fig about the ability to download PTI shows as "ESPN Content" like EA is promoting in NBA Live 07 Next Gen.  The license should be used to give real-world sport-highlight presentation reality to your video game.  If I wanted to watch PTI, I would tune in for PTI on my television, not via a window in any of your sports video games.

7. EA needs to quit trying to find ways to charge for content that used to be free.  I mean, seriously. And furthermore, if that "new content" such as alternate uniforms cannot be used online.. what the hell is the point of it anyway?

8. Depth...please add some.

Madden 07 Next Gen was probably the most shallow football experience I've played other than Midway's "Blitz" series (which is supposed to be shallow).  The game needs more strategy and options.  Bringing back the old current gen features will help, but don't stop there.

9. Can we finally have "create a coach", or do we have to repeatedly put up with lame stand-ins for Parcells and Belichick?   Let us add our own coaches, as well as move them around.  Its called DEPTH, people. 

10. I want editable classic teams with period-specific playbooks... and while you are at it, give us the classic stadiums.  (After all, Madden 2002 had all that!) Come on EA, you KNOW that 2K is making NFL Legends.. .why not try to compete and play up your NFL Films license with the old-school stuff? Let me take the 85 Bears into Three Rivers Stadium to take on the 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers.  I want to be able to re-live "The Drive" at Cleveland Municipal Stadium with Denver QB #7.  You guys own those licenses for a reason.  Use them to their fullest.

So there it is.  My Madden Wishlist.  Discuss in the forums.

Quietcool72

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