There hasn't been a sports game that has nailed online play yet, but Madden has always come pretty close. Lag usually isn't a huge issue, most gamemodes that can be played offline can be played online with friends and the user interface is always clean and easy to navigate.

Madden '16 isn't exempt from such praise, either. While there's a small amount of lag even on a good connection - enough to leave you frustrated on high action plays - it pales in comparison to other titles where lag can make the game unplayable. This almost never happens in Madden '16 and even when there are blips on the radar, they're usually gone after a few plays. Finding matches is easy and the game even has a box with a time estimate before you begin your search.

User vs user play is always a mixed bag and that continues to be the the case here. Finding someone who likes to play simulation football is more or less like finding a unicorn. Though, that might finally change after some time with the game. Cheese plays are few and far between, with defensive plays almost always available to match an offensive front. Through a few games against others, it was clear that those who balanced their run game with passing we're much more successful than those who threw deep every other play. Of course, the new catch system leads to some frustratingly unrealistic grabs, but deep passes have their own degree of risk with interceptions being semi-common.

Madden returns with a well-designed leaderboard that not only keeps track of your rank, but also statistics in comparison to some of the game's best competitive players. While achieving a high rank would almost certainly require a large chunk of time, the leaderboard does take winning percentage as perhaps the most important variable. So what matters most seems to be actually being good at the game, which is nice.

Six minute quarters feel pretty good for competitive play, especially when you get matched up with someone well above or below your skill level. If matches aren't tight, they tend to drag enough that making the quarters any longer might feel like a chore. That being said, it's on the low end of being able to achieve realistic results. Point totals seem to be well distributed by offensive totals are just a bit low. It would be nice if EA could include a separate playlist in the future that involved longer quarters that would allow for extended play totals.

Ultimately, Madden online hasn't changed much. Perhaps the biggest change is still yet to happen and that's the realization that many of the cheese plays of year's past don't work as well as they used to. Competitive players may be forced into playing a more realistic style of football and that alone is an exciting thought.