I love the sport of football, and summer is the best time of year to fill my need for video game football. But while NCAA Football is a great game in its own regard, it simply does not fill the void.

Madden always comes out one month after NCAA, so like many others I use NCAA to tone my football game skills until the big release. This year is no different, as Madden is sure to be better than NCAA. Here’s why.

Even Playing Field

In Madden (and the NFL of course) the 32 teams are all professionals. Sure some think teams like the Raiders or Dolphins could lose to a powerhouse college team, but those types of NFL teams are in the minority. Every team can win or lose on any given Sunday, with no real cupcake teams. But why does this matter?

Madden decided to go with the “well everyone is complaining so let’s do something” approach.

Well, my favorite college team is San Diego State. Let us just say they simply are not the best team in college football. Now, when I play online or with my friends it can be a real task to beat a LSU or Florida with San Diego State.

In Madden this isn’t a problem. Nothing brings more joy to my life than using the Houston Texans to wipe out the Indianapolis Colts in an online duel to the death.

The New Play Call Window

NCAA stuck with the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” approach to the play call screen, and the same basic presentation makes a return as well. Madden decided to go with the “well everyone is complaining so let’s do something” approach.

From what we have seen in videos and screenshots, the new play call screen appears to let you do everything want without pushing pause.

Want to put in a specific player at LE for a 2nd and long? Just a quick flick of the right analog stick and you are done sir! How about seeing the statistics of my top wide receivers? Again, just another flick of the right analog stick. You can also watch the replays from that same screen without pushing pause to hold up the game.

Something like this can change the flow of the game and it is a wonder this has not been implemented before.

Online Leagues

I know, I know. NCAA has online dynasties. But there is one big reason I am saying online leagues will be killer feature for Madden – 32 people.

Imagine you and 31 others duking it out to try and make the Super Bowl in one go-for-it all season.

Imagine you and 31 others duking it out to try and make the Super Bowl in one go-for-it all season. With full tracking of statistics and the ability to play your games any time, this feature alone is a great reason to get pumped for Madden.

Madden IQ

Now this is highly speculation, since the game has not been released yet to the public, but if this new feature does anything close to what it promises it could be a great year for Madden. In the past, many spent tons of hours trying to perfect a set of sliders that were perfect for their style of play. This year, Madden IQ will do all the work for you, tailoring the game to your abilities.

If the game sees you struggling in the running department, it will make it easier for you in that part of the game. On the other hand, if you are swatting down and picking off every throw attempted, the game will start stepping things up.

If this concept works like it should, it will be a giants step forward for sports video games and how the AI interacts with the humans playing the game.