by Joe - jgand@pcfootball.net

12/4/03

Well, I finaly got some time to sit down and turn out another column. In between deciding to sell our house, packing, flying up to Boise, turning 37 and trying to run the site and finish the Instigator season…huh?

Wait a minute! BigDaddy’s turned 37?!? NO FREAKING WAY!!!

Way.

Yup, it’s true. I turned 37 years old yesterday and I was planning on celebrating by taking a break from packing up my crib and going to Disneyland one last time before Wifey and I move up to Idaho in search of employment and energy to write my book. Well we’re moving that trip to Friday since we’re both kind of beat from all this packing we’ve been doing. Who knew that we had so much stuff in our place? Well, the good news is that we’ve gotten an even bigger place for our stuff, and we can’t wait to get up there.

I also can’t wait to use some of the profits from the house sale to buy that Alienware system that I’ve been wanting for the longest time. This way Wifey can tend to business while I play Madden, FBPro’99 and anything else I can get to run on Windows XP.

Speaking of which, Madden 2004 has been out for a few months now. Whadya think?

I know, I know, it’s not perfect and there are some things we all would like to see fixed. The roster editor is the most glaring problem in my mind. I like a number of you just don’t get why EA doesn’t give us a completely open roster editor like we had in Madden 2000. Because the code has become more and more complex over the years it looks like there might not be a 3^rd party editor for the game once again this year. Oh well, looks like Jack Youngblood is going to have to make due with #95 on my All-Rams team.

While we were waiting for the game to come out I was very interested in finding out what the new features of the game were going to be. We had all heard about the new “Owner Mode” and couldn’t wait to get inside and play around with it. I have to say that even after a little exposure to this feature you will be hooked for life. In the new mode you are able to set prices for food, merchandise, tickets, parking, luxury boxes among others. You also get a report on how you are doing as an owner, and whether the fans approve of what you have done so far. You also get to decide whether or not your head coach is doing a good enough job to prevent collecting unemployment, and if you do fire him do you promote from within or go shopping for a new head man?

From what I have seen so far, this is the game that Football Pro ’99 should have been and could have been had Sierra not smothered it with a pillow. The biggest differences are that the roster editor is better, artwork is easier to create and siming other league games doesn’t take two hours. Yes I said the roster editor in Madden 2004 is better than in FBPro’99. Trust me, at least you can change player numbers in Madden 2004 even if there are limitations. FBPro’99 wouldn’t allow you to do that.

In fact, lets take a look and compare features between the two games:

FBPro’99: You get to choose from among all of the logos from all of the NFL teams (in 1998) to have on the desktop or you get to keep coverboy Dan Marino up there instead. The Universal Toolbar at the bottom of the screen allows you to go anywhere in the program. You can set-up exhibition games, load a saved game, play online, check your favorite teams settings or the league stats, change league files and teams or exit the game entirely.

Madden 2004: You are treated to graphic players coming on and off screen keeping the main menu flowing and exciting. You never know if Warren Sapp is going to dance like Beyonce, or if Marcus Pollard will make a diving catch. There are two separate menus on this page. The standing menu on the left allows you to start playing an exhibition game right away, or start your own franchise. Maybe you want to get in some practice running the two-minute drill, or play a mini-camp game? You can play online with a buddy or create your own team. The revolver menu in the lower right allows you to create and manage a user profile, change game settings, view stats, load or save game files or just quit altogether.

Analysis: For it’s time FBPro’99 allowed you to do a lot, but Madden 2004 allows you to do so much more. I only wish we had an option for an accellerated clock on FBPro’99. Waiting for the play clock to count down to :12 on offense or :30 on defense was not a fun way to play a game.

Advantage Madden.

FBPro’99: You can select what controller to use, what playbooks to use, what stadium to play in and what the weather was like. You then tossed the coin and got the game started.

Madden 2004: You can select what controller to use, what playbooks to use, what stadium to play in and what the weather is like. You also have the option of what uniform the teams will play in. Will they use the modern day threads, or will they take a trip in the “way-back machine” and opt for the throwbacks? You then toss the coin and get the game started.

Analysis: The only way you could ever get throwbacks in FBPro’99 was if you created the BOA files yourself and loaded them into the team settings before you ever tried to start up a game.

FBPro’99: This is always a sore spot with a lot of FBPro gamers. The kicking game was at its best in FBPro’95 when you could choose the angle of the kick and the direction. In FBPro’99 you had to use the D-pad or joystick to control the power and direction of the kick at the same time. So if you were anywhere but the middle of the field, your kicks would not often go through. Not only that, but every field goal attempt was blocked by your opponent because you couldn’t get your kicker started fast enough. The manual provided with the game was no help at all. You just had to figure it out for your self.

Madden 2004: There is a kick meter in the lower left for punts and kicks. The kick meter works in the same way that playing golf in the “Links” series does. Try to stop the meter in the green accuracy range for the best results, and aim the kick before hand with an arrow manipulated by the d-pad.

