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[Mrbob]

Anticipation level is growing. Two of these games are almost here. The '05 sports football games are virtually upon us. Which ones are you looking forward too? Last year during this my anticipation factor was for Madden 2004 first, NCAA 2004 second, and ESPN2K4 third. Now, with the '05 games arriving, things have shaken up a bit. And for me there are many role changes occurring. Rank your anticipation for the three big football products coming out! Let the games begin:


1)NCAA 2005: You have to face the facts here. Even if you prefer NFL ball to college ball (Like me) you gotta hand it to the NCAA team for giving us the best playing football game last year! The gameplay was nearly spot on. Plus, NCAA is still the only sports game that handles punt returns and kick returns properly. The blocks are there and you need them to be well executed to get a decent return. You couldn't say the same about Madden or ESPN. This year is gonna be even better. Home Field advantage, confidence meter, match up stick, improved gameplay with receivers and defenders that actually use their heads to follow the ball (You hear that madden team?). The franchise mode sounds great too. The addition of trying to run a legitimate school should be fun. Then the big addition to Xbox Live! online play! My gut feeling is that NCAA 2005 will reign supreme again. I barely followed the college game until I first rented NCAA 2003. Now each year I am following the college game closer and closer. NCAA 2005 is starting to turn me into a big college football fan!

2) ESPN2K5: A small factor of placing ESPN ahead of Madden is the release date. I'm really looking forward to playing another pro football game and ESPN will be the first on the market! I don't really care about those stupid celebrity things they are incorporating into the game. The biggest flaw of last years game is the running game so hopefully this gets cleaned up for 2K5. The improved presentation and the ability to see actual game footage on the sportscenter sounds cool. I'm interested in the weekly preparation mode too. Hopefully you can't abuse this too much. Plus the 20 dollar price tag is EZ on the wallet. Online franchise, oh yeah, I'll dominate in this as well!

3)Madden 2005: Madden is coming out last, so this is a factor of placing it last in anticipation. However there is more to it than that. I just don't have the same sense of anticipation for Madden 2005 as Madden 2004. But then I don't see Madden adding on as cool a feature in 2005 as the franchise mode addtion in 2004. The hit stick? Oh yay. Tony Bruno radio show? I can't stand the guy now I have to listen to him babble in the game? It seems like the NCAA team is gobbling up all the cool ideas and the Madden team is getting the scraps this year. In fact, is ESPN2K5 is the hotness I may not even pick up Madden 2005 at all. But I'll probably still get it since all my Xbox owner friends are dead set on getting Madden 2005 over ESPN2K5. Plus I need to dominate the GA franchise.

So there you have it. Proof positive that NCAA will rule the world.

 

[DMczaf]

No point in ranking them for me since Im getting all 3 for different reasons

ESPN = online franchises

Madden = best offline franchise mode

NCAA = dynasty mode

Im not going to sit here and put down any football game since I'm in sports gaming heaven.

 

[Mrbob]

No point in ranking them for me since Im getting all 3 for different reasons

ESPN = online franchises

Madden = best offline franchise mode

NCAA = dynasty mode

Im not going to sit here and put down any football game since I'm in sports gaming heaven.

LOL. Is that why you troll every ESPN2K5 thread?

 

[DMczaf]

LOL. Is that why you troll every ESPN2K5 thread?

Like I told retardboy, when the ESPN fans stop trolling so will I

 

[shpankey]

Madden (the defensive stuff puts it ahead of NCAA, which normally is 1st for me)

NCAA (sweet sweet sweet, but Madden will be better because of the defensive upgrades)

ESPN (well, it will at least look amazing!)

 

[Mrbob]

Do we have some confirmation vidoes on the defensive upgrades?

I do not want Liquid AI 2.....


I'd like to see some of the defensive upgrades you can do in action via video.

 

[shpankey]

I think you misunderstand what I mean. I am not talking about defensive AI.

 

[Mrbob]

Yeah, I know there are more defensive moves a player can supposedly do in Madden 2005. But the CPU should be able to do them too. Just a little jab at AI for their worthless Liquid AI marketing gimmick from years past.

 

[shpankey]

I see. heh

 

[Biff Hardbody]

1)NCAA
No question about it, NCAA has surpassed Madden as my all time favorite sports franchise. 2003 was a breath of fresh air, and 2004 cemented its greatness. I played over 70 eight minute games last year. Honestly, the Dynasty mode was by far the most rewarding franchise mode I ever played.

This year, there's lots of good stuff to look foward to. At first it sounded like a semi update, but now it really sounds good. The things that have me fired up-

-"Athletes" being reqruited in Dynasty mode. Getting a player that you can mature into a great cornerback or wr, not sure if you want that really fat guy to become a tackle or TE. This is a really cool feature.

-composure/home field advantage. At first I thought this was a gimmicky feature, but the more I read impressions on it the more I like it. What really sold me was the guy on OS saying that he started playing with a good QB. At first his stats were solid, but the crowd rattled him and his compsure went down. The effect? His play turned into garbage, throwing picks and incompletions left and right. That, plus the fact you can make the captain of your team coach certain groups to help their composure and the icing of the kickers has me loving this feature.

-Improved Dynasty mode. Best franchise mode ever gets better with improved SI coverage (choice) and better reqruiting/team discipling options. As soon as I get this game I'm creating a team, and only 1 team and playing a bunch of dynasty games.

-Hopefully a better run game. Even though tosses were nonexistant last year, and you could defend the run with very suspect plays I still have to say NCAA had the funnest running game ever. If the reports of the running game being improved this year are true, it will be really great.

-Online play. I talked to Fifty about this in NCAA 2003...its finally here.

ESPN and Madden will both be great games, I'm definitely buying both. Honestly though, they are second fiddle to NCAA though. I'd probably say ESPN is #2 in anticipation and Madden is #3. I don't think about them much though...only NCAA. Thats my football king.

 

[Galaron]

Definitely NCAA 2005. The Dynasty mode is without a doubt the most fun of any "franchise" mode I've played in any sports game. I love the way my team's complexion will change so radically during the offseason. I will lose my star players to the pros, but then that sophmore sleeper will have a monster offseason and turn into a potential heisman candidate in his junior year! Plus, I'll lure away a blue chipper from the big schools with my crafty recruiting and build my offense or defense around him. Now with program integrity, I have another factor I have to worry about, but I'm looking forward to it! LOL! At least, I don't play as 'Bama!

After that it's Madden because it has the best gameplay and offline stuff, and I'll probably pick up ESPN for the awesome presentation, but it just isn't my cup of tea. Madden also does better online. As I mentioned in another thread, leagues and tourneys don't do it for me because they're almost alwasy abandoned. But Madden puts its emphasis on instant match-up, with cheese-free (for the most part) gameplay. Plus the servers were rock solid compared to ESPN's last year, and will be even more so on Xbox Live.

 

[Fifty]

NCAA was my favourite by far last year, but this year my #1 game will be the one that plays the best online. If ESPN's franchises blow me away, then that'll be my most-played game. I'm buying them all.