Madden 2008
Dear EA Sports,
I appreciate what you've done to the Madden Franchise and everything. It is impressive. The marketing. The product. All that crap. But really, what are we doing with this thing now other than spending $50 on a roster update?
You can add graphics, and have neat little tackle scenes, and annually embed an entire playlist of every song I don't want to hear this year, but how about some simple things that have never really worked?
For one, draw runs and screen passes are a waste of playbook space. And only because they don't work. Every time you run a draw play, your running back crashes into a wall of your own offensive linemen. The whole point of the play is to allow the defensive rushers to run themselves past the play. It's simple enough to fix. Don't tell all of the offensive line to pass block. Send the guards ahead to push their man out of the way.
Screen passes don't really work either. Why does it take perfect touch by the quarterback to make that throw? If you hold the pass button too hard, you nail your back in the head with the ball. Too soft, and the ball floats 15 yards straight up. The running backs need to be more aware of what's going on and the getting a good toss from your QB should not require 4 hours of practice.
On defense, it's nice to see that fumbles have become more a part of the game. But the 3-4 defenses in this game still are way too vulnerable to the run. It doesn't matter who you're playing in the front seven, they are more effective in a 4-3 formation at stopping the run than they are in the 3-4. With the right personnel, that should be the other way around.
And what's the world record for most consecutive games played without committing a penalty? 156, tied by everyone? There's still little disincentive to field your team with star rookies without fear of penalties or other stupid mistakes.
I'm sure I'm missing plenty of gameplay related issues that have never been addressed in the game. Feel free to add yours in our madden 08 thread.
