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Day One: Gameplay and Presentation Impressions

Madden's gameplay is a strange sort of Jekyll and Hyde act this year. While on one hand, I really want to love the gameplay for all the things it does right, there's always a bit of creeping anger and disappointment when I experience the things Madden doesn't do quite so well.

Madden is far from a bad game. I'm about 15 games into my Madden experience, and it's pretty easy to conclude that Madden is anything but a bad game. It's just that to get to some realistic results, the game cuts so many corners and seems to be asking me to suspend my own disbelief to find enjoyment in the face of some lacking realism.

On the basic surface level, if you've played NCAA Football 12, you sort of know what to expect from Madden 12. If you've played an EA football game in the last several years, you've also played a large part of what Madden 12 has to offer. What Madden does differently is important to the core gameplay experience and will probably define whether you, as a hardcore fan, are willing to spend the $60 on the game.

New Collison System

The game touts a new collision system that, when combined with improvements from last year, should produce some of the most realistic tackles in the series' history. There are 100 new tackle animations in this year's game, including 40 gang tackles.

I have found that a lot of the reach tackles border on the ridiculous side, such as when my running back is already past the line of scrimmage but is yanked back by a reach tackle from a defensive lineman. These types of tackles occur far too often. On the flip side, the players never seem to be tripped up by a defender. In reality, the ratio of reach tackles to getting tripped up should probably be an exact inverse.

Another problem is the amount of hard hits that occur throughout a game. To put it another way, the amount of big hits you see in one half of Madden is more than you would expect to see during a real team's 16-game season.

Nevertheless, the new physics of the collision system do work as advertised, and you will see tight ends barreling over smaller defensive backs, and linebackers hitting smaller running backs straight backwards. But if you come into the game expecting a tackling revolution, you are going to be disappointed.

Madden still has a long way to go before I would consider the tackling to be great. The engine as it stands produces good results, and the best results out of any Madden game in history for sure. However, what's here is not quite on a level that puts all other Madden efforts to shame. There are some corners cut in terms of realism that you have to be willing to overlook to truly call this effort great.

Zone Defense Improvements

Those who have played NCAA 12 most likely noticed the bulked up zone defenses in that game. The zones are also improved in Madden 12. The crew at EA has said there are 100 new defensive AI enhancements, which results in the smartest Madden defense ever. I'm always skeptical of those types of claims, but it is clear the zones are a lot better than in previous years.

That being said, while players do work within their zones, they don't exactly adjust quickly like they should. If a receiver is nowhere to be found, a defender doesn't slide over to make the field smaller. Thus, it's not unreasonable to "hot route" all of your players into one half of the field to basically overwhelm the defense. There are also moments where defenders completely ignore receivers in their zone. I'm not quite sure why this happens in some instances, but it is present to some extent.

In addition, linebackers and other defenders who might play a zone in the middle of the field are too slow to go after a QB scrambling out of the pocket (yet they can leap like super humans). It's too easy to rack up rushing yards if you have a Michael Vick or Cam Newton running the ball.

Dynamic Player Performance

My most anticipated new feature has been Dynamic Player Performance (DPP), mainly because of the potential realistic impacts it could have when it comes to the ebbs and flows of a game. While the feature does capture that, I think it might go a bit overboard at times and exaggerate cold and hot streaks. For instance, when you are on, you are on. One game, I went 21-22 with Matt Cassel. In another game, I went 4-18 with Matthew Stafford because I threw a pick early, so then for the rest of the game I was throwing the ball everywhere.

DPP also brought the promise of dynamic play styles to the game. For example, a hard-hitting safety would look for a big hit before going for the interception on many occasions. This feature greatly impacts the game, and its fingerprints can be seen all over the place. While the general premise and execution is typically good, it seems that you can easily enter into death spirals with players that are hard to avoid. Granted, the consistency and confidence are good factors to have here to ensure guys like Peyton Manning don't become Jay Cutler, but there are some traits that really should never disappear from a player.

For instance, why should players stop being hard hitters when they are on a cold streak? They might not be reading plays with the same level of confidence, but they should never lose the ability to destroy someone. Despite the extremes, this feature actually works quite well and adds an entirely new and not entirely unrealistic piece to the game. Coaches have to deal with this sort of thing each Sunday -- just maybe not entirely to the extremes Madden might put you through.

Running Animations

A short note on the running animations: They're good so long as you don't watch them from the broadcast angle. You'll still see the skating and all that crop up from time to time if you do play from that angle (that goes for all you coaches out there playing the game).

The different run styles, such as the long stride, short stride and normal stride are definitely noticeable. The three options, plus the variety of ball-carrying styles, give each back a pretty fresh look and feel because they look different in motion. I have not done much in terms of what these do for backs in the game (except maybe increase their propensity to fumble) but perhaps that's an experiment I'll do before the final review.

The Passing Game

The passing game is something I've already gone back and forth on several times in terms of my feelings about it. On one hand, so long as you don't exploit some obvious holes in the zone defense logic, the passing game tends to play well. On the other hand, I've already found some insane money plays in my first 15 or so games with Madden.

