Adjusting To Madden 25 Next Gen
Submitted on: 12/10/2013 by
Robert Kollars
For years, Madden players have been accustomed to playing EA’s NFL franchise a certain way, and rightfully so. Due to the games shortcomings and exploits, gamers foundMadden to be less of a sim, and more of battle of “who can exploit the most – me, random online guy, or the AI?” That is never a good thing, and definitely not what players are looking for when they want a true NFL simulation experience - one they can feel great about when dropping $60 – on a yearly basis. Madden fans found it routinely easy to exploit the AI defense, the return game, the lack of a pocket (or need to stay within it), and the patterns that the AI typically displayed on both sides of the ball.
According to the developer(s) a lot of these issues were due to hardware limitations and followed up the dreaded promise of “it’s on our list to fix next year”. So what did this mean for the loyal consumer that felt Madden was a necessity in their household every year in August? It meant that rarely did they have to adjust their playing style year to year, and the “honeymoon” phase of the game seemed to get shorter and shorter with each annual release.
As the new generation of consoles approached we were told how the ease of development based on the architecture design (X86) would be, and gamers would see the instant impact even in the launch titles. That’s a hard message, especially when it comes to Madden, for players to buy into without some reluctance and apprehension.Madden fans have been spoon fed promises of improvements, redesign, new modes, and realistic game play. While there were some improvements over the course of the last generation on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the impacts were never enough for core NFL gaming fans to buy into or claim Madden had turned the corner.
Obviously both the PS4 and Xbox One have both been released, and we all have had time to sit down with next-gen Madden 25 and form our own impressions, and what you are about to read below are some of ours.
Offensive-Defensive Line interaction
The changes that have been implemented in the trenches of next-gen Madden 25 are a huge step in the right direction. Whether it’s edge rushing, double teams, pockets forming, or simply each individual down the line having their own intelligence, the changes are dramatic and in a good way. The user now has to respect the edge rushers while on offense, and understand their offensive lines strengths and weaknesses. This a huge adjustment over last-gen Madden, as it requires one to have a working comprehension of both teams and what they are capable of.
Whether you are throwing, running, or controlling someone on the defensive line, you need to understand who you are going up against and who the play will run through. If you have Duane Brown or Joe Staley manning the tackle position, you can feel confident versus having Gino Gradkowski at center, or J’Marcus Webb at tackle. So finally a Madden game truly forces you to adjust your play calling and style based off the personnel that’s on the field – and for the most part it feels organic. There is still room for improvement is this area, but the difference from last gen is tangible.
Running Game
The adjustments that need to be made in controlling a runner in Madden 25 is almost impressive at the line interaction we spoke of earlier. With the EA’s new true-step technology making its debut on the new consoles, it forces the user to rethink how they run in the game. For the most part, gone are days of running blindly without the rules of physics having an effect to the situation. One now has to take in into account the situation and flow of the play and exude a bit patience – especially at the running back position. When you combine the line play with the new running mechanics it forces you as a runner to see and or wait for the hole to open up, and you better hit it quickly once it does before it vanishes.
No longer can you cut on a dime and blast full speed ahead, and heaven help you if you try because more times than not the player you're controlling is going to get crushed. You need to have the ability to cut, weave, dance, and see two moves ahead to be consistently good while running with the ball.
Defense
If you played NCAA 14 or Madden 25 without slider adjustments on a last-gen console then you know full well how atrocious the effort was on the defensive side of the ball. Secondary players would routinely run away from the play or not even recognize it, and even the best linebackers in the game were fooled way too often by any type of play-action call. Basically the defense was too dumb too often and allowed the user to exploit them in multiple areas. Thankfully that has changed to a large degree inMadden 25 on the PS4 and the One.
For the most part the secondary plays much smarter and the lack of play and coverage recognition is the exception, and no longer the rule. Linebackers are much more capable of following play calling and tendencies and it results in a much more enjoyable and challenging experience, depending on the difficulty level your playing on. This change definitely requires one to adjust on offense, and trust the digital teammates on while playing defense.
Honorable mention – Return Game
The improvements in this area is not as large as the other areas we spoke of, but they are there. In last-gen Madden, all you had to do is basically run up the middle on a kick return and cut to the outside to routinely reach the 40, 50, or even the end zone. At times one felt they could have broken Deion Sanders and Devin Hester’s combined return record of 20 in just two seasons of franchise play. EA has addressed that issue, and it does force the user to adjust how they return the ball now. Kick-off returns for a touchdown are still possible, but it requires you to take notice of the kicking teams approach and locate the gunners. There may be some success on the outside, but you can just as much starting outside and kicking it back inside towards the middle. Now if we can get them to revamp the kicking the game, special teams may be something that all Madden gamers can finally enjoy.
