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 Staff roundtable #3 : 08, it's all about the weaons !
| What do you think of the new weapons feature ? |
| In our latest roundtable feature, we discuss what we think about the new weapons feature in Madden 08. |
| Discussion... |
Rebel10 :
I think that the new weapons feature will add a lot to Madden '08 this year as long as it is done well and each weapon can be offset by another weapon. I hope that it does not approach the "Impact Player" from the NCAA series, which was a good idea -- because different players make big impacts in real games -- but because that was over-done, and somewhat random (your impact player would be ready to make an impact on peculiar situations when you wouldn't expect it, and when he was In the Zone, he'd be gauranteed to break two or three tackles unrealistically).
There have been some charges that the new feature strikes as a little 'arcadey,' but I think if it is implemented well, it will not feel that way at all. Most importantly, I think that the Weapons have to avoid the "Impact Player" and "In the Zone" scenarios from the NCAA Football series. These were good ideas that were implemented poorly because their impacts were over-done (players that were in the zone were almost gauranteed to break at least one tackle and usually more) and because they were initiated somewhat randomly (your QB is sacked for an 8 yard loss and on the following play, for some reason, your Impact Running Back is In the Zone, was a situation that appeared all too often). I do not think that the weapons feature is going to be an arcadey or unrealistic addition. First and foremost, it is an attempt by EA to differentiate truely skilled, game-changing players from simply good players on the field. For instance, Reche Caldwell was a pretty strong WR for the Patriots last year; he had good stats, made some key catches (and some unfortunate drops...), and for what the expectation was, he was the most reliable wide receiver that the Patriots had last season. By all accounts, he was a good WR who worked well for the Patriots with their system. There are a slew of other WR's who have roughly the same yards, similar statistics, and have made a number of big plays, but there is something that separates them -- great WR's -- from Caldwell, who is merely a good wide receiver.
Football videogames have never been that great at differentiating between good and great players, and I know in my experience, my third or second string WR playing in the slot is a more effective player game-to-game than my first string receiver -- despite that the first string receiver has better attributes. By adding the weapons category and giving some of those players almost intangible capabilities, it helps differentiate between who is a good receiver -- capable of consistantly making good catches and generating good yardage, from a great receiver -- a player who may have similar yardage and statistics in the end, but his receptions, touchdowns, and big plays come in key scenarios, making plays where another receiver wouldn't, and so on.
What the Weapons feature also introduces is a new twist on what we've been calling (and heard called) "twitch" movements. Tiburon has redone their animation system to be the most responsive football game to date, where slight inputs from the player are precisely output into the game. The weapons feature gives us another opportunity for the user to have an impact: rather than sitting back and letting your star WR make the catches for you, if the player hits the reception button at the right time, with his key wide receiver, he's going to be rewarded for doing so... something that has been missing in Madden games since the 32-bit-era (since Madden 2001, it has usually been more beneficial to let your WR make the play himself, rather than controlling him to do so).
The only weapons that I am holding out reservations on are the "Smart QB" and "Smart LB / Safety" weapons, that give a player the ability to "see" the play that the offense or defense is running. I think that this is a valuable addition because some quarterbacks have made a career off of their intelligence, like Tom Brady, and certain defenses have been renowned for shutting down an offense because of pre-game planning and scheming, like the Miami Dolphins. I am weary of how this feature is going to work, although we've been told that it will only be if that team choses the same play repeatedly and under certain situations. Although we haven't seen how it is implemented, it might work better where rather than revealing the whole play, key players will be able to spot certain parts of the play -- so for instance, a great offense-reading LB like Ray Lewis might be able to spot what the QB, RB, and Slot receiver are doing on a particular play, but because he doesn't cover the outside WRs, he might not be able to recognize that, so his vision of the play blurs as it moves from his specialty -- QBs, RBs, and the middle of the field -- to areas that he doesn't cover. A great pass-reading safety like John Lynch might be capable of the opposite -- he might not know what a RB is going to do on a play, but he definitely knows how the QB is going to read the field, and so he'll be able to cut off routes of a WR. As it stands how, I believe that they reveal the whole play to the offense or defense, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it may need tweaking as we find out more about it.
Overall, I am really excited about the new Weapons categories and I can't wait to see how they impact not only the gameplay on the field, but also some of the strategizing in the front office. In year's past, you could afford to sign a player who may have been an 86 overall, rather than an 87 or 88 overall because his impact on the field was roughly the same as the higher-rated player, but he may have had a smaller contract or have been younger. Now, there will be some incentive for going for those elite players in the league, or for keying in on a special attribute that your team needs. Imagine the offseason and you're the Atlanta Falcons, you'd obviously want to add a hands receiver so that Michael Vick has some guys who can hold onto the ball; or say that you're the Arizona Cardinals, you may want to add an explosive receiver so that Matt Leinart can throw bombs to him and you'll sell more tickets. I think that, if implemented right, the Weapons feature could be one of the most game-changing features that we've seen added to the Madden series in a long time, but it works especially well with many of the new features we're welcoming, like Owner Mode and "twitch controls."
Blotto :
I think balance will be the key here to whether its a great or crap feature. As we all know even the best players in the NFL are prone to errors. Im just hoping that this 'weapons' feature doesn't make certain players in the game 'God Like'
but if the balance is done correctly I think the feature could really go a long way to defining a great player from the average joe in the league. Just dont 'over-do' it Tiburon!
And also... can someone tell me if Tony Romo will be given the 'Crap holder' weapon in this years version?
DirtyHippy :
So far it looks like the weapons system will be similar to what they have already incorporated into the 2k basketball games (where a player has a specific icon for certain abilities) and crossed it with the impact player feature from NCAA football. I like the idea of designating certain players as weapons, because lets face it some players are head and shoulders above the rest. However, I do think that implementation is vital. If this is just another gimmicky feature or another way for people to cheese online then I won't care for it at all. Implemented correctly where players don't become extremly overpowering then this will be a nice feature. Hopefully it will turn out right the first time and won't need to be tweaked over the next several years.
Josemne :
Tough one without having experinced it yet. From a relative far look it seems like a good idea, it should make it more fun to build your team to compete against those in your division, it should make it more fun to develop a better game plan for attacking and defending someone. It should even help make more of a connection to your players, as you are most likelly to miss your right tackle if he was a weapon then if he was just another guy when he retires. One would hope it would even help the AI draft better, both to improve their team as much as to compete against its rivals. So from an outside look it seems to have alot of potential.
On the other hand its a feature that could be over or under done just like any other feature can be. It could appear to be just a surface feature, it could have no impact on draft, or Free agency, or even on the game AI. So it remains to be seen, but I'm hopefull.
AndyP :
I like the sound of the idea in principle. Some players are clearly leaders on the field. Most of the top NFL players have specific attributes that make them stand out over the rest. The weapons feature just seems to be a way of emphasising that particular skill or talent a player has. There's been a few initiatives that have tried to replicate the real life aspects of playing football - whether that is the composure system on the old gen versions of NCAA or the way that the icon pulsed when a player was "in the zone". This is another step in that direction. Incidentally I still miss the composure stuff and homefield advantage stuff of old gen NCAA, but we'll save that for another roundtable ! |
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