Ever since I got my first Nintendo 64, with Madden NFL 2000, I officially became a Madden addict. I had played the 2K sports "Gameday" football for Playstation 2 and thought that was okay but I never really got into it like I did with Madden... this was something else.
My madden obsession lasted most of that decade, I bought the game pretty consistently up to Madden 09, maybe buying it every other year. I bought Madden 10 and traded it in after a few weeks. I was sick and tired of the same bullshit. It FINALLY hit me that I had been buying the same game for years and with the Xbox 360 generation this repetition seemed just that much more blatant.
There are little things you notice as a sports games that begin to grate you. Madden 11's franchise mode, for the most part is exactly the same as Madden 07's for my Xbox and the 07 one is BETTER... how the fuck does that work? Anyway nitpicky things aside. I had to take a hiatus from buying Madden. For the benefit of my soul...
I tried other football games. I think I even blogged about how much I was looking forward to Backbreaker, hoping it would be of all things a Madden Breaker...
Well let's just say not even close.
With the addition of Cleveland Brown Peyton Hillis as the Madden 12 cover athlete thanks to rabid Browns fans voting. (I myself didn't vote until the final because I am still paranoid about the CURSE and Hillis is probably our best football player...)
I was still rather ho-hum about Madden this year until E3. That's when EA Sports brought out the big guns and gave me some hope, legitimate hope that they would be overhauling this game in the aspects that I treasure most, franchise mode.
Now I can't predict if or not these upgrades are monumental or just face value hooks for gamers like myself who have abandoned the game in recent years but from what I've seen of gameplay videos and reviews it seems pretty much like the real deal to me. I will spare you all the details of what they will be improving but for once they're actually focusing on GAMEPLAY rather than just glorifying the PRESENTATION and they have worked that up too by introducing team-specific introductions (to mirror the NCAA Game) and also tweaking the player tackling physics to create less pre-canned tackling animations. JUST to name a few...
The thing about Madden, this is the paradox, is that once I get excited for Madden. I NEED Madden... I don't feel like playing any other sports games. I know Madden is raising the bar, my inner-fan has seen this in action to a degree and now no other sports games are going to suffice until I can whet my appetite with the new MADDEN. I needs it. So... I've been playing Mass Effect 2 AGAIN... because I have to wait until the end of august to get my Madden fix (assuming I'll have the money to afford it) I will need to tie my attention to other games to fill the void. :)
Until next time ... PEACE
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