Madden NFL 12
- The new system uses a player’s momentum and over 100 new tackle animations, including 40 gang tackles.
- Players in zone and man coverage will properly recognize and react to plays, resulting in a defensive team that truly works together.
- It allows you to build the ultimate game plan by creating your own offensive or defensive plays from 75 different playbooks.
- Experience NFL Sundays including 32 team specific run outs, over 500 dynamic broadcast cameras and a network broadcast graphics package.
- Visual improvements including new player equipment, helmet stickers, pylon and ball physics.
- Player degradation system that affects uniforms and helmets based on weather and field surface, 3D grass, and new player specific animations.
Madden NFL 12 continues the rich tradition of the storied franchise by bringing fans closer to the NFL than ever before. Featuring all 32 teams, stadiums, and your favorite players in the league, Madden NFL 12 is True to the Game. Madden NFL 12 continues the rich tradition of the storied franchise by bringing fans closer to the NFL than ever before. Featuring all 32 teams, stadiums, and your favorite players in the league, Madden NFL 12 is true to the game. All-New Collision System Now maintai
List Price: $ 59.95
Price: $ 39.42
Kinect Sports
- Kick to Score
- Return with power
- Hurdle to the gold
Kinect Sports
List Price: $ 49.99
Price: $ 27.99
6 comments ↓
Early impressions are not very impressive,
EDIT 9/3… see end
Final Edit 9/5
Brief first impressions from playing the game for a few hours today: (I skipped Madden 11, so any comparisons to previous versions are Madden 10 or before)
Pros:
- Visuals; stadiums, fields, weather look very nice. Crowd is still a little boring but that doesn’t bother me.
- The Franchise Mode improvements are nice. I haven’t made it to an offseason yet, but the expanded rosters, cut days, and IR system force you into some tough decisions which are a welcome challenge.
- New pump fake system; I haven’t read about this in any of the other reviews, but in my opinion it’s one of the best new features. Unlike previous games, where there is one ‘pump fake’ button which makes the QB perform a generic pump fake, Madden 12 lets you hold the left trigger (on 360) and press any receiver to pump fake to that receiver. This is very useful for pulling linebackers out of the middle of the field and throwing behind them, or getting safeties to commit before lobbing a bomb over their heads.
- Realistic injuries; The new ‘player roles’ system in general is very cool, and it has some nice results. I was playing as my team (Go Steelers!) and Aaron Smith went down with a torn bicep… the same exact injury that caused him to miss the playoffs last year! Players who are injury prone in real life are more likely to get injured throughout a season in this game.
- Rookies; I love the fact that you don’t instantly know what you got out of a guy when you draft him (or for the current rookies when you start a Franchise). After each preseason game, you learn more about each rookie (unlock more of their individual attributes), and their ‘overall’ begins to narrow down to reflect their actual skill. It’s not until after the 4th preseason game that you are able to see the actual Overall rating for each rookie, as well as their Potential grade. (The interesting thing is… by that time, you’ve already made 16 cuts!)
Cons:
- Be a Superstar; I didn’t spend much time on this mode, so take this with a grain of salt, but I wasn’t impressed. I imported a ‘Road To Glory’ player from NCAA 12, and it jumped right to a screen with my schedule on it. I had already been drafted, and I didn’t even know it! I think if you spend time playing a guy’s whole college career, they should make a bigger deal about getting drafted. Or, you know, at least tell you that it happened.
- AI play calling; I’m playing on All-Pro, which shouldn’t be too difficult, and somehow the computer knows EXACTLY which play I’m going to call every single time. I’m not one of those guys who uses the same play over and over; I mix it up quite a bit. Yet no matter what I call, the computer has it sniffed out. Run a counter play, and they happen to bring a weak side / FS blitz. Pick a run between the tackles, and what do you know, there are 8 guys in the box even though it’s 2nd and 17. I’ve found myself calling a TON of audibles at the line of scrimmage, because it’s the only way to actually get your plays off.
