It’s Fall and classes have started up yet again. With the onset of Autumn comes the return of the NFL season but more importantly to some, the release of the new Madden NFL video game.
Madden 25, which EA Sports is dubbing this year’s release in honor of the franchise’s 25th anniversary, came out this past week and thousands of football fans across the country scrambled to pick up a copy.
Thousands more, however, were not so quick to pick the game up and asked themselves whether it was really worth it to pay $60 for a glorified roster update. After sitting down with the game and seeing what it has to offer this time around, it is safe to say that for the first time in several years, EA Sports has indeed put out a polished product that warrants the price tag, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still some things left to be desired.
Unlike previous Madden installments that boasted new flashy features such as Superstar mode, Ultimate Team, or Connected Franchise, the main focus of this year’s release is the actual gameplay. Building upon the debut of last year’s new Infinity Engine (which promised better physics and an incredibly realistic feel), this year’s Infinity Engine 2 really does take the fluidity of the game to a whole new level.
Whether it be Adrian Peterson breaking free from a tackle, or Calvin Johnson going up for a deep ball, this year’s Madden simply feels more natural than in any previous year. Animations of tackles, ball carries, passing and catching always feel fresh, which is exactly what the folks over at EA were going for with the IE2. Aside from a few puzzling glitches that hold the gameplay back from being perfect (i.e players can still run through the walls of the stadium) Madden 25, in terms of gameplay, plays as well as any sports video game title ever released.
Many avid Madden players will be thrilled to hear that “25” marks the much awaited return of a traditional franchise mode – well, sort of. A brand new Owner’s Mode is a major feature that’s being applied to the Connected Franchise online mode that was debuted last year. Owners Mode allows the player to take over all of the operations tasks of running their own team including staffing, finances and being in charge of the stadium. Those that have faithfully bought Madden for years will quickly realize this new feature is nothing more than a re-hash of features that were part of the old and gone-away-with franchise mode. And is it really that fun to set your teams hot dog prices?
Something else that has plagued the Madden series for years is a rather stale presentation. This is an area that has really held this series back from being held in the same elite corner of sports video games such as the MLB: The Show series and the NBA 2K series. Unless you just can’t get enough of the stale commentary of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, then once again, the presentation aspect of the game will be a disappointment. The announcing team does have a few new lines, but for the most part, their supposed ‘life like’ commentary is the same as last years and about as exciting as a Jacksonville Jaguars preseason game.
When you cut to the thick of it, Madden players pick up a copy of the game each year to simply enjoy a simulated game of football. Although still lacking in certain areas, ones that will surely leave many fans a tad disappointed, there is no doubt that Madden 25 succeeds as a pure football game that will provide endless amounts of competition and entertainment amongst football fans. So, who’s ready for some football?
PROS:
+ Fluid controls and gameplay
+ The most lifelike graphics to date
CONS:
-The ‘all new’ owners mode is essentially a re-up of old features
-Presentation and commentary is still weak
Can someone ask EA to re-introduce the player crushing ambulances back into the game??
SCORE:
7/10