Madden 2005 vs. 2004

[Warpigs]

OK. Read all the Madden 2005 posts and know where you all got your copies of Madden 2005. However, my big question is how it stacks up playing-wise with Madden 2004 -- what things will people who are pretty proficient with M2004 need to adapt to in order to be competitive in the 2005 version? How much of an actual difference in the game are the defensive upgrades?

BTW, anyone have a used X-box they want to sell me at a decent price??

[CC]

The defensive upgrades make a big difference as I am pretty hardcore with shifts before the play. The hit stick takes a bit of getting used to, not actually using it, but getting yourself in position to.

[Brady4prez]

The running game took me the longest to adjust too. Last year, I'd just run a play to the inside and take it too the outside for 10-15 yards. You can't do that this year. You have to follow your blocks and wait for holes to appear. I hated it at first, but absolutely love it now. On All-Madden, in the superbowl, I got 170 yards on the ground with Corey Dillon. Sadly, I still lost in overtime.

The hit stick wasn't too hard to learn...maybe 2-3 games.

The defensive playmaker is a constant learning process. You need to learn when to blitz, when to drop back in coverage, and when to do nothing.

Also, this year, no more staying in the pocket for 6-7 seconds with no pressure. You'll have about 3-4 seconds before you need to throw it or scramble.

Madden is AWESOME.

[ibeckhami]

It's very challenging. As brady stated, the running game is hard to adjust to. The hit stick took me a few games to adjust to, but using it on offense makes it easier on defense.

(You can use it on offense to lower your shoulders)

More realistic. Although i don't know how to change scramble from L2 to Triangle like it used to be in the good old days.. oh well.. im pretty much used to this already.

It's Great. It's very realistic. It's challenging. Great gameplay, Great franchise mode.

MADDEN is the game to have.

[Tyr]

I'm absolutely loving it so far.

Franchise/Owner mode got even deeper this year with the player emails and satisfaction and the newspapers. The gameplay is vastly more difficult than last year. In 2004 on All-Madden mode, the game was almost childishly easy. Rushing on your strong side in 2004 with an extra blocker or two almost always resulted in an 8+ yard gain. Last year it was also easy to mismatch your receivers aganist the D.. resulting in almost unstoppable passing drives with a decent QB.

This year the rush is very well blocked against, there's no more "jetpacking", speed is actually a useful stat (..the most useful, you could say), the hit stick is GREAT, the improved ball strip/wrap is a *huge* game maker when you hit the ball carrier right...

I think the biggest change (besides the hit stick and improved defensive controls) would be the HUGE blitzes. After your initial hop back, you have two or three seconds max in the pocket to lob the ball.. unless you're fond of watching your QB peel himself off the ground.

So far I'm loving it more than 2004.. I just wish EA Sports would update the engine. Going from ESPN's graphics and presentation to 2005's really sucks.

[CC]

The hit stick took me a few games to adjust to, but using it on offense makes it easier on defense.

(You can use it on offense to lower your shoulders)

Yea, I'm now in my groove with the hit stick, I love laying the smack down on kickoffs. I didn't know about that shoulder dip, is it a lot like the shoulder charge in ESPN? If so that would be awesome.

[ibeckhami]

the button is confusing on offense, really. It does playmaker for me a lot, but my friend used it a few times on me when i tried to sack him. He'd move front and press that at the same time (it wouldn't always work), and he'd just duck and dodge my tackle.

I know the game has automatically done that for me a few times, but i'm just as confused as you are irght now. I'm not sure if it just luckily happened, or if he was really doing it.

When I tried it against the computer, it just kept saying playmaker, so i'm not sure. I'll call him and ask him a little later and get back to you.

[Monty]

I love the hit stick, it really does change the way the game is played

[FeArMeNtL]

Hmmmm thought was the same game when I bought it

[YunYaamka]

The Hit stick was awesome. Only took me three tries to get it to work. Although on the second try, I really punished the 20-yard line...

The Trivia Challenge was fun, though it appears I seriously need to beef up on my Charlie Batch knowledge.