Madden NFL 10 Review

An unfair review in my opinion.

Given that none of the staff have any knowledge or interest in the game would it not have been smart to pass on this one?

You could argue that it does little to attract new gamers, however I could say the same thing about FIFA. Without a smidgen of interest any particular genre it's always going to be hard to attract newcomers.

I don't think it's an unfair review at all, we reviewed it for a British audience who have little to do with the sport but might look at it on the shelf and be interested. Why? Well, a) we are a British site and b) is sold in this country. We're not saying the game itself is bad, but it does nothing to attract new players or really engage them. This is true for FIFA too in the US, although "soccer" over there has got more interest lately.

If every review was the same, it would be incredibly boring. Only people who don't read this will not understand the score.

Might well pick this up. I'm ashamed to admit I do like a bit of handegg.

Good review. Tbh, i wouldn't say the review is unfair. If anything, it might get a few more Brits aware of this EA game's existence and get more of us interested in the sport of American Handegg.

I might just play this game for the TRON-style training to reminisce about my days fighting the MCP :)

http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2009/08/madden-nfl-10-review/1.jpg

Look at those thighs! Are they armoured?

Anyway, the graphics look pretty neat (other than super-thighs), especially the last picture on the second page, but it's not really my sort of game :o

Originally Posted by pimonserry
http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2009/08/madden-nfl-10-review/1.jpg

Look at those thighs! Are they armoured?

Anyway, the graphics look pretty neat (other than super-thighs), especially the last picture on the second page, but it's not really my sort of game :o

Yes, they wear heavy padding in American football.

As for the review, I can definitely see that it was intended for a demographic that isn't too familiar with American football, but at the same time it also feels a bit unfair, like IGN's recent handing off of Football Manager to an intern who had no idea the game wasn't supposed to be FIFA, or giving Civilization IV to hardcore shooter fan. The opinion for that particular person may be valid, but the lack of experience and expertise with the genre and game series simply doesn't allow for the proper perspective. The game isn't made for you, thus maybe it's not your place to pass judgment.

Still, I do appreciate getting a slightly different opinion on Madden for a change. I'm not a handegg fan, but it's interesting to read thoughts coming from someone who doesn't have prior knowledge of the game.

I think the article was alright, but perhaps should have been subtitled "A British Perspective on American Football" or something of the like. (Edit: After completing my comment and really thinking about it, this isn't necessary at all). Other than the comparisons to FIFA, the biggest criticisms appeared to be based on the actual sport and not the game itself. The help and pre-picked set of plays has been in madden for quite a long time. That wasn't a new addition, unless they slightly tweaked some small portion of it, to attract new players.

I wish it would have described what the statement of "and it’s disappointing that EA is still stuck in the same, tired gameplay mechanics". Using similar things as Fifa, or?

"The defensive play also feels quite random and lacks the elegance and fun that comes with offensive play and, dare we say, the constant stop-start structure of American Football can prove quite distracting and often stops you from feeling like you’re involved in the game. Long games can feel like a slog rather than be enjoyable"

Of course it lacks the elegance, that is just the way the game is. Offense you get to throw beautiful passes down field to a receiver trying to outpace and out-juke his opponent, run the ball looking for the perfect opening to break through the lines. Defense essentially is pushing on the offensive line, trying to hump your opponent without drawing fouls to keep him even getting an opportunity to get the ball, and slamming the guy who has the ball hard into the ground. This whole paragraph appears to be a criticism of the sport, which it's issues are obviously going to be reflected in a game based on it.

This review is really only helpful to those to who don't like, or know, the sport. Pretty much could be summed up to those people as "If you aren't a fan of the sport, you probably aren't going to like the game, so look elsewhere for entertainment". The article holds no real value to anyone a fan of American Football video games, who are the main audience this game is aimed towards. I left with no clue how it stands up to Madden 09, 2KSports games, NCAA, etc. Any improvements over 09 other than roster updates, etc.

