Review: Madden 10
by Staff Writer
September 14, 2009
Overview
Madden 10 comes to the iPhone. What more do I need to say? The only name in NFL video games brings a bunch of features to the realistic football gameplay. Pick your favorite team, and play the entire 2009 NFL season all on the go. Madden is the second realistic football sim to enter the App Store following Gameloft's NFL 2010. How does EA's stalwart fare on the iPhone?Features
Many of the things from regular Madden that you might take for granted are included in the iPhone version. First off you can play as all 32 teams, with their current roster. All 32 stadiums are also included, and detailed very nicely. There is play by play from Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth in the booth, and a few John Madden sayings.
Another great feature is the playbook. It's extremely deluxe featuring over 300 plays in multiple formations including the typical single back and shotgun to strong I, and split back. The defensive packages are also deluxe featuring 4-3, 3-4, nickel, dime, and quarter. You can choose to have the plays just as play types, run, pass, man to man, zone, etc. for the more novice players.
The best aspect of the playbook may be it’s implementation. The playbook is set up like the ipod album cover flow. You tap on a play type, and then just flip your finger through all the plays, and tap on the one you want. In NFL 2010 arrow buttons are included to move from play to play, and a select button to choose your play.
In terms on controls EA has done a good job. The virtual control stick is in the bottom left, and the control buttons are in the bottom right. Sprint and spin are always available which is great, but also a button to slow down time that adds five more actions including juke and truck. The best part about it is that the timing is completely up to you, it’s always at your disposal, unlike at certain intervals in NFL 2010.
Madden 10 has quite a few iPhone unique features packed in. The neatest is the ability to draw a hot route. Just tap on your receiver before the play, and draw your new route. Also included is the ability to shake the iPhone for hurry up.
Defense has the same type of control mechanic where you can sprint at any time, and then slow down time to go for a pick or a devastating hit. When back to pass circles pop up above all of the receivers that change color from red to green indicating the likelihood the pass will be completed. You just tap the circle to pass to a certain receiver.
A boat load of features are included. I don’t want to leave out the fact that there are two gameplay modes, play now for an instant game, and season mode for the entire 2009 season. Also there are three quarter lengths: 3, 5, and 7 minutes, but no option to change the difficulty.
The Good
The gameplay is really fun, and finally provides a realistic football experience on the iPhone. I will start with the offensive side of the ball. Play calling is easy, and once you have your play in, you can view it before the snap, and even draw hot routes. Once you hike the ball, running is pretty intuitive, and fun to do. A sweep to the outside, you turn the corner, sprint, but there’s the safety. What do you do? Slow down time, and go for a juke or truck depending on your runner. If you have LT go for a spin move, if you have Steven Jackson try to truck. When back to pass if you wait for the receivers icons to become green, you probably will be sacked. So you have to make a quick read, for your best chance on this play, which really makes it feel authentic. Sometimes though the pass sails to the right or left of the receiver, and you can’t control accuracy.
The Defense takes awhile to get used to, but at first you will feel like you do nothing at all. You will figure it out though, and you can rush the passer, and if you don't make it, slow down time right as the pass is thrown, and tap switch player to go to the closest defender. Then you will be controlling the closest corner still on slow-mo allowing you to choose to deflect the ball or go for an interception. If they do catch it, you can choose to go for a big hit, or sprint forward if you're player has fallen behind the reciever. All of these options are in slo-mo mode which works well.
Overall the gameplay creates a football experience where you feel like you’re in control, and can create big plays. Rather than just running straight forward getting hit, and doing it again.
The visuals aren’t ground breaking, but are good none the less. The players are designed at about the same quality of NFL 2010 which wasn’t very good. The stadium design is great though, and really provides the unique details of all 32 stadiums. The menus are very nicely done, and smooth with different backgrounds of Larry Fitzgerlad and Troy Polamalu.
In the game the animations are what set it apart from NFL 2010. As your player runs the ball it seems more authentic, especially once you start sprinting. The tackling animations are nicely done, and actually represent tackling rather than just one player falling forward, and the other one falling backward. Sometimes the defender dives, and smashes the runner to the side, other times a defensive line man picks him up, and slams him, and then other times the defender is dragged forward for a couple yards.
The receiving animations are also better, with some looking like actual receptions. Overall the player animations are very nicely done, adding to the realistic experience.
Another neat implementation is a written recap of every single play in the game. After the play a pop up at the bottom details who did what, and how many yards they gained or lost.
In terms of time spent with this title, just playing through season mode once will take quite awhile. It’s really enjoyable playing through the entire season with your favorite team, whenever you have some time in your day.
The very best aspect of Madden 10 is the impeccable save system that picks up in the exact instant, even in the middle of a play. This provides you with the chance to play an individual game in multiple sittings.
The game is made for the mobile platform, so you can tap to skip any after play animation, and tap to rush your team to the line. Also included is the option to simulate any of your team's games, and you can even play other games any week, both of which aren't in NFL 2010.
Also the kicking mechanism works well. You drag your finger on the meter from top to bottom, similar to the golfing mechanic in Tiger Woods.
The Bad
The game may be too easy. If you've played other football games, then you will definitely find this game easier than other Madden versions. With out an option to change difficulty, it's easy to run outside on every team in the league. When passing, if the circle is green the receiver will almost always make the catch, which makes it more like tap the color. On defense with the slo-mo mode you can switch to the nearest defender, and still be in slow mode to deflect the pass. Another problem is that when you rush the passer most of the time you stay blocked since there’s no move to get around the offensive linemen in regular action, or slo-mo. Also there’s no easy way to go for an interception, the player either dives forward, or jumps in place to deflect it. The sounds are pretty mediocre. The main problem is that there are about 10 total sayings combined between Tom Hammond, Cris Collinsworth, and John Madden repeated over and over. Then on top of that, sometimes they aren’t correct, for example you make a reception, and Tom Hammond chimes in with knocked down. How many times do I have to hear Madden say "he was hit so hard he needs to be taken back by a taxi." During play there is the same stock bam when there is a tackle, the same hike, and the varying football sound effects. The crowd noise pops up occasionally with a barely identifiable go team. A few songs are included from the Madden 10 soundtrack that play in the menus.
One of the biggest problems is that there is an ad for DirecTV Sunday Ticket in the app as a banner at the start of the game, and a full screen one at half time. For $10 I would hope there would not even be a hint of an ad.
Also it’s tough to break away. No offense to kickers, or really any special teamers, but no one can run down Darren Sproles once he reaches the clear at midfield on a kickoff. When Ladanian Tomlinson breaks to the outside, linebackers aren’t going to catch him from behind. Also when you make a long pass there isn’t much run after catch, as someone always seems to chase you down as soon as you catch it.
Another problem is that the AI does some strange things. Almost every play the AI has done on offense has been a pass, which doesn’t seem realistic, especially for some teams, namely the Ravens and Steelers. But they do mange the clock better than in NFL 2010.
Finally there is no playclock. Seriously, a football game without a playclock. This is a big omission, as it takes away the strategy, and time constraints of football. Also there are no replays. It would be great to see a replay of your big plays, but still having the option to skip them.
