Madden 2005 is the best Madden ever made

[superben21]

Hmm I don't seem to find it that way at all. In my 'chises the team that should win tends to do so except for an ocational upset. Even then though its prettu close.

[Redwolf]

Never noticed this thread...
My 2-cents: Madden 2005 PC marked a nasty bit of programing into the code engine that essentially ruined the authenticity of the game (if it ever entirely had it to begin with), imho, and this coding was maintained in the '06, '07, & '08 versions - the game "adjusted" to how your team was playing and introduced artificial boosting or penalizing - I am absolutely and utterly convinced of this. This was with a human controlled or coached team. Madden '04 is the best game of the series for playing coach mode as this coding is not there - and it plays a very solid game. However, if one only wants to play cpu vs. cpu games ever (and simply "watch" a season unfold), Madden '06 PC can be adjusted to give the most realistic cpu vs. cpu games on-field surpasing even '04 - but if you want to coach your team, then forget it and go with '04. Edit - p.s. I actually went 0-16 with my team last season in '04 (with the worst team in the league) - this is the first time in any football game I have ever had a win-less season. (and this would NEVER happen in '05 and beyond to me).

[Harry97]

Never noticed this thread...
My 2-cents: Madden 2005 PC marked a nasty bit of programing into the code engine that essentially ruined the authenticity of the game (if it ever entirely had it to begin with), imho, and this coding was maintained in the '06, '07, & '08 versions - the game "adjusted" to how your team was playing and introduced artificial boosting or penalizing - I am absolutely and utterly convinced of this. This was with a human controlled or coached team. Madden '04 is the best game of the series for playing coach mode as this coding is not there - and it plays a very solid game. However, if one only wants to play cpu vs. cpu games ever (and simply "watch" a season unfold), Madden '06 PC can be adjusted to give the most realistic cpu vs. cpu games on-field surpasing even '04 - but if you want to coach your team, then forget it and go with '04. Edit - p.s. I actually went 0-16 with my team last season in '04 (with the worst team in the league) - this is the first time in any football game I have ever had a win-less season. (and this would NEVER happen in '05 and beyond to me).

when you went 0-16, was that on All-Madden? if i remember in '04, All-Madden difficulty was ridiculously hard against the cpu. i have been more of an NCAA football gamer myself. and lately i have been playing NCAA Football 2005 on gamecube like it's going out of style. isn't NCAA 2005 similar to Madden 2004? i have been developing sliders for that game and it's really a lot of fun. and you know i think the gamecube version of ncaa 2005 is a little different then the PS2 version. back in the day, i used to always put it on the hardest difficulty (heisman) but this time around i've been playing on All-American (similar to all pro in madden 04) and have been getting into some very entertaining matches.

one thing i like about the ncaa games is the ability to run the option and lateral in the open field. that was something that madden didn't have on the last generations of consoles. the fact that you had a winless season in madden '04 shows how hard the game can be. all i know is i thoroughly enjoyed playing the madden / ncaa games on PS2 and i think they are much better then anything on the 360 / PS3.

[Sidelion]

The worst thing about NCAA is the ridiculous number of interceptions and dropped balls (especially in '08). Exploiting the option almost becomes a necessity after your X guy drops the fortieth friggin' pass in the flat. These drops are usually followed by long, long bouts of cursing and then yet another slider adjustment...

[Harry97]

Sidelion, the dropped passes and interceptions can be fixed via slider or individual player rating adjustments. NCAA 2005 was actually criticized by many for its dropped passes, but i like it because it allows me to play longer matches and requires the user to make a lot of user catches. that keeps scoring down, completion percentages down, and shines in human vs human games. it really depends on the version of NCAA you are playing, though. i didn't think '08 had the dropped passes issue as much as '05. many people criticized '08 for having unrealistic pursuit angles, a problem that can be fixed somewhat with slider adjustments. each game has its own issues. '08, especially on original xbox, is really great from a feature set, but has its share of bugs.

as far as screen passes, you really do have to set them up. certain defensive formations and plays will snuff them out. options in ncaa 2005 are no gimme though, especially if you are going up against a good defensive line. if you run it too much, guys will penetrate the pocket and get to your QB causing a sack or a fumble. what i like about the old ps2 era ncaa games is the fact that you have unpredictable matches. something new happens each time. i've been doing a lot of slider adjusting trying to create a new gameplay style with new break tackle animations and more realistic defensive reaction time. '08 can get pretty high scoring and has a great playbook depth and a high amount of trick plays, but i like 2005 because you can really play tough defense and really have to earn yards.

[Sidelion]

I know that gameplay can be fixed through sliders, but setting WR Ability to 80+ feels like cheating and anything below that makes me want to stick my hand through the television. There's nothing more agitating than having a wide open tight end/fullback, throwing a five-yard pass to him, and then having him drop the ball because of tackle by a cornerback- that's just really, really dumb and lazy programming on EA's part. Also, because of the safeties' penchant for getting burnt on any sort of long pass on either team and because of the fact that college games are usually high-scoring affairs, I don't think keeping scoring down in the most irritating form is all that realistic.

I will say that NCAA '04 was awesome with the College Classics and the fact that it had ETSU in it.

Oh, and by a pass in the flat, I mean flat routes themselves (i.e. "Curl Flats"), not screens.

