What is this new "playmaker" feature I keep hearing about in Madden 2004?

It seems that you can use the right stick to adjust things before the snap and during the play. For example, before the snap the offense can adjust their star receiver's pattern while the defense can change their coverage and other things of that nature. During the play a scrambling QB can adjust his reveivers' patterns or a running back in the open field can direct his teammates to block by pointing.

I can't wait to try this out. Seems like a great feature. Made for a cool commercial too.

Couldn't you do all that stuff in 2003? (triangle, then left or right or up or down to change the coverage; on offense: triangle, then receiver button, then up down left or right to change the receiver's pattern)

Why is this called a new feature?

Because now you can do this stuff after the ball has been snapped.

Also, on defense, you press either up or down to tell your CPU AI whethr to play the run or pass. I can't remember which is which, it's on the strategy poster that came with the Sept. EGM.

Sounds pretty cool.

This is going to lead to a broken PS2 in my house.

Yeah, it's hard enough for me to just trying to jump and spin while running! Now I have to worry about changing the play with all this stuff going on? Oh well... can't wait to get this game!

I can't believe I forgot that. Sometimes in real games on 3rd and long you see those jailbreaks by the defense and sometimes you see everyone, inlucing a few D lineman, drop into coverage. Now you can make that desicion right before the snap. Very cool IMO.

picked up the game today and played a bit before I went to work. After 1 full game of using playmaker I cannot believe how I EVER played MADDEN without it. Numerous times I choose plays that would of been stopped for losses in previous MADDEN'S but with this feature I turned those plays into gainers...some big and some small. It is the same on defense. When I picked a pass defense instead of run all I needed to do is push down on the right analog stick and my defense wouls stay in the pass defense but play the run. This feature is different from an audible because an audible is an entirely different play. With playmaker you just alter it. Playmaker will not let you change a pass to a run but if you set up to run right, and the D is also set up that way, playmaker will allow you to keep the play but just run left instead. Controlling the blockers is cool as well. Also, it is extremelyeasy to use and does not make the control scheme harder at all. A truly amazing feature!

I can't imagine ever using that feature. When you drop back to pass normally you have like .5 seconds to throw the ball or you get sacked. So now I'm supposed to be making even more moves in that pathetically unrealistic small window of time? Yeah right. I'm just going to end up literally chucking the disk out the window or flushing it down the toilet.

I actually hate Madden with a passion but for some reason I'm going to buy it it anyway. I hate hard games.

strange. I was always a avid EA Sports fanatic until the Sega 2K series came out. I'll pick up this game but am looking forward to Sega ESPN Football 2004 even moreso. (i like simulation more than arcade style)

Anyone know if you can turn the stats box off (the one that appears as the teams line up for the play)? I use the R2 button quite a bit and the damn box blocks most of the field.

I hope someone knows how to do this. This was one of the biggest complaints about the last few maddens. Too bad they did not add the fatigue meter back to the names when you hit R1/R2(Black/White).

It's a frickin great feature.

Has anyone noticed if the computer also uses it? Because I rarely see them changing their plays.