Legacy issues have plagued the Madden series for more than half a decade. After several hours of play against both another player and the CPU, I can happily say that most of those issues have either been taken care of or toned down a significant amount. It is clear that Tiburon is going out of its way to address things that were taking away from simulation football, and its not so much the things that were added to Madden 16 that make the game exciting, but rather what it took away.

Here are my quick thoughts on the game:

• The first thing I noticed was how much smarter the CPU plays. Open wide-receivers rarely go ignored, large gaps are hit by runners and the QB isn't afraid to throw the ball away in favor of taking a sack.
• The game is definitely smoother, with less hard cuts and every step carrying a little more weight. The game actually feels a little slower at its default speed, but that's likely a by-product of less unnecessary motion.
• Speaking of movement, the user seems to have a bit less control over the ball-carrier. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since the movement has always been so exploitable, but it definitely takes some getting used to.
• One concern that the community has that can be confirmed: ridiculous catches are far too frequent, especially for the user.
• That being said, there are a lot of new animations that are welcomed. In particular, players running along the sidelines looks a lot more organic.
• For all of the improvements CPU AI has made, you'll still see them make little effort to stay inbounds.
• The CPU run game is noticeably stronger, while the human run game has been nerfed to a reasonable level.
• Formerly over-powered formations like shotgun running have also been nerfed. Running in general is tougher and seems to be strongly correlated with how good your offensive line is.
• Still not a whole lot of missed throws for QB's. Most incompletions take place on deflected passes or impressive looking drops/strips of the ball.
• The interaction between corners and wide receivers is much better. It is hard to say whether or not it's where it needs to be, but it's a start.
• Kicking seems a little tougher and more sensitive.
• Another early concern: running back kicks seems a little on the easy side.
• Defensive players hit gaps in the line with authority, but there's definitely still some issues with the way that they track the ball-carrier.
• The game looks great. Between the fans and the players, Madden finally has a "next-generation" look to it.
• That said, player models could use some work. There doesn't seem to be an alternative to super defined and muscular players.
• After two close games with the CPU, clock management skills seem to be improved. Between the two drives, the CPU scored on me twice by mixing deep passes with balls thrown to the sideline.
  • I saw a few defensive holdings and more than one pass interference. If the penalty sliders work as they should, a realistic number of penalties should be managable.
  • In my time playing against a competitive online player, the player expressed frustration with former "cheese plays" not working quite as well.

Early Outlook

It is easy to sing the game's praises after such a limited time with it, but the best news is that the game seems to be shedding itself from the numerous frustrations that have been popping up for years. Surely new problems will make themselves known after more frequent play, but there wasn't anything too glaring after my playtime. The issues I did encounter will certainly have the chance to be tweaked before release, so we'll have to wait and see on those.

Overall, the game is more difficult, a little more life-like and has visuals worthy of excitement. The early outlook is definitely trending upwards for Madden NFL 16.