ESPN Football Better than Madden

For me the franchise/dynasty modes are the real meat of the game.

In those terms Madden completely outshines ESPN.

As does NBA Live to ESPN (but to a lesser extent, it's almost a tie)

Although the online leagues and VIP system are awesome.. definately features I wish Madden would have.

 

Blasphemer.

APOSTATE!

 

Thoughts from a long time Madden player.

Let me start off by telling my background. Yes, I've played Madden my whole life and yes I'm biased in that sense. However, just like you, I read a bunch of reviews and checked out different forums to see what all the hype is about and for under $20 I decided to give it a try for the PS2.

Being a long time Madden player it took some time getting used to the controls. I went through all the tutorials and spent a lot of time in the practice mode. I finally decided to play a game and in my first game I randomly selected the Giants vs. the Cowboys. I was the Giants and for the first half I couldn't move the balll at all. This was due more to me not being familiar with the plays and the controls than it was to the computer. I threw 3 interceptions, had a several balls knocked down at the line and got sacked 4 times. On defense, I kept giving up the long ball bc I kept inadvertently switching between defenders..

The second half, I decided to switch out Warner with Manning and my completion percentage went up and I actually scored two TDs by throwing to Shockey. I lost something like 24-14. I've played about 10 more games and I've finally been able to beat the computer. However, maybe its just me but I just didn't find it as satisfactory as playing Madden. I eventually stopped playing and went back to NCAA 2005.

Pros:
1) incredible graphics although kinda herky jerky animation.
2) I like the ESPN presentation and commentary
3) the sound is great
4) I like the replays. I would normally turn them off but they look great. I also like the cut scenes.
5) great atmosphere to the whole game

Cons:
1) Is it me or does there seem to be an inordinate amount of dropped passes?
2) seems like too many interceptions (although this might be due to my sorry passing skills)
3) the running game seems unstoppable. I've used Portis and Barber and gained over 200 yards rushing with each just holding down the charge button.


Overall, I just feel the gameplay is just not as..."fun"...as say NCAA or previous Maddens. I think both games are great and I intend to buy both, but even with the cheap price and the great presentation, I think I will spend most of time playing Madden due to the better game play.

I have friends who are die hards for ESPN and friends die hard for Madden. I don't think it really matters which one is better bc both games seems to satisfy the die hard fan of each game. It's the rare contest where both sides win.

BTW, both IGN and EGM gave better scores to Madden over ESPN.

 

I was a 2K guy when I had my Dreamcast. I'm a 2K guy now that I have my X-Box. It's more fun. Better game. Simple as that.

 

no disrespect, but I don't know how anyone can say NBA LIVE is better than ESPN Basketball

graphically, presentation, gameplay, depth...
Live hasn't been good since '96.

I guess it's personal preference.

If you like crappy graphics and slow gameplay, go with Live.

 

I didn't think I'd ever feel that way either.

I was an NBA2K FANATIC.. but Live is catching up to ESPN in many respects.

I still give the gameplay edge to ESPN, but the franchise edge goes to Live.

 

Last year Live killed ESPN basketball, I've played ESPN since the Dreamcast and just last year I played NBA Live and it blew ESPN away

 

ESPN has a great presentation; they do a wonderful job with making you feel as though it's a broadcast on TV. In this, ESPN is clearly tops.

In gameplay...it's different. NOt a bad game by any means, but not as smooth or fluid as Madden. Just feels different...some people don't mind this, so there you go.

Franchise/Extras/Simulation...Madden wins, no contest. ESPN has some cool extras (though VIP is an awesome addition), but it's franchise doesn't hold a candle.


ESPN is a great game - and at 20 bucks its really great - but still not quite in Madden's league.

 

Why is it so much worse than Madden in this regards? Personally, I'm a big fanatic of the Franchise mode, because you can only play so many games before you just get bored.

Another thing I care a lot is the ability to create sliders for realistic gameplay. Default sliders on Madden had always been terribly arcadish, but one can always make the adjustments so stats come out looking pretty normal. How does ESPN handle this? I just can't enjoy playing a game unless it actually simulates the real game fairly well.

These two things, realistic gameplay and franchise mode, are what's important for me. If ESPN comes close to Madden in both regards, then I might as well save the $30 and change my allegience. But otherwise, I'd still overpay for Madden.