- Commentary; I’m a few hours in, and it’s already getting repetitive. I like the voices better than Madden 10, but they need to mix up some of their phrases. Most of the time, Gus Johnson’s thoughts sound disconnected and he gets way too excited (come to think of it, that should be a ‘pro’ since it’s quite realistic)
Sorry if I rambled, but hopefully I helped. The ultimate question is usually, ‘Is it worth 60 bucks if I already own Madden __’, and that answer is not going to be the same for everyone. If you like Franchise mode and you can deal with some frustrating AI features (some of which will hopefully be patched out), then there is a good chance you will enjoy the game.
REVISED 9/3: Still enjoying Franchise mode, but a few complaints. One, importing a draft class from NCAA will overwrite the new ‘draft logic’ which ensures that there are NFL-ready talents at most positions scattered throughout the draft (i.e. not just in the first and second rounds.) I’ve found it to actually be more realistic to NOT import a class, since the new logic is pretty good and allows you to scout gems in the late rounds, which is quite fun. Still, this is a bug that should (and almost certainly WON’T) be fixed… until it’s a “new feature” in Madden 13.
As mentioned in one of the comments below, there are perhaps too many injuries. This tends to be a problem with most annual sports games, because they introduce a new feature and then over-tweak the gameplay to show it off. Injured Reserve is new to Madden this year, and it seems like they have gone overboard with the “HEY! Look what I can do!”, resulting in too many season-ending and long-term injuries. There is an ‘injuries’ slider you can adjust, but I have yet to notice if that affects simulations (may only affect games that you actually play)
I’ve played a…
Read more
Was this review helpful to you?
|Better but still needs a lot of work,
I think Madden 12 has made some progress….I think. However, Madden 11 was so bad that it’s hard to tell. I’m unsure if I like it more because Madden 11 was garbage, or if it has some actually quality to it. Here is as list of things I consider to be pro’s & con’s of Madden 12.
All of my experience’s are based from playing on the All Madden setting.
Pro’s.
1.)The Presentation. The presentation is very good. It definitely feels/looks more authentic and adds excitement before the game. The presentation in previous Madden’s was a joke. I think it was Madden 10 that had Jet’s flying over and fire works going off before every game. Doe’s this normally happen? Jet’s…maybe. Seems like I’ve seen that happen on occasion, but it doesn’t happen before every game for every team. But fireworks…before a NOON kickoff? What team shoot’s off fire workers during the day before kick off? Ridiculous. I sometimes wondered if the Madden programmers actually watched football? Well, that joke has been replaced with some realism. The Madden team has done a great job this time around.
2.)Catch options/awareness. This year receivers seem to be able to do more. Whether it’s trying to stay in bounds or come down in the end zone or falling to their knee’s to make a catch, this aspect has been (thankfully) expanded. It was always frustrating to throw a pass to a receiver who seemed oblivious to the sidelines or made no effort to come down in the end zone despite their high ratings.
3.) Franchise. I love the new franchise additions. Trying to rebuild or maintain a good team over the years is my favorite thing to do with Madden. I’m especially thrilled with the cut day’s. You have walk on’s and rookie’s who’s rating’s are not revealed until you play them during the pre-season. The longer they last, the more you learn about their rating’s. Occasionally you do get some gems that are good enough to make your team and actually start in some cases. You don’t fully know what you have until all the pre-season games have been played. Yet, after every pre-season game, you have to make some cut’s. It makes this a lot more enjoyable. You really don’t know if this guy you’re cutting will be a better player then the guy you’re keeping. The auction for free agent’s is better, as well. You can’t sign every player you want. There are many good, solid additions to the franchise mode.
Con’s
1.) New collision system. This has been describe as a new feature that “uses momentum to produce more authentic tackling.” Not true. Here’s an example. My linebacker, Demarcus Ware, who happens to be a All Pro/All word linebacker has gotten past the offensive line man and is making a b-line to the running back who is taking a hand off from the QB. Ware is running at almost full speed, the back is just getting started and has taking two steps. Now, Ware should blast this guy…no matter who it is because Ware is a great linebacker and has a high rating AND has all the momentum. What happens? The running back trucks Ware!! Runs right over him. Not possible. This kind of thing happens all the time in this game. The multi tackle aspect is still bad. Many if not most of the time the initial tackler will get blown off when another tackler joins. You’ll have big, massive DT’s that get thrown off the ball carrier after the small DB join’s in. Or the initial tackler will continue on the original projected path before the second hit holding the invisible man, I guess. It’s also harder to tackle in the open field. Seems like every offensive player can cut on a dime. Trying to tackle in the open field reminds me of trying to operate a very sensitive mouse pad. You move the arrow a little to the left and you blow right past the link. A little to the right and the same thing. Maybe this is something that will change once I get used to it. But right know it’s frustrating.