I want to keep my honor so I won't name them, but if you have played NCAA, you might already know the ones I'm talking about.

Quarterbacks have various levels of talent, and bad weather and other conditions will totally mess with their accuracy. The new pump-fake method of using the L-trigger plus the receiver icon is quite handy as well, and I actually favor this over the right-stick method of NCAA Football. Throwing the ball is the same as ever, but I really feel like it's slanted towards bullets, and lobs are harder and harder to come by each year. I don't mind deep balls being harder I suppose, but sometimes it really feels like the game is artificially trying to make it harder for me to throw a lob pass. It must be a conspiracy.

The line play on pass plays is a mixed bag. While a nice pocket still forms, there are still some major issues with the whole system. First off, suction blocking is not gone. EA described the blocking as "initiating on contact" and that it does. So instead of a player getting sucked into a blocking animation from a nearby player, they now simply get sucked in when they interact. That's not getting rid of suction blocking, it's toning it down. I had one instance where a DT was free and running at an extreme angle from an offensive lineman -- the type of play where a sack or holding call is imminent. But shockingly enough, my defensive tackle was sucked into a blocking animation after the offensive lineman touched him. Then there was the time my defensive lineman knocked down a player on the OL, only to have the offensive lineman touch my defensive lineman from the ground before magically rising up and continuing the block. I want that sort of effort on my team every Sunday!

Receivers running their routes could also be a bit more differentiated because the route-running rating only works to an extent. Sometimes a receiver will run a route that makes no sense. Other times, you'll see receivers, even great ones, migrate into coverage when they are already chilling out in an open area of the field. With the beefed up zone defenses, it would be nice if receivers did not act like AI dummies from time to time.

Linebackers in the NFL have also collectively gained about a foot of vertical leaping ability in the offseason, which is one of many notable improvements to the NFL following the lockout summer. In all seriousness, linebackers are simply too "good" from a physical standpoint in the game. They should never be able to jump how they are jumping to knock balls down. Granted, I have not had as much trouble in Madden as I had with NCAA, but that is probably because I've already adjusted my game to play around the linebackers rather than attempt to pass over them. Whenever I purposely tried to throw over them, they were able to leap into action.

The real weakness of the passing game is the DB/WR interactions. In short, they're terrible. This has been a well-documented problem with Madden for many years, but it's really a huge detriment to the game at this point. While defensive backs will jam receivers quite effectively, once the receiver is free, it's like there's no interaction that feels or looks organic. (I'm not talking about a defensive back bumping the receiver 20 yards down the field because I do realize that is a big no-no now in the NFL.) Guys don't jockey for position, and any interaction is the result of random bumps or a tackle animation. Defensive backs don't try to play off of receivers, and positioning means very little; I've had numerous situations where a receiver was clearly in the right position and was the only one able to catch the ball, yet the defender, either via clipping through a wideout or simply skating around to the front, made a play on the ball that in the real NFL would have resulted in an interference call. One time, I literally was picked off because a defensive back went straight through Dwayne Bowe -- by straight through I mean as if he was Casper.

Outside of the lack of any realistic interactions, defensive backs will do things that make no sense whatsoever, and the problem is compounded when they play in zones that they refuse to leave. However, somehow and strangely enough, the game seems to play somewhat realistically (both in terms of scores and stats) despite all of these fundamental flaws. While I'm not 100 percent sure why this is, I have a feeling it's because there are other things being stretched realism wise that are also quite subtle.

Running Game

The running game in Madden is very good. For all the hot and cold portions of the passing game, the running game rises to the occasion. I do not like the reach tackles within the tackling system, and the game seems a bit too open for my tastes compared to real football, but one has to think that some sacrifices have to continually be made in Madden in order for the game to avoid becoming a frustrating experience.

There are fundamental football flaws to be found within the running game, many of which have to do with the blocking AI. For starters, pulling guards sometimes do really dumb things like not make their blocks, or pass up the obvious block of a DE or OLB for a MLB up through the hole. Sometimes because of the suction blocking that is still present you will end up with some weird situations where it looks like a linebacker is about to blow a play up, but at the last moment he gets pulled into a block.

There is no variety to the blocks, and the technique used to block is actually completely wrong. Guys try to block defenders way too high, and it's common knowledge that you want to attack a defender lower when you want to move him out of the way because there's less to move if you do that. However, the linemen (as always in Madden and NCAA) insist on blocking their defensive counterparts high. This "standing up" of offensive linemen probably makes football coaches all over the world cringe. It's just not real football.

But, just as with the passing game, the results I'm getting are actually quite realistic. However, this seems to be more of a game-balancing issue than a realism issue. I am averaging around 3-6 yards per carry depending on how hot my running game is at the time, and the ability to shift your ball-carrier's direction when engaged in a tackle animation is exactly the sort of thing that makes fighting for the extra yard fun. It keeps you engaged throughout the entire process.

Protecting the ball is also of the upmost importance, as you can't leave it out in the open. To this point, I have felt like every fumble has been my fault. I've fumbled the ball probably 1-2 times a game, and each time I can recall that it was my own fault rather than the game screwing me over.

