{"id":1624,"date":"2009-08-15T06:27:15","date_gmt":"2009-08-15T11:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.calvertgames.com\/cgblog\/2009\/08\/15\/madden-10-first-game\/"},"modified":"2010-06-05T11:30:50","modified_gmt":"2010-06-05T16:30:50","slug":"madden-10-first-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.calvertgames.com\/cgblog\/2009\/08\/15\/madden-10-first-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Madden 10 – First game."},"content":{"rendered":"

This is one of those stupid first impression articles that long time sports gamers dread. The kind that ends in It\u2019s the best one yet!\u201d<\/em>. You know; the kind that we all hate, love to slam, and all that jazz. It had to happen to me some day.<\/p>\n

I only had time for a quick game last night. I did not play around with any of the settings, other than changing my favorite team to the Atlanta Falcons. I think that means the game was on Pro, and 7 minute quarters with an accelerated clock.\u00a0 Not sure if the IQ thing was turned on, but I think it was because IQ500 was displayed at the start and end of the games.<\/p>\n

I picked the 70\u2019s red helmets, gray pants, and current red jerseys. Horrid combination, but fun. Played Tampa Bay and won 17-0.<\/p>\n

The presentation is truly upgraded, and is a welcome enhancement. No, it has nothing to do with the gameplay, but it is worth pointing out. Besides, I only played one game so I don\u2019t have a lot of gamplay bobbles to throw your way!<\/p>\n

I started the game on defense, and I had no idea what I was doing so I just used the \u201cAsk Madden\u201d option. Same for controls; I could not work much magic, and after looking at the in-game controls options, I really did not see much in the way of \u201ctaking control of your player\u201d or special moves options. I hope this means I just missed a menu or setting. Maybe the game defaults to some sort of easy setting? Regardless, I held the Buccaneers to three and out.<\/p>\n

On offense I opened the game up with Matt Ryan\u2019s new toy. Quick Pass route to Tony Gonzalez. While I only had a short gain, I can imagine what the Falcons will do with Gonzalez this year, and it will be impressive. I ended the game with Gonzalez having 4 catches; one other designed play, while the other two where dump off passes.<\/p>\n

In past versions of Madden<\/em>, I never felt like I had time to really learn the playbook. Clock is always ticking. Same for this year. I need to see if there is an option where the accelerated clock runs after you select your play. One thing I did notice straight away \u2013 use the Right Analog stick to quickly change the sets. Sub your HB, WR for TE, and put in a Big set. I love the ability to quickly and easily put Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood in the same backfield. The \u201cFalcons\u201d formation is also included; this is Atlanta\u2019s version of the wildcat formation.<\/p>\n

The only nitpicks I can offer up right now are not really gameplay related. Sometimes Madden (via the \u201cAsk Madden\u201d feature) will talk over the commentary, leading to a confusing array of dual audio channels. I also saw a couple of graphical animation type screw ups. These resulted in the ball carrier quickly (warp speed) doing something. Usually as part of a tackle sequence.<\/p>\n

I won the game 17-0. I had the ball 20+ minutes to the Bucs 7 minutes of possession. I held the Bucs to under 100 yards of offense (2-3 sacks hurt their cause); they did have ~125 kick return yards. I forget my passing yardage, but it was somewhere around 200, while rushing yards were around 60, with a 2.5 yards\/rush average. Remember, this is default settings, me not knowing the controls, and after a couple Abita Jockamo IPAs<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I think there is some hope in this version of Madden<\/em>, but a new season always brings fresh hope. I am not going to end this post by saying that this is the best version ever [WTF, did you think I was a complete tool?], but at least I did not walk away thinking the game sucks. In my book, I call that a win.<\/p>\n

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