2.) Rating’s. At this point I think the ratings are a practical joke on everyone. The only real noticeable ratings are the speed, quickness, and acceleration. Ever other rating seems to be pointless. Running back’s will routinely break multiple tackles even if their strength,trucking,power, rating is low… and the defenders have a high tackle rating and the size/momentum. Big, massive, strong DT’s routinely get tossed to the side or run over by smaller back’s. Every running back I face is exactly the same… a tackle breaking beast. There is no difference between Ahmad Bradshaw and Adrian Peterson…in Madden, that is. None. Every back that I’ve faced will almost always break multiple tackle’s before being brought down. It’s so unrealistic that it becomes frustrating and not enjoyable. Maybe if I lower the setting that will help, but then what’s the point of having a All Madden setting? I want it to be hard and challenging, but not in a unrealistic almost cheating kind of way. I find the same problem…
Read more
Was this review helpful to you?
|It is just a let down,
This game is nothing but a let down. There are some cool add-ons..but it seems that they cut their time to work on the actual gameplay of the game. The announcers screw up often, and say things very late. The CPU that you play knows your play very often. I find it that there will be only one person BARELY open, if you throw it at the right time. No matter what difficulty I put this on, I have the same problems. They have the def. players go exactly where your WR routes are, except for one. Everything seems choppy. The online gameplay is awful for the connection. I played quite a bit of online games, and each one was extremely laggy. They spent too much time on the “new enhancements” and didnt put enough time into the gameplay itself. It is a huge let down. If you want to see what I mean, just spend 60 dollars yourself, and check it out..have fun.
Was this review helpful to you?
|Fun Game! Easy to Control Movements!,
I just got finished playing all of the sports in Kinect Sports and here is my evaluation:
1. Track & Field: This area includes a variety of different activities that work well with the basic body movements the Kinect can control. These include running , jumping, and throwing things (javelins & discus). I think young and old would both have fun with this! This may actually be my favorite activity in this game.
2. Bowling: Not as much control as Wi Sports bowling–but it is actually feels more like bowling when you can just stick your hand out to pick up the ball and then swing your arm to bowl. No controller to hold on to or push buttons. Once again this is an activity that would appeal to both young and old. Personally, I still like the bowling in Wii Sports better because of the more precise control.
3. Boxing: I like this better than the Wii Sports Boxing–but there is still some lag time and I just don’t get the feel that all my moves are translating accurately. Plus, like an earlier reveiwer indicated it seems like punching wildly is actually a winning approach in this game. I do like how you can just hold your arms up to block–this felt very natural. I’m waiting for the Kick Boxing version because when you kick your legs in this activity your avatar kicks its legs–but they don’t seem to translate to “hits” in the game.
4. Beach Volleyball: This one will take some time to master. It can get a bit confusing because there are several different techniques involved–jumping, hitting, and blocking. If you’re tall–make sure you don’t have a ceiling fan above you–or at least make sure it’s not on!
5. Table Tennis: Once again it was fun to play without a controller in my hand but I felt there were a few times when the intensity of my hits were not reflected in what actually happened on screen. For example, when an opportunity comes up for a “smash” the game announces it and then actually does it regardless of whether I swung harder or not.
6. Soccer: Fun and interesting. You don’t have to run around the field yourself. Your player magically appears where the ball is kicked to. Simple body movements control your kicks and blocks. Gray directional lines on the screen show the directionally options when kicking and your location when blocking.
Throughout the games the Kinect takes photos and short videos of your movements. These are played at the end of each game. The images are saved so you can share them with others. This feature will appeal to some and not to others. For example, I find the images of my son interesting and humorous–but I need to find out how to erase the images of me!
Adding a second player was extremely easy. If I wanted to join my son all I had to do was step in front of the TV and the Kinect added me to the in-play game. The graphics are also much better than the Wii! Kinect Sports looked great on a 40″ HDTV. We don’t even play the Wii on this TV because of how bad it looks.
