My Review of Madden NFL 16 - ChirpyMango01's Blog

ChirpyMango01's Blog

My Review of Madden NFL 16

Posted on August 27, 2015 at 10:18 PM.

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A couple of months ago, I didn't even expect to be playing Madden when it came out. I was anticipating the release of Joe Montana Football 16, and intended to play only this as my football fix for this year. Like many others, I was fooled, and here I am, buying Madden on release day for the seventh year in a row. I've only played for the past couple days, but here are my impressions of Madden NFL 16:

When the game first opens, you play through a dramatic and immersive scenario in which you play as the Pittsburgh Steelers as they try to win the Super Bowl against the Cardinals (good luck with that prediction). The scenario is more cutscenes than actual gameplay, but it's pretty cool. In one cutscene, the Steelers attempted an onside kick. A Cardinal seemed to have recovered, but a Steeler layed a big hit on him, jarring the ball loose to be recovered by Pittsburgh. This play made me think, "Wow! If only onside kicks actually worked that way in Madden..."

At first I was excited about the new catch mechanics. After hearing Rex Dickson constantly defend the feature, claiming aggressive catches are not over-powered, I somehow actually came to trust the words of a Madden developer. However, seeing my little brother throw the ball up to Dez Bryant on every play and have amazing success removed any thought I had that it was balanced. Dez finished with over 300 receiving yards in one game, and Romo completed over 50% of his passes. The defensive backs were very polite, always allowing Dez to get his hands on the ball before making any effort to stop him. Until this is seriously tuned, I'll be forced to see safeties just stand there and watch as fourth-string receivers make insane one-handed catches over top-tier corners. (Not an exaggeration, I've seen Aaron Dobson pull this off against Vontae Davis)

Some positive additions to gameplay are better post-play interactions (that actually make the players look like humans rather than ragdolls), better gang tackles (that are so good that all other players on the field seem to stop what they're doing and watch), and penalties (although I hesitate to use the plural, because I have played numerous games and have only seen offensive holding called).

I'm a franchise mode guy, so that would have been the first thing I jumped in to. The new interface looks good, and I enjoy the suspense and uncertainty that comes with the new scouting system. However, there is one problem: when the developers revamped the speed and deep throw accuracy ratings, it didn't even cross anyone's mind that they should alter the generated draft classes accordingly. So, until the next patch comes out, incoming rookies will be able to throw the deep ball better than Aaron Rodgers and outrun Dri Archer, making this mode currently unplayable.

Because I can't play franchise on Madden 16, I'll be looking elsewhere for my football fix to hold me down until the next patch. I could play NCAA 14, because the NCAA series (RIP) was always miles ahead of its more popular older brother. Or I could play All Pro Football 2k8 or ESPN NFL 2k5, two of the best football sims ever made. I could even just play Madden 15 because its virtually the same game anyway. I was hopeful this year that this Madden would change my image of the series. It didn't. It just reinforced it. Madden is a series built around creating hype and being played by people who know fantasy football better than the actual sport (this image is embodied by its hype-train coverboy, Odell Beckham Jr.). This Madden is no different from the other Maddens dating back to Madden 07; it is a slight change from last year, improving enough and only enough to warrant a purchase from the casual fan. It is certainly not the best Madden yet, a title still comfortably held by Madden 2005, the last game made with competition.

Comments

# 1 iceberg760 @ Aug 28

Good review/thanks 4 posting!

# 2 jdareal21 @ Aug 29

You're entitled to your opinion. But this is easily the best playing Madden there's ever been. I agree, Madden 2005 is the best still, but that's largely due to the Franchise mode, which was excellent. Outside of that, in terms of sheer gameplay, Madden 16 has no peer IMO.

# 3 Fifa fan 90 @ Aug 30

I've been wondering lately how is it not illegal that ea has a monopoly on the NFL rights for video games?

# 4 ShaiLeGran @ Aug 31

The opionions seem to be so diverse. Madden really polarizes the football gamer. Can anybody tell me what exactly was so good about 2k5 (and Madden 2005) that makes football gamers still long for those games?