Pros: It is hard to really state what a “Pro” would be in a Madden game. It solely depends on which other Madden (or any football game) you’re comparing it to. I will be comparing it to last year’s edition for this review. The presentation is much better this year. From the specific team intros, to different broadcast designs, to the uniforms/player models being a touch better. The sights and sounds are much better than last year. This is where the pros stop. Cons: The blocking AI is absolutly broken in this game. More so the run blocking than pass blocking. Players run to random spots on the field without touching anybody. Lead blockers run into teammates. QBs bump into fullbacks on handoffs. Lineman get stuck on double teams and hardly work twards the second level. It turns each match into a 7on7. It is easy to stop the run in a dime formation (for both the computer and other humans). Players will hit eachother when hot routed to cross one another, and the annimation doesn’t allow them to realistically move out of the way, they will get stuck in a running annimation. Coaching adjustments cause glitches, like setting your DBs to match the offenses’ WR overall. This causes their assignments to glitch and results in busted coverages. User control feels *slightly* more fluid this year, but still feels sluggish and as if you’re stuck in mud. The game forces users to rely on right stick annimations instead of fluid open field movement with the left stick. The UI is still slow compared to other games, but is on par with every other Madden game of this console generation. This game so far has missing equipment options that I’m sure will come in an update (when the season is half way over). Many drills/mini games are palgued with bugs and glitches that make trying to beat your high score a burden. Last but not least, BoomTech is still a massive failure. There is no true physics model to player-on-player interactions. Momentum, weight, leverage, and strength still do not matter in player-on-player outcomes. Annimations do not blend well and there are times where the players don’t recognize that they are in contact with other players. Madden is as clunky as ever. Overall this is the same game with more bells and whistles that doesn’t contribute to an overall fun, realistic, or simulation football experience.
Cons: Compared to last year’s edition, this game is a big let down. The overall quality of the gameplay is a step down. The AI logic is worse, the blocking, pursuit angles, and defensive zones play out with more egregious outcomes. The addition of BoomTech makes the game feel clunky and you will see a lot of rag doll moments from the players. The annimation blending is terrible, most of the time when its 3 or more players trying to interact, their annimations cancel eachother out andeach player ends up not obeying the laws of physics at all. The metas in this game are based off nurfed user imput, the DBs have a worse reaction to balls in the air so jump balls are favorable to WRs and throws into double coverage arn’t punishable at a high enough rate. Theres bugs in the game that force busted coverages, and onside kicks are favorable to the kicking team due to poor AI response. There is also missing equipment options so it makes the players look a lot like how they did in CFB 25. Pros: The sights and sounds are a step up from last year. The overal presentation of the game really makes it feel like a college saturday. Stadium atmosphere took a step forward as a whole.
Madden has been a copy and paste game for years. Players’ weight, speed, leverage, and positioning doesnt matter, and when these things dont matter, you can not replicate the game of football correctly. Buggy annimations, no player logic, repetitive presentation, and no game depth. The game modes are bland and lack any sort of life. The yard would be better if it was actual 7on7, but its a poor atempt to be NFL Street. Superstar KO is litterally NFL Tour and NCAA 10 mini-games mixed together, EA recyled that for SKO. Franchise lacks detail and has way too many loading screens. Face of the Franchise **** due to the fact that they feel the need to make your career cinimatic. I just want to be able to create a detailed player, have him go though the combine, and have his ratings be based off of the combine results and go from there. I want to be able to earn “contract money” to spend it on cool things like my own house, or certain football gear, or tattoos. EA is many, many years behind and i dont think they can catch up without rebuilding the game from the ground up, sort of like what 2k did with the WWE series.
The AI is terrible. Players do not play logical basketball. The annimations are too overdramatic and take away user control too often. The MyCareer story is rushed and the progression system is still flawed. Badges override ratings. You cant manually upgrade your physical attributes (speed, strength, ect). Working on certain drills and skills does not make you better at that skill, it only gives you points to allow you to get a badge. So i can do Free Throw drills all day, and use the points from that drill to be a dead eye 3pt shooter….2k has lost their way with the NBA franchise.
