14 DAY TRIAL // Electronic Arts is really doubling down on its efforts to make sure that Madden 10 manages to satisfy the needs of football lovers. The company, which has launched the game during the traditional August time frame, has already put out one title update for the game and one downloadable content pack and has announced now that it is working on a second update set to truly show off the potential of Madden NFL 10.
In a long blog post on Electronic Arts' official site, Larry Richart, who is a game designer on Madden and has also played as quarterback for the University of Florida, outlined some of the biggest improvements planned for the second title update, saying that “In this update you will be happy to hear that we have tuned our Flat Zone assignments to cover the flats more effectively. Defenders will not chuck a WR if another receiver is running a route towards their zone. This will help the defender be in [a] better position to react to a quickly throw flat route and allow him to make a play. The flat zone defenders will also play the ball better if a pass is thrown behind the line of scrimmage as well as taking better pursuit angles after the catch to prevent the ball carrier from being able to get around the corner.”
Richart also stated that most of the exploits with the game, especially those involving the quarterback and its passing abilities were eliminated, while the passing mechanics got a makeover. There are now more changes: a CPU controlled quarterback will keep the ball longer, making themselves more vulnerable, thus allowing the player to get to them and get the ball loose.
Electronic Arts has not said when it aims to release this second title update for Madden NFL 10 but players should not expect it in October or in the early weeks of November. It seems that the company is more focused on delivering a hefty package of improvements and fixes rather than rushing to push it out.