http://ps2.ign.com/articles/536/536289p1.aspx

I suppose I shouldn' t be surprised...

Of course you shouldn' t be surprised. IGN says that every EA sports game is the next coming of the Messiah. I am sure that Madden is a great game this year, but to rate it better than ESPN with a $20 price tag and online leagues out of the box is just pure BS.

I haven' t played either, yet.

But IGN aren' t the only ones...EGM gave ESPN an 8.88 overall, and Madden just got a 9.16.

Hey, what are you going to down?

I love ESPN and play it to death. I think that it will always have to play second fidel because the world is trained to love Madden. Do people actually play it, or do they just assume that it is better? When you have a game that you can just run a fly route or all streaks and complete 80% of your passes, is this really the best football game out there? Hell no.

Like the PlayStation versus every other system debate. Every other console is better from top to bottom and people will sweat on their mother that the PS# is better.

Why bother? I feel like I am in an exclusive club void of Madden sycophants. I' ll play with the people who know how good the game is and that' s that.

Like the PlayStation versus every other system debate. Every other console is better from top to bottom and people will sweat on their mother that the PS# is better.

Thanks for the " factual" update.

P.S. I don' t know what I' ll get. I may get neither; I' m pretty swamped right now.

All the magazines lately that I' ve read about both games had ESPN chose over Madden. I don' t read EGM anymore because it' s went downhill quick from a couple of years ago. I' m getting both of course. Which one do I think is best...ESPN...why?

Price is in the consideration because I' m having to scrounge for money to buy Madden. Defensive controls is another, as ESPN offers about 12 more things that you can do with your defense than Madden. Offensively though Madden has ESPN as it has more options for that.

There' s not a perfect football game out there for me. I like ESPN because I can actually have something of an air attack, and I like Madden because running the ball is great on that game.

Honestly, I suggest at least one. They are both good football games and it really comes down to what style of play you like the most. I prefer ESPN' s approach to the game; it is really realistic and I find it to be more fun than the Madden series.

But I would say, go to Blockbuster, spend $10 and rent both. Play them and see which one you' ll like the most.

I really think IGN are braindead now. How can Madden be a better game when ESPN 2K5 is of equal, if not better, in gameplay and graphics? And you definately have to give 2K5 the presentation, as it looks like a real ESPN broadcast. And at the $20 mark I can gurantee which is a better value. So, IGN and GameSpy, you want to be taken seriously? Get your noses out of EA Sports' @$$.

" In one year, EA Sports has done more to right the wrongs of Madden' s gameplay past than in any time in the illustrious series' history. Play Madden NFL 2005 once, and you might notice the big hits and how aware all of the defenders are on the gridiron. Play it five times and you' ll realize how defensive hot routes completely even out the field and that for the first time, maybe in any football game, it' s not just fun, it' s actually meaningful to D-up. Play the game 20 times and you really start to appreciate the brilliance behind the All-Madden engine. 2005' s AI is by far the slickest, smartest AI of any football game ever put to polygons, period, and the main reason why Madden is once again the single most dominant force in sports video games. The game might lack the presentation, the visual eye candy of ESPN 2K5, but more than makes up for it in the one area that counts the most, the reason you buy a game... gameplay.

This season, ESPN might have plenty of sizzle, but Madden is still the steak."

That' s a pretty bold statement, and they get bolder as the review goes on. I wouldn' t chalk it up to " EA fanboyism" just yet. Let' s wait for a few more reviews.

^ I thought that the media was supposed to try to be unbiased. That article seems to say:

" ESPN held you over for 2 weeks, but trade that crap in and get some Madden" .

I kinda like madden back in the good ol' snes and genesis days, and then 2001 was good too. But, I can' t play it anymore. I play my friends, and it ends up being a pick-your-play simulation. My friends let the computer assistance catch the ball for them, amongst other things like using the Madden play calling feature. So, where is the skill?

I love playing NHL and Fifa on multitap, but once madden gets started I' m off to wendys. This opinion comes from a guy who' s only played a couple of seasons from early madden, but I don' t think single player franchises would help me like this generic game any more.

^ I thought that the media was supposed to try to be unbiased. That article seems to say:

" ESPN held you over for 2 weeks, but trade that crap in and get some Madden" .

Whether it' s true or not, exactly why are they not allowed to say that? And actually, after re-reading, the reviewer continuously heaps praise upon ESPN. Maybe you should read more carefully instead of leaping to conclusions.

I' m no sports fan by any means but one rule I' ve always lived by regarding reviews is that I stick to a magazine or review site whose reviews have always been pretty close to mine.

Although I never base any part of my buying decisions on anything reviews say it' s still good to read what others have to say.

For example, if GameFan wrote a review for let' s say " Barbie' s Butt Plug" and gave it a score of 95.. While Next-Generation magazine only gave it 1 and half stars, I' d definitely pay more attention to the GameFan review simply because alot of their reviews in my respective favorite genres have always coincided with my own opinion. I don' t think I' ve ever agreed with a review from Next-Generation magazine since they' re a bunch of 2D hating reviewers and they don' t hide it.

Same thing goes for Internet game review sites. I watch and see how they review a number of games in the genres I love the most, If I don' t agree with em most of the time then I just don' t pay attention to future reviews from those particular reviewers on a game that I' m looking forward to ;)

Now why did I bring all that up? Right now I have no bloody idea, lol..

(the point is in there some where, I just have to find it later on and edit this post, hehe)

^ Fathoms

I read the article, chief. Praise can always be made and then undercut to make the other look better. Look at this quote from the review.

This season, ESPN might have plenty of sizzle, but Madden is still the steak."

That gives ESPN props, but says that the game has a bunch of cute extras to get excited over, but if you want to play a real football game - get Madden.

Learn to read between the lines.

And I ask again- is there some particular reason a critic isn' t allowed to say that? Just because you disagree?

My other question is pretty obvious: have you played Madden?

A critics job is to give an unbiased critique of a game, movie, food, etc. That opinion minized the qualities of another competing game to support that game being reviewed. That doesn' t sound like a review, that sounds like an advertisement.

I haven' t played Madden 2005, but I have played just about every other Madden since they were introduced on the Genesis.

And I ask again- is there some particular reason a critic isn' t allowed to say that? Just because you disagree?

Puuuleeeeease fathoms, it' s not like you haven' t argued and or said the same thing before. He' s got an opinion, and regretfully so do you. Your not exactly the biggest fan of ESPN either because it' s not your cup of tea.

yoshi: I really don' t care too much about either. Like I said, I don' t know which one I' ll get, or even if I' ll get one at all. If the critic is allowed an opinion, why is he not allowed to say what was said?

Beef: I count more than a half-dozen praises of ESPN in that review. Simply because he thought the gameplay was better in Madden immediately means ESPN is crap? I think it' s all in your head.

Thanks for backing me up, Yoshi.

I suppose I shouldn' t be surprised...

Fathoms, you start the entire thread saying this and then you bitch when other people agree with you. Get a clue!

I was going to drop the biased IGN thing, but then I go to the site and there is a link to the ESPN 2K5 Strategy guide with the subtitle " Help for that other football game"

Biased? You make the call.

I will make the call, thank you. They' re not biased.

But guess who is? You haven' t played Madden, and yet automatically assume it can' t possibly be better than ESPN. The reviewer in question has played both and formed an opinion; one you don' t agree with because...well, because apparently you know everything about both games without having even seen one of them.

This is really very simple. You haven' t played Madden. Therefore, you don' t even have a right to an opinion right now.