Analysis: If only Sierra had not tried to fix something that wasn’t broken in the first place…

FBPro’99: What you see depends on the complexity of the setting you chose before you started the game. You’ll see the different formations beforehand and once you choose you’ll see either SPECIAL, PASS or RUN. Then you get to choose LEFT, MIDDLE, RIGHT, and if you want to pass SHORT, MEDIUM and LONG. Then you see a diagram of the plays right in front of you, and you have to choose which one will work. You can flip the play to have it go towards the other end of the field, and if you see something on defense you don’t like, you have a choice of three audibles, but not on every formation. Motion is decided by the play you call and is not controlled by the controller. Fake snaps can’t be used as they are not available. Line shifts on defense can be used but no shifts for LB’s or DB’s are available.

Madden 2004: You can select from different formations and all of the plays are laid out in front of you. The differences between run and pass plays are easy to pick out as passes are in blue and running plays are in green. Pass plays will also highlight the primary receiver for that play in orange. If all else fails, you can always “Ask Madden” for a play to call. You can flip the play either in the huddle or at the line, and you can call one of five audibles no matter what the formation. Motion can be controlled by the d-pad, and you can call fake snaps in an effort to draw the defense offside. You can also call a hot route to a receiver, or a blocking hot route for a lineman or running back. You can shift the DL’s, LB’s and DB’s into several different configurations at the line as well as shift the coverage zone using the “playmaker” feature.

Analysis: Do I really need to say it?

FBPro’99: You can set up an 8, 10, 16, 20, 24 or 30 team league with relative ease. You can set up any league out of the past in a matter of minutes, plus you can give the teams their specific artwork assuming that you’ve created them ahead of time. You get to name your league, name the championship trophy, name the divisions, decide if you want to use a simple league model or a full financial model which would give you a salary cap to work with. You also have the choice of using default rosters or using created players to fill up the rosters after you undergo a 53 round draft. You also get to play General Manager where you negotiate salaries, set prices for luxury boxes, tickets and food.

Madden 2004: You have no other choice but to play in a 32-team league. You can play with the default NFL rosters or you can play with teams that you create. You can’t play with the All-Time Teams or the Classic teams in Franchise mode in this edition like you could in Madden 2003. If you chose to play in Owner Mode you can oversee every aspect of your team. That includes player salaries, concessions, parking, advertising, and whether you move your franchise to a different city at the end of the year or not.

Analysis: True Madden goes deeper into the front office model, but the limitation on a 32-team league is a sticking point. How can we play the XFL or USFL if we have to find teams to fill out a 32-team league?

Artwork Creation:

FBPro’99: 294 separate pieces of artwork are needed to make one BOA file. Process is time consuming (around 8 hours), but it allows for a much more detailed in-game uniform with fewer errors.

Madden 2004: Five templates are used for logos, helmets and endzones. Uniform colors are handled in the game but details like logos on uniforms are not available. A holdover from last year is different types of uniforms that can be created. Plus this year for the first time, you can create two sets of uniforms to give your team throwbacks.

Analysis: It’s hard to pick between these two as to which one gives you the better option. True FBPro takes a long time to complete, but the end results are well worth it. On the other hand, Madden allows you to create the uniform in a matter of minutes as well as your teams stadium.

Playbooks:

FBPro’99: Playbooks can be customized to your style of play instead of to Mike Martz’s. Plays can be created, as well as detailed coaching profiles, at any time.

Madden 2004 : Playbooks are available according to different coach’s philosophies. Playbooks as well as plays can now be created and used in the game. Coaching philosophies can be edited apparently at any time during your franchise.

Analysis: Players of the PC version of Madden have been begging for the play editor to make a return for years now, and they finally got their wish. I myself haven’t taken advantage of the feature but I have heard some good things about it from those who have. True, there are some bugs in the system, but that was to be expected.

FBPro’99: Passing symbols are barely legible, but can be identified by color. No details on how to throw a lob or bullet pass, so discovering how to throw them is done through trial and error.

Madden 2004: When controlling the QB, passing symbols are easily legible. Techniques are given for lob and bullet passes in the game manual.

Analysis: You do have to be quick with the game pad in Madden however, because if your offensive line doesn’t consist of a bunch of hogs up front, count on getting sacked at least 10 times a game. And that’s on a good day.

FBPro’99: Running game is somewhat difficult to get going. Player ratings can be adjusted to make it more realistic. CPU running game can be shut down quite easily unless player ratings are adjusted.

Madden 2004: Running game has been dramatically improved over previous versions. AI sliders can be set to make it much more realistic on both sides. CPU running game has been tweaked to resemble actual NFL on-field performance.

Analysis: It looks like someone has finally gotten the running game right in a game. This is the best representation of a ground game since FBPro’95 came out.

FBPro’99: WR’s can hang onto balls over the middle, in the flat and towards the sideline. Unfortunate habit of dropping balls when they are wide open deep down the field. Player ratings can be adjusted to make drops less frequent.

