Covering Madden 2010

“Madden Ultimate Team” is the latest add-on to Madden ‘10, and when it was announced a month and a half ago, I was tacitly excited for the mode.  It sounded like a fresh implementation of a build-a-team format that had some interesting online ramifications.  Unfortunately, the implementation is just off and was not well thought out.

Starting out, the mode just isn’t complete.  This should be a fully-functional “Create a team” type mode.  MUT allows you to create a team name and that’s about it.  You’re not even called by your team name during games, but rather, referred to as the team that your “jersey card” is.  So, for instance, my MUT team started with the Rams as one of my jerseys, and so, during the games, I’m referred exclusively as the Rams.  This is the most obvious oversight of the mode… and it feels as if nobody actually played it before releasing it to the public.  What is the point of creating a team and giving them the name “The Albatross” if you’re going to be referred to as a very arbitrary team already in the game?  Adding to this, you should be able to design your own logos and colors… I understand adding the cards component, but it feels like the easy way out, instead of implementing an NCAA Football type mode and allowing uploads of team logos and what have you.

Another issue is that this is obvious just a monetization effort for EA, by charging for player cards, EA stripped the skill out of this mode.  All I need to do is spend $20 and I can instantly buy the Ultimate Team, which is very lame.  EA took a similar approach with NHL ‘10 by allowing players to buy the player upgrades for the EA Hockey League mode.  It ruined the mode.  Imagine releasing an MMO where you could just buy the ultimate character immediately, it would be ruinous.  C’mon EA, stop ruining your own modes by looking for alternative monetization.

Perhaps, as well, my mode is just borked.  I’m starting a 61 overall team, but EVERY game I play is against the Colts and it does not seem like I can change this.  Do I have to beat the Colts just to play another team?  It’s kind of difficult when you begin with such a crappy, 61-overall team to beat one of the best teams in the entire game.  What gives?  I’m currently 0 – 2 against the Colts and my next game is, unsurprisingly, against the Colts as well.  Three consecutive games against the Colts?  C’mon.  In my last game, I got screwed by my computer teammate causing a very stupid facemask penalty, one of the over-called penalties in Madden ‘10, and it cost me the game by putting the Colts in FG range and winning it with a last second FG, 20 – 17.  I felt cheated and have very little motivation to play against the Colts again with such a shitty team.  Does EA want me to spend $20 just to buy platinum cards so that I can beat a team of platinum players?  Give me a break.

[EDIT]: You can manually change your opponent.  Did not know this.  Still, not well implemented.

The most egregious lapse, however, comes with the inability to play against friends in MUT.  It does not make any sense.  I do not like playing online against random players, it’s a bore and I like playing with friends.  By only allowing random matchups, EA has removed the fun for thousands of online players who like playing online but do not like playing against a player who will curse, quit, and exploit the game to get ahead.  I tried to think of the only reason EA would not allow friend-to-friend matchups, and my old explanation was that they didn’t want people to move up the ranks by playing against friends or fixing the leaderboards.  Well, that for me is not legitimate, considering that any player can spend $20 and build a team of platinum players in no-time, so it revokes that argument that they wanted to leave this up to skill.  At least give the opportunity for players to play against their friends in unranked games with their MUT that wouldn’t use up a player’s contract card or would not contribute to the coins earned or something.  It just doesn’t make any sense.  Obviously, as well, the absence of playing against friends is not to level the playing field: not only can you buy cards, but you can set any difficulty level, computer AI skill, or settings.  Nothing is stopping me from making a 3-minute game on All Pro with CPU skill level at rock bottom zeros.  What’s the point?

I was looking forward to Madden Ultimate Team, but it’s an empty mode that seems half finished.  It feels more as if EA wanted to come up with a way to quickly further monetize Madden ‘10 by adding this fundraiser mode, and did not think the whole thing through.

Here’s hoping Madden Ultimate Team in Madden ‘11 is a little more well thought out and implemented, and not just a cheap fundraiser for Electronic Arts.

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