I understand the reviewer and a large chunk of bit-tech's audience are British and don't have a wide experience with American football, so to that audience I will agree the review was fair. To an American audience or anyone who loves or likes American football it really didn't have a whole lot of information on how it stacks up as a football game. But I guess in the long run this article wouldn't matter to most of them anyway, as many will buy the game regardless as there just isn't any other competition.

Frustrating portions, me being an American reader and all, but overall I will concede that for the audience this was written for, and any good writer should be able to identify and cater to the audience that will actually be reading his/her work, it was fair.

Originally Posted by Combinho
....handegg.

Awesome.

Andm nice

I like the strategic placement of the Bit logo in the second photo.

:-P

I'm still happy with Madden '05, no huge changes besides the roster.

I love me some football but I've never been a big fan of the football video games honestly. I always preferred the non-EA Sports football games and since they have that damn exclusivity contract with the NFL they can pretty much get away with never innovating or ever really improving the game which is a shame. It really does a disservice to the NFL and to the sport of football as a whole to allow EA to continue to produce samey, mediocre products year after year after year with absolutely zero competition.

Overall though I appreciate the Bit-Tech staff taking the time to review something that isn't necessarily aimed at them but I'd have to say the article seems more like one of your "Hands-On-Impressions" articles rather than a full-blown review so the score at the end seems a bit out of place.

The article does get bonus points for using a picture of Ronnie Brown heaving a pass though so it all balances out in the end I suppose.

that was a great paragraph about a passing play. lol epic description. very techincal way of saying "pass to the open guy". im not getting the game though. all the NFL games are the same

The only reason why they make these games is so you have to buy more controllers. You know, when some bullshit happens and you throw it at the wall.

I'm not a Handegg fan myself (or football or rugby either for that matter) although I have borrowed 2 of the Madden games on the 360 from a friend in work who loves it. There seemed very little difference between 06 and 09 (apart from the achievements, which despite not knowing anything about american football I still managed to get the full 1000 on 06 and pretty close in 09). There proberbly isn't going to be much difference between 09 and 10 either.

I did enjoy my brief stint playing 06 and 09, but it's not a game I would buy and, to be fair, the review (looking at the author, Bindi's brother? - work experience?) pretty much sums up my experience with the 2 earlier Madden games perfectly. playable but I didn't really know what I was doing or why.

I love bit-tech, buit a terrible review. The other Madden games this gen have been poor, NFl 10 was surprisingly good, and very sim like.

Originally Posted by Bindibadgi
I don't think it's an unfair review at all, we reviewed it for a British audience who have little to do with the sport but might look at it on the shelf and be interested. Why? Well, a) we are a British site and b) is sold in this country. We're not saying the game itself is bad, but it does nothing to attract new players or really engage them. This is true for FIFA too in the US, although "soccer" over there has got more interest lately.

If every review was the same, it would be incredibly boring. Only people who don't read this will not understand the score.

Interseting...

Are you aware of just how large the American readership has become? Reviewing from a British perspective if fine, however the cultural difference will then seriously influence the final score.

This is of course unavoidable and will always be a factor, but surely to make it a better review then you should familiarize yourself with the rules. Take an American with no interest what so ever in soccer and ask them to play Fifa, you'll likely end up with a low score, and Brit's will be the first to scream foul play.

The complexity of "hand egg" (nice by the way) means that casual gamers will seldom become hooked. It seems however that this factor alone has perhaps had too much influence on the final score! Surely it should be reviewed for what it is, and that an American Football simulator.

I'm not asking for every review to be the same, however I expect at least that the same criteria is applied, minus the bias towards games for a British audience. The standard of game reviews seems to really be swinging wildly from time to time.

My brother is a huge fan of Fifa however he openly admits that the game has evolved little in the last few iterations, your basically entitled to an updated graphical engine and new team rosters...for for £40! Is this really any differnet for any sports game, the evolution is minimal because its a re-juggled version of the same thing.

I did read the review so please dont try to undermine my opinion simply because I see things a little differently. I was one of the first to read the review from front to back, and to me there seemed to be a little too much cultural arrogance. You seem to openly accept the fact that American football is for Americans, your British and well...dont really need to like it.