Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

[Chikiboy]

As a HUGE fan of the NFL that has been playing Madden since the days of Madden '92, I felt compelled to offer up my impression.

Let me start off by saying that I was really on the fence about this game. Though the limited amount of information available seemed somewhat positive, I still had a very bad taste in my mouth from the first time I popped in Madden '06 into my new (at the time) X-Box 360 and fired up a game. Easily the biggest gaming letdown I've ever had.

Ironically, I remember seeing the initial advertisements for Madden on the PS2 when it was set to launch, which sold me on getting a PS2 system at launch. And Madden didn't disappoint me that year.

Coming back to this Next-Gen release, I was cautiously optimistic to say the least. As I put in the disc and fired up a game (my Seahawks against those dreaded Niners), I could immediately see the graphical differences. Seeing Russell Wilson's face through his facemask made me laugh as it did actually look like Russell.

Fast Forward...after the 1st quarter, the score was 0-0. Ironically enough, it seemed to play out a lot like the Niners/Hawks games. Both offenses moved the ball somewhat between the 20's via the run with a punt for each team. I found myself thinking "Damn, that actually was fun".

In the interest of time, I stopped the game at half (score was 7-7) and loaded a new game with two new teams to get a better feel (this time it was Broncos vs. Chiefs).

Broncos offense was fun to play with, but the Chiefs pass rush was causing me ALOT of issues, which forced me to move to the short passing game. What surprised me was that Decker, Thomas and Welker were getting NOTHIGN after the catch. Anything they caught, they were immediately tackled. Also, the draws and off tackles runs with Knowshon Moreno were fun to run, though minimally effective.

All-in-all, this is actually the most fun I've had playing Madden since probably 2005. While I think EA Tiburon has a ways to go to catch up with the likes of SCEA (MLB: The Show) and 2K (NBA 2K14), they now have something to build on.

Here's some Pros and Cons I thought about...

Pros:
DB interaction was definitely more enjoyable.
Sideline plays were surprisingly realist (had one where Champ Bailey fought off a block to shove the RB out of bounds and then stared him down).
Running game seems more natural and fluid.
3D Crowd looks much, much better
Commentary seems much better and more fluid.
Pass Rush effectiveness - you really have to be aware of what the defense is doing, if the blitz comes, you MUST account for it.

Cons:
Player models still need to be re-done (IMO)

Running animations should be re-done. These guys are World-Class athletes, the game should reflect that.

Tackling Animations - The weight and momentum of the players needs to be accounted for.

BRING BACK HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE - would be great if they build upon the Living Worlds and places like CenturyLink and Arrowhead went into a frenzy when opposing offenses are on the field. I used to LOVE the Home Field advantage feature in NCAA where routes and plays would become blurred and young players may run incorrect routes.

Accurate Player edits - Whoever is doing the rosters for Madden is seriously slacking. In just the two games I played, I found two pretty marquee players who look NOTHING like themselves. Maybe I'm just a bit anal about this, but Golden Tate is dark skinned and Jamaal Charles is light-skinned. WTF! How hard is it to get the skin tone correct on a player. The worst thing is, I CAN'T GO AND EDIT THEM MYSELF!

Also, Madden has had the same player accessories for the better part of four years. These guys look like they are still wearing the Reebok branded NFL Equipment. Now that were are into Next-Gen consoles, there's no more excuse for this by ANY sports game (go look at everything offered up in NBA 2K).

I really hope EA doesn't revert back to their old ways of minimal changes and non-desired features. As someone mentioned earlier, this could be a great game in two years if they focus on the right things.

Funny, after playing Madden, I popped in NBA 2K14 and was absolutely blown away. As good as that game is visually, the gameplay is equally as good and in some ways exceeds the visuals.

We KNOW SCEA is gonna come strong with MLB: The Show on Next-Gen this March, so EA...it's time for you to start competing.

