Madden NFL 17 is coming out of EA Play in a fairly strong position with tons of gameplay videos being shown off as of early this week (check out the OS homepage for all of them). Let’s go through some of the things that are looking good, and a few things which we’re still a little concerned about after the jump.
 

Gameplay

There’s always going to be a couple things people really complain about every year in every sports game. NBA 2K, The Show, Madden -- I’ve just resigned myself to expecting there to always be some negativity no matter how good these games get. What we are seeing from Madden thus far this year is pretty darned impressive. The tackle battles, zone coverage tweaks, ball physics, new animations and overall AI improvements are making for a game that is looking more and more like the real NFL. There’s a lot to like about what we’re seeing from this year’s game and the gameplay looks to be a net positive once again.

Graphics, Lighting

The thing that popped out at me while watching the videos is how the lighting and graphics do appear to be marginally better this year, but in a way that makes the experience a bit more complete.

Graphical Overlays

Watching some of the videos coming out of E3, the overlays look better and more timely with information that’s important. I’ve long been a proponent of this aspect of the game needing improvement to make the immersion factor that much higher.

Super-Sim Improvements

This isn’t for everyone, and if you are saying you’ll never use Play the Moments, then no, this isn’t your feature. However, there are a lot of people who want to simply play enough of games to matter, and this feature will allow for quick games and movement through a franchise. Anything to let people play more seasons is a good thing in my book. But your mileage will vary.


Commentary

Listen, I’m sure this is an improvement over Nantz and Simms. The commentary has been such a sore spot in Madden for so long that any change is likely to be a net positive, and the continual updates sound great, especially if new lines are added for Franchise mode as well. But, I’m not all-in with the commentary because we’ve heard how it's been improved for years, and it’s continued to be a sore spot for this series. Maybe it truly is better, but I’m not sold.

Franchise’s Immersion

Count me skeptical that a score ticker and a few improved menus are going to make Franchise mode feel like a universe that’s alive. The changes that were made do sound like positives, but I’m not sold that Franchise mode is going to feel like a dynamic, living world like it probably should at this time. I’m definitely waiting on more with this.

Gameplay (Cont’d)

Like I said above, there are aspects to the gameplay I really like, but it does seem like there are a lot of big changes this year. With that in mind, I really don’t want to get too fired up without also mentioning that there are likely to be some hiccups at launch. I would suspect -- as with past Madden’s -- a patch or two later that the game will be playing at a much higher level. While I expect the improvements to be meaningful, I can’t help but get the "something’s going to go wrong here" vibe as well.

Game Planning

This sounds good on the surface, but I’m truly skeptical of this feature. It sounds pretty game-y to me, not unlike Drive Goals last year. In terms of realism, this can basically be incredibly good or it can be incredibly artificial. At some point you should lose an advantage through a game because teams typically adjust, but I highly suspect you’ll get a bonus through an entire game, which may not be to everyone’s liking.

Big Decisions

I like the idea behind big decisions, but I really want to wait and see how this whole thing works before jumping in on the "this is absolutely a positive for the franchise" idea.

Special Teams

Let’s face it, you are thinking it along with me that we’re going to see way too many big plays on special teams this year. I hope it's properly balanced. I hope it’s properly balanced. I hope it's….


So what about you? What are you seeing with Madden NFL 17? What are you looking forward to and what are you waiting to see about? Sound off in the comments!