Bottom line: If you have an XBOX already–adding the Kinect and Kinect Sports really adds a nice dimension to your video game experience. If you have young kids or older folks that have trouble remembering what buttons to push on a remote–it doesn’t get any easier than the Kinect.
P.S. It is a neat and strange sensation to be standing in front of your TV and the avatar on the screen is doing the same movements that you are. You can sway, move your arms and legs, and dance, and the avatar mimics it. This alone makes for good entertainment!
Was this review helpful to you?
|A little touchy, but fun!,
Honestly, I mostly read the reviews to see what people think of games, but this time, I felt the need to share my own thoughts. My wife and I purchased this title, and we were amazed at how much fun it can be. There are a few glitches here and there, and I have noticed them with both single player and two player local games, but they are not deal breakers.
The boxing portion has a hard time recognizing movements, even with multiple calibrations of the Kinect. I can be a technical as I want, and it just won’t pick up on certain movements of the hands, which can be frustrating when you are getting your butt kicked.
A few other games, like the Javelin and Soccer can be frustrating as well, but I think with practice at how the Kinect picks up your body movements can help. Bowling is fun, it feels better than any Wii bowling game. The other games, like ping pong, volleyball, track and field, and so on are all fun, and respond very, very well.
This game can be a heck of a workout. I spent the first three days with it just playing all the different games, and I have lost about 10 pounds in the process. My arms and legs are sore from doing exercises I don’t normally do while playing video games, but I feel great, honestly.
One other note I would like to add, make sure to check on the stability of your floors, and if you live above neighbors, see if you are bothering them. The track and field has running and jumping involved, and can lead to a lot of punishment on the floor. The long jump in particular has you running in place, and then jumping as high as you can, which can be noisy, or, if you are a large person like me, punishing on the floorboards.
All in all, I feel this is one of the best of the Kinect launch titles, albeit with its few flaws. I have had more fun with this than any other game in a long time. My wife has very, VERY, limited video game skills, and she hopped on in, and was able to play instantly. And beat one more than one occasion.
Thank you!
Was this review helpful to you?
|Early Adoption, Don’t Wait!,
This game is a lot of fun, my favorite out of the 5 games I have purchased at launch. Soccer is hilarious, basically you pass the ball down the field (choosing from a left pass, right pass or straight pass), while your opponent attempts to block the pass. Once you get past defenders and are 1v1 with the goalie you can shoot, and your opponent can try to save. It sounds simple enough but the camera is very responsive and the game gets frenetic and fun while playing. There are also opportunities for throw ins, corner kicks and headers etc, but the nuts and bolts is the simple pass and shoot.
Next there is bowling, which is a lot of fun and again the camera is very responsive.
Track and field has 5 events. Sprint, pretty basic….run in place. Next is Javelin Throw, also fun. Then there is the long jump, which is cool. Following that is discus, actually very lame, could not consistantly get good flights from discus. Lastly is hurdles, not really all that fun, but ok.
Next up is Boxing. Boxing is ok, but by far the most effective tactic is throw wildly rather than take a methodical approach…that actually kind of ruins it for me, I wanted something a little more strategy and skill based.
Beach Volleyball is a lot of fun, but it really seems the most forgiving with its camera response. I feel like a lot of times if you are just in the general viscinity it will count as a bump. Scoring can take a lot of volleys but I guess that is ok.
Last is Table Tennis. Response is pretty good not much variation in shots and putting spin seems rather difficult.
There are also minigames for many of the sports listed, helps keep the replay up. The comparisons to the Wii SPorts are inevitable and in all honesty, besides the superior graphics of the xbox, the comparison is merited. The thing that really gives this title the one up may or may not have anything to do with the game itself. The Kinect camera I think is what sets this game apart. You can play in darkness in the middle of the living room, you can play with people of all sizes (I have two kids that played and it calibrated them seamlessly), the camera really responds! The funny replays at the end of each event is awesome too, you really look completely foolish playing these games and the playback is a helpful reminder not to take these games too serious! This title is worth the $50, some of the other games you can just rent (fighters uncaged, sonic riders etc). Great Party Game, Great to play with kids, and a great guilty pleasure to just play by yourself! Online play is supported too by the way, so a great way to meet some new people.
Was this review helpful to you?
|Trackbacks/Pingbacks