[4thQtrStre5S]

Quote: Originally Posted by Chikiboy

As a HUGE fan of the NFL that has been playing Madden since the days of Madden '92, I felt compelled to offer up my impression. Let me start off by saying that I was really on the fence about this game. Though the limited amount of information available seemed somewhat positive, I still had a very bad taste in my mouth from the first time I popped in Madden '06 into my new (at the time) X-Box 360 and fired up a game. Easily the biggest gaming letdown I've ever had. Ironically, I remember seeing the initial advertisements for Madden on the PS2 when it was set to launch, which sold me on getting a PS2 system at launch. And Madden didn't disappoint me that year. Coming back to this Next-Gen release, I was cautiously optimistic to say the least. As I put in the disc and fired up a game (my Seahawks against those dreaded Niners), I could immediately see the graphical differences. Seeing Russell Wilson's face through his facemask made me laugh as it did actually look like Russell. Fast Forward...after the 1st quarter, the score was 0-0. Ironically enough, it seemed to play out a lot like the Niners/Hawks games. Both offenses moved the ball somewhat between the 20's via the run with a punt for each team. I found myself thinking "Damn, that actually was fun". In the interest of time, I stopped the game at half (score was 7-7) and loaded a new game with two new teams to get a better feel (this time it was Broncos vs. Chiefs). Broncos offense was fun to play with, but the Chiefs pass rush was causing me ALOT of issues, which forced me to move to the short passing game. What surprised me was that Decker, Thomas and Welker were getting NOTHIGN after the catch. Anything they caught, they were immediately tackled. Also, the draws and off tackles runs with Knowshon Moreno were fun to run, though minimally effective. All-in-all, this is actually the most fun I've had playing Madden since probably 2005. While I think EA Tiburon has a ways to go to catch up with the likes of SCEA (MLB: The Show) and 2K (NBA 2K14), they now have something to build on. Here's some Pros and Cons I thought about... Pros: DB interaction was definitely more enjoyable. Sideline plays were surprisingly realist (had one where Champ Bailey fought off a block to shove the RB out of bounds and then stared him down). Running game seems more natural and fluid. 3D Crowd looks much, much better Commentary seems much better and more fluid. Pass Rush effectiveness - you really have to be aware of what the defense is doing, if the blitz comes, you MUST account for it. Cons: Player models still need to be re-done (IMO) Running animations should be re-done. These guys are World-Class athletes, the game should reflect that. Tackling Animations - The weight and momentum of the players needs to be accounted for. BRING BACK HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE - would be great if they build upon the Living Worlds and places like CenturyLink and Arrowhead went into a frenzy when opposing offenses are on the field. I used to LOVE the Home Field advantage feature in NCAA where routes and plays would become blurred and young players may run incorrect routes. Accurate Player edits - Whoever is doing the rosters for Madden is seriously slacking. In just the two games I played, I found two pretty marquee players who look NOTHING like themselves. Maybe I'm just a bit anal about this, but Golden Tate is dark skinned and Jamaal Charles is light-skinned. WTF! How hard is it to get the skin tone correct on a player. The worst thing is, I CAN'T GO AND EDIT THEM MYSELF! Also, Madden has had the same player accessories for the better part of four years. These guys look like they are still wearing the Reebok branded NFL Equipment. Now that were are into Next-Gen consoles, there's no more excuse for this by ANY sports game (go look at everything offered up in NBA 2K). I really hope EA doesn't revert back to their old ways of minimal changes and non-desired features. As someone mentioned earlier, this could be a great game in two years if they focus on the right things. Funny, after playing Madden, I popped in NBA 2K14 and was absolutely blown away. As good as that game is visually, the gameplay is equally as good and in some ways exceeds the visuals. We KNOW SCEA is gonna come strong with MLB: The Show on Next-Gen this March, so EA...it's time for you to start competing.

Very well articulated review...Thank you...

[The JareBear]

I'm streaming right now, link is in sig, I'm in default all madden with slow game speed. Trying out cameras mostly

Zoom cam seems nice, wide is a little bit too zoomed out for me, trying broadcast now

[JoshC1977]

Started a offline CFM with the NY Football Giants (default CFM rosters).

I went with All-Madden, Normal Speed, with 50 sliders across the board except for intentional grounding (set at 75). I played at 12 minute quarters with 15 second accelerated clock run-off.

