Football Videogame Fans: All Pro vs Madden

DaemonSeid · #1 08-14-2007, 09:25 AM

I was going to simply do a review of Madden but since I had both I can do a side by side comparison....enjoy:

It's good to have a little healthy competition.

It's good to know that even without a few things going, another game will push a title and that is what we have here.

So...how does Madden stack up against 2K?

Does Madden deserve that 9 that 1up.com gave it.....nah....but this is the Madden we should have gotten last year. (You have to give a little leeway to Madden 06 as a 1st gen title is usually going to have a few flaws...)

Presentation:

All Pro - Altho most of it is pulled from past games, 2K Football always gives you the feeling that you are watching a broadcast game. The play by play commentary has seemingly always been the best despite the few hiccups that it still hasn't corrected. It does well keeping good stats and showing them throughout the game and the 1/2 time show has always been a plus but some of the players speech is a little bit overdone and the referee calls....is it just me or is the ref voice a little.....light? **AHEM**

Madden - Someone please send a memo to HA....Hi Def gaming does NOT mean I should be listening to a radio...and if you have the ESPN licence I shouldn't be listening to EA radio! EA still has this issue with giving people an immersive football experience...you would have thought after picking up the NFL licence...Madden would have been getting 2K5 like presentation. OK sure you get a nice little intro from Marshall Faulk and a nice little Sprint 1/2 time shows (where you have to manually review higlights..>WTF?) But it still begs of more innovation.

Winner - All Pro

Control -

All Pro - If you played 2K5 you would have no problems playing this game....except the kick control is out of control....2K5 had a good scheme and that should have been left alone. ALl the basics juking spinning and stiff arming work pretty well but you really need to practice to get it down cold. Line shifting is still done almost the same as on 2K5.

Madden - no changes from last year...Hit stick is cool....just look out for lots of fumbles if you use it wrong....or right prematurely. Audibles and line shifting are a little easier to use due to the list that is on the right side of the screen learn how to use it quickly and effectively.

Winner - Draw (it really depends on which one u like)

Graphics - This is where it becomes a mixed bag..but I gotta call it like I see it...

All Star - Beautifully modeled stadiums, not so beautifully modeled players....Montana and Unitas looked like crap...whereas Rice and Sanders looked a little more close to thier representations...not to mention the create a player is sorely lacking....however, the create a team mode is off the hook...if you decide to stay away from madden but still need a pseudo NFL fix you can toy around and find a jersey design to match close to your home team....sans the logo. Another minus is it is difficult to tell what time of the day (during day games) when you are playing...the lighting is not dynamic 1pm and 4:15 pm games look alike...weather conditions are fine tho. Unis and fields show apporpiate wear and tear as any title since 2001 should show.

Madden - again a little bit of competition pushed Madden to step it's game up whereas it looks as if they pushed the polygon count as high as thet could go....this game truly looks high def and next gen.....except......the stadium crowd....EA...take notes from 2K7 BASKETBALL (yes Basketball). It's nice during the game to see the camera cut to the crown and you see people cheering and booing and moving about the crowd....ummm JUST LIKE A REAL GAME? With the exception of everything else, the static crowd is kinda...last gen. And I know some of you say...when you are playing the game you don't notice that because you are concentrating on the game...but believe me...I notice the small details....I would have been happy if they brought the create a fan mode over..small but nice. But nonetheless...the tackle animation is great, running is great watching a WR tiptoe on the sides while catching a pass is great watching your RB do a stiff arm (alerting you to push the appropiate button) is great....Madden got the animations right BUT......it's still a little herky jerky at times mostly between plays and sometimes it feels as if it moves a little faster.

Winner - Madden

Special features-

IMO both have similar features this year but with the weapons, I think it's a matter of who thought of which first. All Pro doesn't use stats to rate players but if you hook up the right combo of players on your team based on thier ability then you can make a good team....

Like Jerry Rice and Joe Montana, Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith and Alvin Harper or on the defensive side, Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary and lester Hayes...and then set your off brand players appropiately.

Madden more or less has the same ideaology with the new weapons system but I would really to play this more to see if this is innovation or another 'stolen' gimmick trying to keep the franchise fresh.

Winner - Draw

Speaking of.....

Modes and Rosters

This is where Madden beats All Pro hands down. All Pro is a barebones product compared to what features Madden has...the Superstar mode has been revamped and they brought back the Franchise mode. I don't have a clue as to why a franchise mode wasnt brought into All Pro altho I would suggest doing an "Eras" mode...wherein you can only use legends from a certain time....and this also leads me to the rosters...All Pro has lots of legends...but so many more are still mssing... No Terry Bradshaw or Lynn Swann, I am wondering how Natrrone means made it on the game..where is Jim Brown? and the original LT? Is it because of Blitz? I am hoping that if 2K does another game for next year they at least double the list of legends for a truly legendary experience....with Madden well ...no question...present rosters and you know there will be updates coming as the season progresses (anybody try the Falcons yet?) Plus Hall of Famers

Winner - Madden

Online:

All Pro - no real noticable lag during games unless your oppent is bad but thumbs up goes to online leagues

Madden: No Online leagues....come on EA!!

Winner - All Pro

Bottom line: Madden may edge All Pro out in some areas but lacking an NFL licence doesn't keep All Pro out of the competition...as a matter of fact it seems that competition this year motivated EA to get on the ball and try to make a better product. Madden still has a lot of things to fix for it to truly be a next gen product and if All Pro wants to eat into that share that EA has while waiting to try and make a grab at that NFL licence, they need to add more modes and look back to 2K5 to see what made it work so well.

Here are my final scores

Presentation:

All Pro: 8.5

Madden: 7 (PLEASE for the LOVE OF GOD...get rid of ESPN!)

Control:

All Pro: 7 (The kick control has to go)

Madden: 8

Graphics:

All Pro: 8

Madden: 9 (realistic details and dynamic lighting won it for me)

Special Features:

All Pro: 8

Madden: 8

Modes:

All Pro: 7 (barebones....)

Madden: 9 (franchise mode comes back...let the dynasties begin!)

Rosters:

All Pro - 8 (fairly decent amount of legends,,,but more are needed)

Madden - 9

Online:

All Pro - 9

Madden - 7