Originally posted by Mel Brennan
In addition, IMO, Madden 2004 and Madden 2005 (descirbed below) reflect what one can focus on when the FUNDAMENTALS of gameplay are MASTERED AND CODED FIRST...sick update on game/experience features…full article and pics here:
http://pc.ign.com/articles/522/522954p1.html
#1 - Storyline Central
After last years Ownership Mode implementations, it didn't seem like Madden's Franchise Mode could get any deeper or better, but man that assumption was dead wrong. Enter Storyline Central, the second phase in the ever-evolving Franchise Mode.
Every player has a story, each player has personality, wants, desires, and problems. Storyline Central turns a bunch of names and numbers into some semblance of real people. The two main components of Storyline Central is the Tony Bruno radio show, which can be listened to each weak. This is full on audio with Tony Bruno talking about events in the football world, asking for trivia, and even talking to football stars -- many of whom are voiced by their real-world counterparts. That's right, you'll be listening to the radio while adjusting your lineup for the week and suddenly Ray Lewis calls in the complain about how unhappy he is this season. Holy f'ing crap. And to think, that's just the surface of Storyline Central.
Along with the radio show (which can be switch to music if you prefer), there's also the weekly papers. You'll get both national and local newspapers offering headlines on the biggest games of the week and revealing player emotions. This season you'll need to fully manage your full squad of players -- their egos, their failures, and their successes. A player may come right out and criticize the team in the paper or you may read a report about player grumblings. And all of this comes with pics as well, making the newspapers basically a much more advanced take on the Sports Illustrated offering found in NCAA Football.
All sorts of other useful info can be found on your PDA with coaches and players offering up thoughts week to week. You'll also find a Positional Battle selection in the menu, which shows the level of competitiveness within your club for specific positions. In other words, you can now see how the starting QB and backup match-up each week. If you should bench a player more deserving of the starting position, you may hurt team morale. What's this -- team morale? Oh yeah, there's that too. Everything is an immensely intricate balancing act.
Players are individuals, like I said, and you can name team captains and even designate Franchise players. Wow. But more importantly there are marquee players. These are players like Donovan McNabb, Peyton Manning, or Junior Seau. Adding marquee players to your roster increases team morale, but more importantly it can entice free agents to sign with you and will help ticket sales. Think of the Cardinals. They signed Emmitt Smith an immediately they began selling more merchandise and more tickets. Some teams, like the 49ers will have no marquee players, while others may have three or more. The marquee status changes from year to year so that Phillip Rivers can eventually become a household name.
now why cant we have something like this?
Maybe its because there are so many players its not possible.
Still
