With summer heating up and the basketball and hockey seasons winding to a close, that can mean only one thing: Madden is right around the corner (it used to mean NCAA Football was close as well *sniffles*). A bunch of franchise information has trickled out recently, which gives fans of the series some news to feast on as the release date draws closer.
 

Jumping Right In

To start, the Madden team has made an effort to make it easier to jump right into Connected Franchise. Experienced players may have enjoyed the required initial tweaking in past versions, but for the less committed Madden fan, now being able to jump right in and start the regular season should attract some more users who would otherwise skip the mode. The cleaner home screen and UI should also help in this regard.
 

Guts of the Game

The addition of dynamic drive goals will be something to watch. It appears that EA is going to try and trigger these based on in-game performances. So, for example, after an interception your goal will be to march down the field and score. Tying this to performance rewards does make sense, but let's hope that the on-the-field game does not suffer by assigning goals that mess up the flow of gameplay. For example, I would hate to be tasked with getting two running touchdowns when my game plan is pass-heavy. You can obviously ignore the goals and play your way, but then that defeats the point of the goals in the first place. As long as common sense prevails here, it should be a solid addition.

Making your progress easier to track is also a welcomed addition. The end of each game, and play for that matter, will provide detailed feedback on what goals were accomplished and how much of an XP/Confidence boost you and your players received.

Confidence has also seen some tweaks. EA has promised that the penalty for a bad play will not be as severe, and teams with low confidence will be able to schedule a game prep to help boost spirits. The downside is that this addition is non-interactive and will cost hours, so there is potential for frustration with a lack of confidence -- particularly if you start slacking on your weekly goals.
 

Managing Your Team

Scouting for the draft sounds like a toss-up. The premise sounds easy enough: spend points to unlock the player's top three attributes, with the third unlock revealing in what round the player projects to be drafted. However, that perhaps sounds a bit too easy and simplified. Involving the Combine results will offer some resemblance of total control, but limiting the information to the top three attributes in order to unlock draft stock sounds arbitrary. It may play better in person, but it has the potential to feel a bit too closed in an otherwise open virtual world.

The new-and-improved depth chart is a big addition. Users will be able to drag-and-drop to re-order, and the player cards themselves will have more options, which should offer a more streamlined experience. The ratings for each player will be specific to their position, so it will be nice not having to scroll past a bunch of ratings that are irrelevant to your breakout wide receiver.

The omission of any free agency tweaks is a big downer. This is a big part of the mode and it could use some more fine tuning to make the off-season even more enjoyable. And, of course, the lack of almost any updates as it relates to gameplay is a bit concerning at this point. The Madden team has tried to step it up in this area the past few years, but there is still more work to be done so let's hope we see this information sooner rather than later.