Good start EA but needs some fine tuning.
Personally I was very interested in the game. Lets face it after about 17 weeks of practically nonstop games on Madden 06 the offseason is a breath of fresh air. So this was a dream come true for me.
I know one big downfall of the game was lots of madden players switching over to the unexpected micromanagement issue. These players should have rented it first to save their money. This game brings out the thinkers in all of us and separates us from the button mashers.
Although this is targeted for strategist and motivators out there. There were still many faults in the game
#1 Load times
I have been playing the game for about 25-35 hrs now and I must admit that some of that time was spent watching TV during loads and saves. But if you like the game it won’t bother you too much. It is a strategy game so you could use all the strategy time you can get in the heat of the season.
#2 Fairly useless tasks
Office Hours can be some of the most painful times in the day. It's not that they're really useless but they should be able to be swaped for a more productive task. Added to the load times this is a bad combo time to be wasted.
Know I do understand that there are players out there that want to dress up your coach. So I don’t have a huge problem with the task. But if you are going to put this option in the game at least give more options.
#3 Motivation
This is one of the most annoying and unpredictable aspects of the game.
First of all why are all the practice motivations negative? If my back gets a touchdown yeah I want to punish the defense but what about the back he deserves to be encouraged.
Second, unpredictability is terrible. That really sums it up. If I were a player that just ran back a kickoff return I wouldn’t get mad when the coach gave me a pat on the back.
#4 Practices
These compared to some of those game plans on Madden are heaven. You don’t have to deal with play combinations such as a screen with a corner playing a short outside zone. Know you get to pick your own plays and evaluate your players based on their executions.
But the truth is this can become extremely tedious, especially when ur not seeing results.
P.S. Anyone else have problem getting DL’s to reach potential
#5 A.I.
This essentially wraps all of this game's problems into a box.
1. Coordinators call bad plays
a. I’m losing 35 to 3 in the 4th quarter and they want to call Quarter Prevent, which sends everyone into a deep zone.
2. See Motivation
3. Quarterback sometimes seem very erratic
NFL Head Coach wasn’t the best start, but the fact stands that is was a start in the right direction. There are glaring problems in the game, namely the A.I. but this isn’t just a new game it’s a new genre of games. So there is no precedence once so ever to improve upon.
My advice to EA is:
1. Don’t give up on franchise keep working at it.
2. Fix Motivation and A.I.
3. Give more player interactions in game/practice (brief cut scenes, huddles, etc.)
4. Incorporate other coaches and owners into gameplay more (actually seen at practices, positional motivations, cut scenes etc.)
5. Some messages should either be interactive or removed, such as:
a. DB Coach: The players and I are going out to eat want to join us?
6. Cut Scenes would give people much better feel of their position on the team.
P.S. Ur coach has a voice lets hear it.
My advice to players is; unless you actually enjoy the offseason in franchise mode just rent. But be prepared for lots of micromanagement