Whether you’re a fan or not of Madden 25 on the PS4 or Xbox One doesn’t matter to me at all, because I think we can all agree that there is still a ways to go for this game to become of true simulation of the NFL experience. The fact remains though that this title does finally require an adjustment in the way you approach and play it – and that my friends is a welcome addition.
According to the developer(s) a lot of these issues were due to hardware limitations and followed up the dreaded promise of “it’s on our list to fix next year”. So what did this mean for the loyal consumer that felt Madden was a necessity in their household every year in August? It meant that rarely did they have to adjust their playing style year to year, and the “honeymoon” phase of the game seemed to get shorter and shorter with each annual release.
As the new generation of consoles approached we were told how the ease of development based on the architecture design (X86) would be, and gamers would see the instant impact even in the launch titles. That’s a hard message, especially when it comes to Madden, for players to buy into without some reluctance and apprehension.Madden fans have been spoon fed promises of improvements, redesign, new modes, and realistic game play. While there were some improvements over the course of the last generation on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the impacts were never enough for core NFL gaming fans to buy into or claim Madden had turned the corner.
Obviously both the PS4 and Xbox One have both been released, and we all have had time to sit down with next-gen Madden 25 and form our own impressions, and what you are about to read below are some of ours.
Offensive-Defensive Line interaction
The changes that have been implemented in the trenches of next-gen Madden 25 are a huge step in the right direction. Whether it’s edge rushing, double teams, pockets forming, or simply each individual down the line having their own intelligence, the changes are dramatic and in a good way. The user now has to respect the edge rushers while on offense, and understand their offensive lines strengths and weaknesses. This a huge adjustment over last-gen Madden, as it requires one to have a working comprehension of both teams and what they are capable of.
Whether you are throwing, running, or controlling someone on the defensive line, you need to understand who you are going up against and who the play will run through. If you have Duane Brown or Joe Staley manning the tackle position, you can feel confident versus having Gino Gradkowski at center, or J’Marcus Webb at tackle. So finally a Madden game truly forces you to adjust your play calling and style based off the personnel that’s on the field – and for the most part it feels organic. There is still room for improvement is this area, but the difference from last gen is tangible.
Running Game
The adjustments that need to be made in controlling a runner in Madden 25 is almost impressive at the line interaction we spoke of earlier. With the EA’s new true-step technology making its debut on the new consoles, it forces the user to rethink how they run in the game. For the most part, gone are days of running blindly without the rules of physics having an effect to the situation. One now has to take in into account the situation and flow of the play and exude a bit patience – especially at the running back position. When you combine the line play with the new running mechanics it forces you as a runner to see and or wait for the hole to open up, and you better hit it quickly once it does before it vanishes.
No longer can you cut on a dime and blast full speed ahead, and heaven help you if you try because more times than not the player you're controlling is going to get crushed. You need to have the ability to cut, weave, dance, and see two moves ahead to be consistently good while running with the ball.
Defense
If you played NCAA 14 or Madden 25 without slider adjustments on a last-gen console then you know full well how atrocious the effort was on the defensive side of the ball. Secondary players would routinely run away from the play or not even recognize it, and even the best linebackers in the game were fooled way too often by any type of play-action call. Basically the defense was too dumb too often and allowed the user to exploit them in multiple areas. Thankfully that has changed to a large degree inMadden 25 on the PS4 and the One.
For the most part the secondary plays much smarter and the lack of play and coverage recognition is the exception, and no longer the rule. Linebackers are much more capable of following play calling and tendencies and it results in a much more enjoyable and challenging experience, depending on the difficulty level your playing on. This change definitely requires one to adjust on offense, and trust the digital teammates on while playing defense.
Honorable mention – Return Game
The improvements in this area is not as large as the other areas we spoke of, but they are there. In last-gen Madden, all you had to do is basically run up the middle on a kick return and cut to the outside to routinely reach the 40, 50, or even the end zone. At times one felt they could have broken Deion Sanders and Devin Hester’s combined return record of 20 in just two seasons of franchise play. EA has addressed that issue, and it does force the user to adjust how they return the ball now. Kick-off returns for a touchdown are still possible, but it requires you to take notice of the kicking teams approach and locate the gunners. There may be some success on the outside, but you can just as much starting outside and kicking it back inside towards the middle. Now if we can get them to revamp the kicking the game, special teams may be something that all Madden gamers can finally enjoy.
Whether you’re a fan or not of Madden 25 on the PS4 or Xbox One doesn’t matter to me at all, because I think we can all agree that there is still a ways to go for this game to become of true simulation of the NFL experience. The fact remains though that this title does finally require an adjustment in the way you approach and play it – and that my friends is a welcome addition.
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