[Harry97]

well if we're talking 2005, safeties don't get burnt that often, however it does depend how skilled you are in switching to players and knocking it down. in '06, it was much easier to complete the deep ball and burn those safeties. i don't find 2005 too irritating. i find playing defense more fun, and you have a good sense of control in pass defense. also i like 05 because the cpu quarterback is so realistic. i've seen the cpu qb, run around in the pocket for darn near 10 seconds before throwing it. i've also really been working the blocking and movement so plays can be kept alive by quick moves and using your blockers. i think scores stay down in 2005 because completing a pass is not automatic like it is in '06 or some of the other games. it can get annoying but it also forces you to use a running game to open up the play action. play action can work great in 05. you have to find a receiver who is actually open and has some space to run.

ETSU was in NCAA 2004? didn't realize that. were they not in NCAA 2005 because ETSU moved to the Atlantic Sun in 2005? Don't usually run too many Curl Flat routes. i usually run slant patterns or deep bombs, and occasionally the TE out routes. one thing about 2005 that is limited is the hot routes. only 4 choices. i love how in ncaa '08 on ps2 / og xbox you have so many more hot route options including the ability to make a TE block. each game has their pros and cons, but lately i've been really getting into ncaa 2005 on gamecube with these all-american sliders i've been working on.

[Sidelion]

No, ETSU lost its football program after 2003 because it was losing money every year (even though I'm sure that eyesore Mini-Dome had nothing to do with it). Sucks to have to use a cupcake created team to build a dynasty and UT rival with in '08. If present-gen NCAA has any singular advantage over the past-gen NCAA games, it's Teambuilder.

[Harry97]

yeah i looked into what happened with ETSU football. man they should have moved out of the mini-dome and built an outdoor football stadium. eastern tennessee can have some nice fall weather, and the football program might have made more money if they invested into making it a great program. look at Appalachian State just a few miles away win Boone, NC. look how their program took off. i'm sure the create a school on present-gen is more robust then the create a school in the old ps2 games. but in 2004 didn't ETSU just have a generic stadium? can you replicate the uniforms used by ETSU in NCAA 2004 through CAS in 2005? and obviously you have to create the players from scratch, but how accurate were the 1-AA rosters form NCAA 2004 anyway? in my experience i've found that while it is great to have the 1-AA rosters in the old games, they are never as accurate to the real players as the 1-A rosters were. i don't even think i found any 1-AA rosters for the gamecube versions, only PS2. i can understand though you playing with your favorite team that was in the game in 2004, and play that instead of 2005. but we gotta get ETSU in 2005 man! i think it would be fun to try to go back and name all the players on all of those 1-AA teams from ncaa 2004 or 2005, and maybe even play out a 1-AA season, and go through the 1-AA playoffs, even if we have to play those playoff games through play-now. i've been playing ncaa 2005 and tried a game with appalachian state. and i find the games with the lower rated 1-AA teams (C or D ratings, as opposed to A or B ratings) to be an completely different gameplay experience then playing with better teams from 1-A.

you said If present-gen NCAA has any singular advantage over the past-gen NCAA games, it's Teambuilder. does that suggest that that could be the only advantage that present-gen NCAA has over past-gen? can i ask you bluntly, is the gameplay on present-gen NCAA anywhere near as fun or polished as NCAA last-gen?

and you mentioned '08. you mean NCAA '08 on PS2 / Original Xbox? the original xbox version of that game game is the pinnacle of football gaming as far as i'm concerned. however there's a few bugs in that one. maybe we should create an NCAA thread. i feel like old gems ncaa 2005 or '08 on last-gen are so underrated and rarely talked about these days. that's why i am so interested in modding them if it's possible. i have no desire to play any ncaa on 360/PS3. the experience of playing the old ncaa's on ps2 or gamecube far exceed any enjoyment i could get out of the present-gen 360 / PS3 engine.

[Sidelion]

Yeah, in '04, a lot of schools that were FBS had generic stadiums; in '08, I think all FBS schools have accurate stadiums. As far as recreating uniforms goes, ETSU's colors were navy blue and old gold. I never did use a logo on the helmet because it doesn't look good IMO and the Bucs' logo reminds me way too much of Bucco Bruce anyways.

Most FCS rosters on NCAA 08 are just bad. Montana and James Madison are correctly rated as FCS powerhouses, but App State, then winners of two consecutive FCS titles, is rated as middling at best (Armanti Edwards (?), for example, has 56 SPD). I suspect that the rosters weren't updated after NCAA 05 when James Madison and Montana went to the championship game. Oh, and Prairie View A&M is by far the worst team on the game, probably owing to their losing streak that was broken way back in 1998. Anyways, though I'd like to do something like that, IMO it would take way too long for too little reward.

I've always liked doing FCS dynasties where I swapped out most of the FBS schools and left just the WAC, Sun Belt, C-USA, and MAC teams. Doin' work with those Prairie View Panthers.

NCAA 12 is pretty awesome. Road to Glory is a definite improvement over Campus Legend, Dynasty Mode is ten times deeper than on PS2/Xbox, the graphics are great. The option to download named rosters alone is a huge step over the last-gen NCAA games. Anyways, what I meant is that those things are just massive improvements as opposed to full-scale new features. Teambuilder is, IMO, new because of its ease of use as opposed to the roughness of CAS. (ETSU Teambuilder team: http://www.easports.com/teambuilder#/sc ... 1344233613)

Yeah, NCAA 08 on PS2. I wouldn't call it the pinnacle of football gaming with NCAA 12 out, but it's a classic. Like with Madden, NCAA is worth a buy every four years. NCAA 04/08/12, Madden 04/08/12.