Played regular season week 1 against the Cowboys. Romo was injured and Orton was in at QB. Orton looked like Orton; immobile, accurate, weak arm, but a guy good at checking down. He went 23 -35 for 272 yards (1 TD and 1 INT). Murray opened up the game with a 75 yard TD run, but only carried 9 more times after that for a total of 97 yards. Witten killed me with 9 catches for 125 yards.

Eli went 19 - 33 for 229 with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. Wilson was decent, going for 92 yards on 22 attempts (4.2 average). The defense put major pressure on Orton, accruing 7 sacks (lead by 4 by DT Linval Joseph).

In the end, the Giants pulled out a 24-17 win on the road. It was as realistic a game as I have ever played on any system.

Other thoughts:

• BIG THING: I would be cautious playing on slow speed....it seems like it slows down AI "thinking" as well as the animations on the field. I started out at slow speed for this game and the Cowboys' Offense seemed like they were sleepwalking through the game.
• The menus are so much faster....seriously, this was my biggest peeve about Old Gen. For me, it is almost worth the money just to have that fixed.
• Penalties seem to 'work' the same as Old Gen
• Not having luck getting good substitutions.
• The running game and line play felt fantastic. A bit worried about the sacks I accrued, but aside from their LT, their O-line sucks so I am just going to keep playing to see what happens down the road.
• I saw lots of nice catches and animations throughout, I sometimes forgot I was playing a game.

Well, all in all, I am very pleased so far and plan on playing through this CFM to see how it goes.

[wco81]

Quote: Originally Posted by dorneydave866

Haven't had much time to play it yet, but if you bought NBA 2K14 to...PLEASE DON'T PLAY THAT FIRST. hah. It will make Madden seem so underwhelming. I played NBA 2K14,literally had my jaw dropped during the entire introductionary quick game...popped in Madden. Just unreal. I'm sure this Madden is cleaned up and plays decent, but it is not "next gen" It is PS3.5 I had to stop playing because it was making me bummed about my PS4 purchase, put NBA 2K14 back in. Overall next gen thoughts, my jaw is open for both games. In awe for 2K14 and a big yawn for Madden.

Well it's a difference in type of sports.

Fewer players so they can be made more detailed and the playing field or the gameplay camera angle can be a lot tighter in a basketball game than in a football game.

Or for that matter a soccer game, which again has more players on the field as well as more detail to show in the larger stadium than typical basketball arenas.

I'm not saying NBA 2K hasn't done a better job than Madden (or FIFA) but they started out with an advantage.

Really the most useful camera angle in the NFL is the all 22. You can't quite play at that wide an angle but you still need to be more zoomed out than in the NBA.

So even if details are there, you're not going to see them except in zoomed in replays. But you expect the details to be less -- less number of polygons per player, not as detailed textures, since there are more players to render.

[JaymeeAwesome]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gjordan

Then I'm glad I own a PS4.

I believe this feature is also on XBone also

[Chikiboy]

Though this is a thread on Madden 25 Next-Gen and it keeps getting brought up, NBA 2K14 is really THAT good. I think it's the clear Gold Standard now for Sports gaming.

Nothing would make me happier to see Madden get to that same point in quality, visuals, gameplay and presentation in the not too distant future.

NBA Today integration, Sprint Halftime Show and the Doris Burke halftime and postgame interviews (which I thought I'd hate) are all fantastic.

And this is coming from someone who hates the NBA (since the Oklahoma Zombie Sonics left Seattle).

Would love to see Madden incorporate multiple broadcasts and announce teams. They have the licenses to do it and also have commentary audio from Al Michaels and Collinsworth, Gus Johnson and now Simms and Nantz.

I just keep thinking about the use of Home Field Advantage...how awesome would it be to take your favorite team into a hostile playoff venue that starts off the game with the crowd going nuts, then be rewarded from solid play throughout the game, quiet the crowd and come away with a victory.

Would feel like you really had to earn it.

[The JareBear]

Quote: Originally Posted by The JareBear

I'm streaming right now, link is in sig, I'm in default all madden with slow game speed. Trying out cameras mostly Zoom cam seems nice, wide is a little bit too zoomed out for me, trying broadcast now

Slow speed makes this gsme animate so much smoother, wowww