mewmartigan

This game is coming out soon but I haven't seen a single review. All the previews say it was made from the ground up for the PSP and should be good.

I think football is a great game for a portable system and IMHO the PSP is the only portable that could pull of a great sports game.

So, anyone seen any reviews yet!??!

Thanks!

Decker

Here you go. Gamespot Review. It gets a 7.9. Yet another okay but clunky and disappointing port. Bummer

Setzer

For some reason I knew that analog nub was going to make the running game difficult and sure enough....

Still might be worth checking out though.

DJ_Longfellow

I have it on pre-order.....I just wanted something different to screw around with on my PSP. I'll probably pick it up tonight or tomorrow (assuming GameRush gets it this week)

ryuryu2949

anyone grab this yet? are we forced to upgrade to 1.51???

DJ_Longfellow

Once again....you are NOT forced to update EVER. There is a program out there called the WAB version changer. It "tricks" your PSP into thinking it's a 1.52....there is also one that tricks it into 2.0 (if needed)


Also, what did the review say? Load times bad? Is the passing cone still there? (I cannot access it from work)

ryuryu2949

No, I know about that program, I would rather just not use it though. If I have to, I will.

Reviews are generally good. Load times are bad through the menus, and slight pauses after every play call. But they seem to love the mini games. Gamespo tgave it 7.9, ign gave it 8.5

DJ_Longfellow

The program works great...no issues at all with it. I use it with Burnout and with Namco. No issues at all.

Well, I just hope the game is decent....we'll see this week,.

jeffdsmith

I played it at Target last night, beats the hell out of the DS crapware EA pushed out. Loading is still very annoying for me though. I don't know how they got their copy so early.

Setzer

I tried Madden '06 on the DS and my thoughts are the same as yours yet Gamespot's scores for the PSP and DS versions are about the same.

jeffdsmith

Maybe it was the graphics that won me over. Honestly, with the DS version, EA simply failed to utilize the systems strengths and pushed out an ok game, which made it crap since it could been so much more.

DJ_Longfellow

So, did anyone pick it up yet? I SHOULD get mine today. I read teh reviews...they seemed positive, but only because it's the onyl decent handheld football game around. It should be ok....do you know if they have roster updates to D/L?

mewmartigan

IGN has their review up now, and they give it an 8.5

I think I'm going to pick this up sometime next week. I haven't had a football game since Madden 02...............which I somehow lost.......

Raul3

Well, since the game is supposed to be sold until tomorrow in BB, CC, Fry's, etc. I went to Target and bought it at lunch time.

I haven't tried it since I'm still at work but I read the manual and checked the box and looks interesting. I know that the main problem will be the "analog stick".

I certainly will be playing tonight.

karnblack

Does it have coop multiplayer?

Deadpool

Yep, we are forced to upgrade although it's version 1.52.

dvde

Upgrade to 1.51? What needs to be upgraded. I own a PSP, but I really don't follow all the trends.

joshd2012

Its a firmware upgrade that comes with the UMD. If you aren't aware of firmware upgrades, you probably won't miss the "illegal" features you have with v1.5 firmware and should just use the Network Update tool to get v2.0 and the web browser.

DJ_Longfellow

FIRST, you do NOT need to UPGRADE!!!!! There is a WAB version changer...which tricks your PSP into thinking it's a 1.52. Works Great. Google it.

Anyways, I finally played the game today. I thought it was averagae at best. Maybe I'm used to the XBOX version and the passing cone...I kept trying to use it on PSP, oops.
The graphics are decent...a nice looking portable game. However, there are slowdowns through the game. Load times in menus are horrible. The gameplay is decent...sometimes the screen is TOO small for everything, but it's ok. I know I'll keep it since I only play my PSP every once in a great while.

I tried playing online, but kept getting disconnected. I did manage to D/L the roster update though, that was nice.

Deadpool

Initial impressions:

Better than the DS/GBA versions, but still has a ways to go.

Slowdown/choppiness during gameplay is what is really holding this one back. There is this loooooong pause once a player is down, an incomplete pass, at the end of a quarter or just when they cross the endzone for a TD.

At the beginning of the game before the coin flip where they scan the stadium...if you try to skip it it takes all day to get to the coin toss You might as well watch the people in the stands cheering because it takes so long to get to the coin toss.

As mentioned, going through the menus are a pain also.

I'll post more as I mess around with it, but the pauses are something that has just stuck out and for me it's holding the game back from what I was expecting.

DJ_Longfellow

Yep, agreed....the menu navigation is cumbersome. I'm beginning to wonder the limitations of the PSP. Is there any way to improve load times on a decent game. I'm hoping because UMD is still new they are working it out.

Setzer

EA must feel real good about its NFL exclusivity.....they can release a flawed, water-down version of the console game, on the PSP, for the same price.

DJ_Longfellow

Well, people keep paying $50 for PSP games, not EA's fault. I got a deal on mine, as I never pay full price for a game.

Also, you cannot match the console version...a UMD is 1.8GB, while DVD games are 4-9GB

The game is not BAD....I just think the PSP has more limitations than people think. Or, they haven't figured how to program on it yet.

Setzer

Did I ever say it was EA's fault people were willing to pay $50 for a PSP game? I'm happy you got a good deal. I'm sure there's quite a few people out there, like myself, that dished out $50 for this and are dissapointed. That's our choice though. I also understand that you can't match the console version and that's why you don't pork the consumer full price for a game that doesn't have everything the console version has. It's obvious EA did have some limitations with the PSP and its also possible they haven't perfected programming on it either but I don't think its right for them to charge $50 for it.

The lack of instant replay and certain features you get with the console game doesn't bother me. I think the graphics are good..could be better though. What kills this game for me is the load times. For a system that has a battery life of approx. 3hrs, load times in games are a big issue. I haven't played every PSP game to date but of the ones I have this and Untold Legends take the cake. Hopefully EA gets it right with Madden '07.

Raul3

I agree with the loading times and the pauses. They are horrible. However, I think it's really good to have this kind of game in a portable console.
I played a full game (5 mins per quarter) and I had a good feeling about the game.