I sort of like the idea of having challenges in an NFL video game, but ulitmately it's a pretty absurd thing to include. Who are you appealing to with your challenge, some outside, impartial observer? No, it's the game, the same game that made the 'bad' call in the first place. If the game coding gets it wrong (eg. the game consideres a receiver to have both feet in even if the graphics indicate that part of one foot is over the line, so even if you are right to feel ripped off, the game sees it as both feet in and there's nothing to be done). Toburon's argument against having challenges for online play is that it would mean they would have to insert bad calls as part of the game for online play, and that smacks of unfairness to them. Personally, I think they go a little too far with some of their 'fair play' ideas (like, no weather online? No wind? Injuries 'off' for ranked games? BS all IMHO), but that's their thinking and you can't win that argument by claiming that calls the game thinks are right are actually bad calls, even if they are.
The video highlighted the new changes in the gameplay, particuarly gang-tackling and mid-air collisions, as well as some new reception animations/ reverse kinematics and such. There's pretty much nothing in that video that was part of the latest Madden game. I am personally most excited about the swing-pass/ running out of bounds fix and such type of break-out of animations thing, as that and the 'play-action = automatic sack' problem are my biggest pet peeves by far. Well, someday I'd like them to realize that in football we have strong and weak side linebackers, not left and right linebackers, or strong and free safeties, not left or right safeties (goodness I would just like the defense to line up right out of the huddle rather than me having to flip the play . . . ), or that receivers can line up outside the numbers on the wide side of the field in real life (in EA football games, formations are always the same no matter what hash the ball is on, and this is just wrong, and really hurts the ability to spread the field. . . 'don't get me started, if it's not one thing it's another. . . . ').
But, all that said, it is looking like the third year will be the charm for this and for NCAA. Someday it would be nice to have online leagues possible complete with injuries and trades, etc., but whatever.