Madden 2004: WR’s reflect their real-life counterparts and do better in single coverage. Passing a ball into double or triple coverage increases the chances of an interception just like in real life. They no longer hear footsteps as they did in Madden 2002, but the CPU WR’s sometimes become Jerry Rice on a 3rd down.

Analysis: The passing game in FBPro’99 was always a crap shoot as you were never sure if your guys would catch a wide open pass or not. Madden’s receivers will catch a pass if they are wide open, thus eliminating hair pulling.

FBPro’99: You can choose your formation, pass or run, and direction according to what is in your playbook. Or you can follow the prompt to see what the CPU chooses according to your coaching profile.

Madden 2004: You can choose your formation and whatever play is in your playbook. You can also ask Madden to recommend a play to you. This year you also have the option of choosing a specific package to create mismatches.

Analysis: The new option of choosing a specific package adds a new level of excitement and strategy to the game.

FBPro’99: You can choose your own play, or follow the prompts to select the CPU’s choice.

Madden 2004: Same as in the offense. But you can also shift your defensive linemen and your linebackers to throw off the offence, plus have the secondary play bump and run if you wish or have them cover a certain zone before the snap.

Analysis: Everytime I go back and play FBPro’99 I have to remind myself that I can’t shift my linebackers or call any secondary audibles.

FBPro’99: Player ratings can be adjusted to influence passing, running, receiving, blocking, tackling and kicking which can be time consuming unless you have a separate editor. Penalties can’t be adjusted. Time of quarters can only be adjusted when league is created along with game difficulty.

Madden 2004: Sliders can be adjusted to influence passing, running, receiving, blocking, tackling, kicking and penalties. Time of quarters and game difficulty can be adjusted at any time.

Analysis: The sliders can be a great help in getting teams to perform like their NFL counterparts. I wish they could have been available in FBPro’99 to ensure that the receivers wouldn’t drop as many balls.

FBPro’99: Teams from 1998 come standard. Alternative leagues can be created, but it takes time to edit player names and skin color. However, filling rosters is easier to accomplish, having default players and created players to choose from. The USFL, XFL, CFL, NCAA and WFL can be created with custom BOA’s.

Madden 2004: Secret codes are no longer needed to unlock extra teams from the past as they are all available at the outset. All-Madden teams are available, as well as All-Time rosters for each franchise. NFL Europe teams are represented as well and you can download custom teams off of the Internet so you can play the USFL, XFL, CFL, NCAA and WFL.

Analysis: It’s great to be able to pit the 85 Bears against the 72 Dolphins any time I wish. One of the great joys in my life is watching the All-Rams pulverise the All-Cowboys in Texas Stadium.

So there you have it, my comparison of the two games that are years apart, yet similar in so many ways. The final score is Madden 11, FBPro 1, Push 2.

For those of you out there who were FBPro fans like I was I think you will agree. Madden 2004 is the game that FBPro’99 coulda, shoulda and woulda been had the suits at Sierra not been so concerned with making a good Bass Fishing game. Madden 2004 is probably the best graphic intensive football game yet. True, there are some text-based games out there that let you go as deep into the front office doings like Football Mogul or Front Office Football, but Madden 2004 is the closest thing we have come to towards getting the whole package.

And yes, you read that correctly at the top. I have been trying to think about what to do with myself now that I have been unemployed for a year. I keep thinking of that axiom: find your passion and turn that into your career. Well, my biggest passion happens to be video games, and I also get a kick when I write about them. I also have a passion for setting the record straight when it comes to misconceptions about gamers, the gaming culture and the games that we play. I don’t think that PCGamer or Computer Gaming Monthly is going to be knocking on my door looking to hire me for their staff, so I’ve decided to strike out on my own.

Over the next few months I plan on researching and writing a book for parents on video games, video game systems and some of the history behind them to set the record straight. I plan on demystifying our culture for them and try to explain to them that we are not all slackers, loners or potential mass murderers like some of them think that we are. I hope to point out to them that gamers come in all shapes, sizes, ages, sexes and races, and that they never know who is a gamer and who isn’t. I mean come on, my generation was playing the Atari 2600 and plopping quarters into Pac Man machines 20 years ago. Now we look at Dance Dance Revolution and shake our heads thinking “what are these kids playing?” I want to tell them the history of games as well as the people behind them. More importantly, I want them to get involved with their kids lives so that they know if 10-year-old Timmy is playing GTA: Vice City or not. I want them to know that games can be a teaching tool as well as a recreation, as in the case of America’s Army. And I want them to know that we are all healthy, productive members of society with jobs and families who care about this hobby of ours.

Anyway, that’s what I’ll be doing. I’ll let you know from time to time how it is coming along. In the meantime I’ll be here giving you my takes on the events that surround the world of football on the PC and in the gaming industry in general. In fact in a couple of weeks I’ll be returning with my annual year-end column taking a look at the year 2003: the Good, the Bad, and the downright Idiotic.

Until next time…