Madden NFL 12 Review (360/PS3)

[bukktown]

Quote: Originally Posted by DeuceDouglas

It seems like we've gotten past the point of there being a whole lot of major flaws and now the nitpicking of other little issues has begun. That's probably a good thing because it means Madden might be working it's way to a more and more polished game. -The playcalling has been the same forever and I've never heard anything about how unrealistic playcalling is in the reviews until now. -Same goes for defense. I don't know how you could really make it any more exciting. -The new kick meter being a step backward is a joke. I don't think I ever missed a single kick with the old RS kick meter. I could literally be in a completely different room and make every kick because it was that easy. Maybe they should go back to the Super Nintendo style kick meter the circle goes up and down for power and then side to side for accuracy. They need to take the arrow out of it though because that is what makes it so easy. -Overshadowing an obviously greatly improved franchise with things like 'clunky menus' seems a little degrading in the overall scope of things but maybe that's just me.

That's the perplexing thing. The game is not, on the whole, more polished.

[SGMRock]

Quote: Originally Posted by fliplm0de

From what i've been reading from the final build and those who got the game 3 days early this is pretty accurate. Yea the game looks nice too bad it doesn't play as well.

It plays better than the last 2 or 3 years. The offline franchise mode is tons better. Clunky menus or not its tons better. I see a lot of people being turned off by the review, but right now I think the 2012 release build is better than the 2011 patched game. If you liked 2011 this is a step up in Gameplay and Franchise. Commentary sucked last year and still does but if you want the game for gameplay and offline franchise I think its better than the last 3 years.

[damaja]

It appears to me that madden/NCAA is approaching the fate of NBA live, where the game simply didn't progress to satisfactory levels. The only difference is live had competition that ultimately caused EA to cancel it. I haven't bought madden in years because it was no longer fun playing offline. For me, if only EA would make ratings matter in the game that would bring the strategy aspect back to the game. Right now, great players vs scrub players don't reflect well in the game. I've never played a game where on defense I had to strategize how to stop a great wr or rb. To me the only significant gameplay enhancement was when a few years ago there was talk about stretching the ratings to differentiate players. But they didn't go far enough with that idea.

[jkra0512]

I really like this review and the impressions from OS...seems as though this wasn't sugar-coated like the NCAA review. This write-up, along with several others, have given me enough info to not buy it right away. I'll get it used and not give my money to EA. Sad I won't have a football game opening day, but I'd rather keep my sanity and my hair from not yelling at the game for doing something stupid.

I was really hoping this game would serve as a great rebound to NCAA, but it's not looking like it. *sigh* At least EA makes a good hockey game, I'll buy that first day! lol

[schnaidt1]

i have been loving this game. not since madden 04 have i been so into a football game. last few years i buy madden, play it a week. then im either too pissed off, or too bored with franchise mode. this year, although there are some annoyances. im loving how every game feels fresh.

this game isnt deserving of all the 9 ratings it has got this year or last. and i think 7.5 is a great rating for this game cuz in the past the 8.5 and 9 ratings madden got should really have been cut in 1/2!!

if u consider that, then this madden really is worth buying. im getting it after my season ticket expires

[Whaaaazuuuuup]

Quote: Originally Posted by schnaidt1

i have been loving this game. not since madden 04 have i been so into a football game. last few years i buy madden, play it a week. then im either too pissed off, or too bored with franchise mode. this year, although there are some annoyances. im loving how every game feels fresh. this game isnt deserving of all the 9 ratings it has got this year or last. and i think 7.5 is a great rating for this game cuz in the past the 8.5 and 9 ratings madden got should really have been cut in 1/2!! if u consider that, then this madden really is worth buying. im getting it after my season ticket expires

i agree with you bro. there comes a tinme where you need to stop nit picking a game to death. MADDEN will NEVER be NFL2k5, which in my opinion is the MJ of football video games. we all knew what to expect when EA got this license and unfortunately we'll have to endure it til 2014 since they signed an extended year.

that being said, MADDEN does a fair job and is better than last yrs, which i played regularly up until 2 weeks ago. til a new development team starts making MADDEN just expect minor tweaks as improvements...

[tril]

Too many negative reviews. Man we need another football developer badly.

[rich7sena]

Its perplexing to me how this game got a 7.5 as opposed to last years 9. All that Madden 11 added from Madden 10 was Gameflow, strategy pad and a broken difficulty system (all of which were negatively received). I suppose the ambition that Madden 12 undertook didn't deliver on all accounts but it still laid out a foundation for future games. I didn't agree with the score Madden 11 got last year and while I don't believe this is the same reviewer from last year, there needs to be some consistency with the scores on the same site.