ESPN NFL 2005

[J Diddy]

I love this freaking game. Half the price of madden, and unlike madden it is challenging. I dare say the franchise mode is better. Little confusing at times but all and all better. There will be no getting 30 million under the cap in the 3rd year in this game. They should rename it cap hell.

The Gameplay is superior as well, more challenging.

Every year I have ponied over my hard earned cash for madden, If ESPN continues to produce this game every year there will be no more madden.

To think, what will I do without all those juicy tidbits of wisdom Madden lays on us?

[royr17]

The graphics and appearances on ESPN are better but the gameplay and franchise mode on madden is better ...

[htismaqe]

The franchise mode is NOT better. Have you tried the draft yet? Have you noticed that the CPU only drafts QB, DE, and OL? I was drafting 1st-round-rated DT's and WR's in the 6th and 7th rounds because they're all still there. ESPN's simulation of the cap is much better, that's true.

Madden is challenging as well, as long as you have the right slider adjustments.

The big advantage ESPN has is graphics and that's about it.

Trust me, I felt the same way you did -- for about a week. Then ESPN got traded in. I've been playing Madden for months...

[Demonpenz]

espn wins hands down this year.

[J Diddy]

The franchise mode is NOT better. Have you tried the draft yet? Have you noticed that the CPU only drafts QB, DE, and OL? I was drafting 1st-round-rated DT's and WR's in the 6th and 7th rounds because they're all still there. ESPN's simulation of the cap is much better, that's true.

Madden is challenging as well, as long as you have the right slider adjustments.

The big advantage ESPN has is graphics and that's about it.

Trust me, I felt the same way you did -- for about a week. Then ESPN got traded in. I've been playing Madden for months...

The complete opposite with me. Had Madden for a couple of months got ESPN, then Madden got traded in.

[Ultra Peanut]

The Franchise has too many massive ****ups (most notably the draft bug, which ruined it for me), but the gameplay is fantastic.

I haven't played either game in months.

[Hammock Parties]

I'm still waiting for some game to come along and usurp Madden. Madden's always the best out there, but Madden still has alot of flaws.

It'd be nice if there was some PC competition next year.

[J Diddy]

The Franchise has too many massive ****ups (most notably the draft bug, which ruined it for me), but the gameplay is fantastic.

I haven't played either game in months.

To which bugs do you refer? I haven't noticed the draft thing, I've only drafted a couple of times so far. What other glitches did you notice/

[htismaqe]

The complete opposite with me. Had Madden for a couple of months got ESPN, then Madden got traded in.

Have you played a franchise on ESPN though?

It's absolutely terrible.

Let me put it like this:

I play ESPN when my buddy comes over to play a couple of games. But when I'm by myself, it's all about simulation. Franchise is the only thing I care about.

The keys for me to a good franchise are salary cap simulation, free agency/trades, the draft, in-game play/graphics, and stat tracking/awards/etc. On a scale of 1 to 10, I will give each a weight, and then a score with both games...

Salary Cap Simulation -- importance 5 -- ESPN score 8 -- Madden score 5 (Madden's cap is just way out of whack, it increases too much year-to-year)

Free Agency/Trades -- importance 7 -- ESPN score 4 -- Madden score 7 (Madden still has some ridiculous trades but nothing compares to ESPN, where in my first franchise season, the Colts CUT PEYTON MANNING in week 8 due to an injury that ended his season. At the end of that season, FOUR teams still had the QB they started the season with)

The Draft -- importance 8 -- ESPN score 1 -- Madden score 10 (Madden's draft is darn near perfect, players fall due to unknown reasons, teams draft BAA but also draft for need. ESPN's draft is the single biggest factor that I took the game back. The CPU drafts DE, OL, and QB and that's it.

Gameplay -- importance 3 -- ESPN score 8 -- Madden score 5 (ESPN's graphics and the overall presentation with Berman and everything flat-out rocks...player control/movement however is slightly better with Madden)

Stat Tracking/Awards -- importance 2 -- ESPN score 5 -- Madden score 5 (they both have gimmicky stuff like radio and the Crib, which neither do anything for me. For me I just want to see where my RB ranks in rushing or who is going to the Pro-Bowl)

[htismaqe]

The Franchise has too many massive ****ups (most notably the draft bug, which ruined it for me), but the gameplay is fantastic.

I haven't played either game in months.

Are you playing NCAA? I'm thinking about buying it...

I took 2 years off from Madden to play NCAA, so I switched this year...

[Lzen]

I have always had Madden in the past. This year, I bought ESPN when it came out and haven't gotten Madden yet(it is being shipped to me now). I think overall, both games have their plusses and minuses. Even though I have yet to play Madden, I do have NCAA 05 and have most of the previous Maddens so, I know a lot about the franchise. I would say that having ESPN on the market is a wonderful thing. They are giving the Madden franchise a run for their money.

As far as I'm concerned, this is a good thing because it should produce better games. EA will have to look at the things that make ESPN a better game in order to improve their produce and ESPN will have to do the same. Also, ESPN was only $20. That's one helluva bargain for a brand new game. I think that is having an influence on EA's pricing. I know Madden was initialy $50 but, I just bought it for $30. Normally, they wouldn't lower the price this soon.

Add to that the fact that EA was running a promotion from Oct. til mid Nov. If you bought 2 EA sports games during that time, they would send you a 3rd free (well, not entirely - you pay $4 for shipping).

I'm loving this stuff.