But it’s not. It never breaks the tension and it never belies the game’s pace – and it would make for a fantastic passing model in a football game.

Remember when EA Sports added the ‘passing cone’ to Madden and people hated it because it was this cumbersome design that was impossible to use and just didn’t seem worth the effort? Well, I hated it too, but I loved the general idea. There’s nothing wrong with experimenting with design ideas as long as you can disable them if people don‘t like what you’ve done. And there is a growing number of people playing sports videogames who want a more tangible realism in their games. The PS1 generation is simply growing up. By realism I don’t mean spreadsheet minutia but more people want their videogames to reflect what they see on TV to a certain degree from the physics to the post game stats.

Anyway, back to the VATS passing model.

In Madden 09, Peyton Manning is rated a pretty decent 99 overall. But what does that number mean? I really have no clue other than it is supposed to mean “He’s really good”. But in the VATS Passing Model you’d see exactly why Manning is better than Joe Flacco.

Picture this: you drop back to pass and scan the field. Your slot receiver is about to make his break on a quick slant and you press the corresponding button to throw to him but instead of the action continuing as normal, the game zooms in on the receiver and pauses.

You are presented with various locations to attempt to throw the ball: his chest, his feet, his hands, his head, or to try and throw in front or behind the receiver. You also see set percentages that show you the chance of a completion depending on the area you choose. This percentage would be calculated based on several factors: the accuracy and arm strength of the quarterback and the distance the ball has to travel, the pressure the QB is feeling from the pass rush and his ability to ignore it, the hands of the wide receiver, the coverage ability of any nearby defenders, the wind/weather, and maybe even stuff like the pressure of the situation.

It would also depend on the location.

Normally the percentage would be higher when you try and target the chest or the hands, but the coverage of the defender may make that location too risky to try and thread the needle so you may have no other option than to try and throw low/high/or even behind your target.