Playing Defense

Defense in Madden is, at least to me, a complete disappointment. Where is the player-lock camera? Even more importantly, where is the new and/or fresh reason for me to care about defense? Defense in Madden has been one of the most stale things in video game sports for years to this writer. I've already detailed a lot of what's weird or frustrating about the game in terms of OL/DL interactions and whatnot, but what I haven't detailed is why defense is just plain stale.

First off, the play calling for defense is just not realistic. I don't know of many defensive coordinators who call plays the way Madden and NCAA want you to call your plays. You typically have a call for the different layers of the defense followed by many adjustments, like whether to press or not, that are made before the snap.

In Madden, you are forced to pick a play based upon a template, and then you don't have nearly enough time to make the necessary changes to the defense. If you want to run a stunt right, zone left, press, you can't pick such a thing in the playbook menu. You have to make three separate adjustments pre-play, and they have to be off of a pre-selected defensive play. This makes the strategy on defense an all-or-nothing ordeal because you basically have to pick the least-detrimental option on defense for the situation at hand.

Then the problems I have already detailed crop up, which makes many of the gains earned by the offense feel somewhat cheap at times. How should I feel when I have a clear sack that is thwarted by a guard simply touching me and automatically putting me in that funky stand-up-and-block-the-defensive-lineman animation?

Another problem is that the CPU AI has some wonky problems when it comes to going through progressions. It seems as if the completion percentage towards the middle of the field is a lot higher than anywhere else. In fact, the AI has some serious issues picking the right receiver to throw to and checking down through its progressions. Unless its primary receiver is open, the play seems to be a complete fail almost every time. Experienced quarterbacks (on All-Pro mind you) would typically throw into coverage when they should be checking down to a TE, RB or just throwing it away.

So again, stops on defense don't feel as rewarding as they should. The whole defensive experience in Madden needs to be completely overhauled in the future because what's here just doesn't work, especially if you are a football fan with an eye on the details.

Special Teams

Most great coaches call special teams the third piece of the wheel, and they say special teams is just as important as offense and defense. While typically this is just coach speak to make those guys feel special, special teams are a huge part of the game -- except in Madden.

The new broadcast camera angle for field goals is awesome, but the new kicking meter going back to the golf-meter setup after an analog stick revolution is not as awesome. (By the way, the only gripe about the broadcast angle is that you sometimes can't see the goal posts really all that well, so you have to use the hash marks as your guide because they line up with the posts. Some people won't get that little nugget I'm sure.)

With the new kicking meter, kicking is just too simple now. So long as your kicker has good ratings, and you have at least adequate hand-eye coordination, your special teams will be able to outmatch any in the history of the NFL.

The other aspects of special teams, such as the blocking assignments and how players attack a punter, are horribly deficient as well, at least if you are after realism. For most people, special teams is an afterthought, which is just a shame because of the immense impact it has on the real game.

Other Odds and Ends

I really, really dislike the audible system in Madden. How one game (NCAA) can do it so right, and another game developed in the same building can get it so wrong is beyond me. Some of the things that take a button press and a flick of the analog stick to complete in NCAA take a button press, three more button presses, and then another button press to complete in Madden. It seriously makes no sense why this system is in place.

Head tracking is still a big problem because players don't exactly look for the ball as well as they should. This is a minor detail of the game, and it is not technically a gameplay thing, but it will frustrate some to see a player who's not looking at the QB or ball magically intercept a pass.

Bad weather does not result in quite enough sloppy play, but the slipping on routes and some cuts is appreciated. I do get that these guys are pros, but bad weather means even the most skilled players get thrown into a slop fest. Play is only slightly less crisp in extremely bad weather. Perhaps this is done because fans would revolt if their players were not playing well, if so I understand the decision, I just don't think it's remotely realistic.

There are also some pinball animations in here, which explains why I don't really see many multiple man, simultaneous tackles. There are animations strung together to give the appearance of gang tackles, but there are not a ton of true multi-man gang tackles. This is a problem, especially as you get towards the goal line where players tend to bunch up in real football. The gameplay in the red zones, and especially inside of the five-yard line, is completely out of touch with reality.

Wrapping it Up

I have written a lot about what is wrong with Madden's gameplay, but I feel I've also included a lot of what is right about it, too. And it's not like some of these negatives really detract all that much from the experience -- the game really is quite fun -- it's just that we hold games to a bit more of a "realistic" standard here at OS. You should not walk away saying the gameplay is terrible; it's just not realistic. I think what the real problem might be here is that the game is sort of missing that something special on the gameplay front that makes it a "must-play" title at this point over discounted titles already on store shelves.

I have no problem saying I'm having fun playing Madden, I just think you have to hold the game to a standard where the bar for success is not realism but fun. (In a perfect world, the realism and fun mix together in a more cohesive fashion to appease everyone.) The balance seems to be there this year as I haven't had too many out-of-control scoring games, or too many games where there is straight up defensive dominance. Just realize the appearance or realism and apparent balance does come at the cost of an actual realistic football simulation.