 

I speak on behalf of Espn's version of the NBA, I bought NBA Live 2003 and regretted it for every day of that basketball season.
This past year I bought the Espn one and was simply blown away at how much better it is, amazing really.

Not to criticize but Live was just too much like an arcade game and I feel it was created for the casual NBA fan, in the mold Nba Jam and the likes.

 

Bump that and rewind it back...Bump that and rewind it back...


Madden is the game that makes hoe's go clap.

 

I just wanted to add that while live 2003 was crap, live 2004 was like 200% better. Just rent it and see (and yes i blasted live 2004 till i got it and it was great)

 

I would advise people to get both games also. They offer two entirely different takes on the NFL game. But as I have played ESPN, tore it apart and broke it down, I have decided it is all about presentation, and not gameplay. The presentation is incredible. It borrows heavily from the ESPN broadcasts in terms of Berman before the game, stadium views, a halftime and post game shows complete with replays of action from the game, and even an interview with the player of the game.

But the gameplay is not there. Many dropped passes, total bizarre DB play, bizarre WR play, online leagues that don't work, inaccurate ball spotting, jerky animation, really touchy controls, etc. The thing that I REALLY hate is the DB play. If your opponent lofts a pass up, the DB will literally run in a circle around the WR and let the catch happen. This is a routine play in ESPN. It really kills the game for me because of the jerky animation and touchy controls, unless the WR is on a streak, it is pretty useless to take control of the DB yourself.

But with all that said, it is a different experience than Madden. Where Madden seems to have gone the ultra-sim route, ESPN definitely has arcade flair. ESPN has many bizarre glitches as I have outlined above. Everyone who I know who has Madden already says that it is the sim of all sims this year. We will find out Monday, won't we?

But the bottom line is ESPN is not even better than Madden 2004. It has all the fluff and gimmicks, but no way is the game better than Madden.

 

If you bring in ESPN football to a gamestop this week and trade it in for Madden 2005, you get a 15 dollar trade credit, so essentially you can wind up paying nothing for trying out ESPN football while waiting for Madden.

 

I bought a PS2 the other week, my first gaming console since atari, just so I could play Madden 2005 and this NFL2k5 game. Like others have said, the passing part of the game is real difficult to excecute on ESPN2k5. You have to customize the Human Catching Bar and move the bar to the top if you want to keep your sanity throughout the game and your recievers will still drop their fair amount of passes they should catch. The passes have to be perfect and precise and with just the right amount of touch or your reciver no matter how wide open will drop the ball. But the game is so kick ass in all other aspects, from the commentary, to the graphics, to the presentation, you really get caught up in it and you want to find a way to play through its faults with gameplay. Its definitely worth the buy.

 

So Wiz, you'd say that Live 04 was better than Espn 04?
But then again I'm ultra bias, I go back aways with Sega.

This may be sumthing to look into for this season.

 

in all honesty, my main thing with EA's live series, is that every time it takes a step forward, it takes 3 back. Live 2001 was actually a heck of a game. very well done imo. Good gameplay and good franchise mode. 2002 and 2003 really went backwards in the game play and franchise column like 15 steps. 2004 was the best basketball as far as game play in the past 5 years, but the franchise modes is just as bad as 2004 (all the big names gets unsigned and no one can signed wtf) I think live 2001 actually still have the best franchise series of the live games. ESPN/2K series have just been overall good every time i played it, just that live was better the past year.

I still suggest renting both and try it out for your self and then make a decision.

 

I started out with the 2K series and liked it a lot. Tried playing various incarnations of Madden, but I always thought the ESPN brand was a better product. The Madden games are vastly overrated. Play calling is unintuitive and the basic control scheme sucks. ESPN/2K graphics are a shade better and all of the 2K versions I played had excellent franchise modes. I just don't get why people are so in love with the Madden brand.

 

Obviously I can't comment on Madden since it hasn't come out yet. But, given the huge price disparity alone, I would rate ESPN 2K5 ahead of it. I got my copy for $15.88 from Fry's a couple of weeks ago. Meanwhile, Madden's selling for $49.99.

I guess if you're a franchise mode die-hard, then Madden's worth the extra $$$. Otherwise, I'd keep the extra cash and enjoy ESPN 2K5. It looks awesome on my 32" WEGA.