Madden NFL 15 Reviews From Around the Web

[kjcheezhead]

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

I mean, in order for a game's Metacritic score to be high, it has to get a bunch of good reviews, which means the game has to provide an enjoyable experience in the first place, speaking holistically. The critical consensus for the past umpteen years is that Madden has provided an enjoyable experience as a football-themed video game. With the exception of maybe XBOX 360 Madden NFL 06 or the mobile platform derivatives, there's never been a point in history where the critical consensus of Madden is that "it's terrible".

That's the problem, with high meticritic scores every year how can you tell? My online friends and I used EA lockers for online franchise up to madden 08. We all upgraded together for 09 and within less then a week the league went back to ps2 because the game was that bad.

The 06-09 games were borderline broken and unplayable in a lot of madden fans opinions. No commentary at all for 3 of them. 09s online league wasn't usable. No way they deserved high meticritic.

[Armor and Sword]

Quote: Originally Posted by kjcheezhead

That's the problem, with high meticritic scores every year how can you tell? My online friends and I used EA lockers for online franchise up to madden 08. We all upgraded together for 09 and within less then a week the league went back to ps2 because the game was that bad. The 06-09 games were borderline broken and unplayable in a lot of madden fans opinions. No commentary at all for 3 of them. 09s online league wasn't usable. No way they deserved high meticritic.

The Dark Years. I stayed away from PS3 till august 2009 mainly because I kept reading just how bad Madden was. Madden was my first love in sports games. Est Genesis 1991 baby. Baseball is my favorite sport, and I love my baseball gaming more than anything.....but my friends never played too much baseball on the console...it was all about Madden and NBA Live for a decade.

Madden is the best two player sports game in history...bar none. 1999 we got Franchise mode. 2005 we got the best Madden package to date. IMO M25 was about as close to that as we have gotten.

Madden 15 looks like a brand new era for Madden. It finally will feel like it is a next gen game. Because despite many varying opinions about Madden last gen I don't think they ever got it really right and made me feel like I was playing the glory years of Madden till Madden 25. I am talking about fun factor, vs the cpu, online CFM and offline CFM, the total package.


I played some of those early iterations (06,08 and 09) and yes they were an abortion compared to 10,12 and 25. But even 10 and 12 felt sterile, lifeless. 25 IMO finally captured the soul of Madden again (at least for me). I felt immersed again, I had fun again, and the game satisfied me tremendously. But that ship has sailed as that console has been pushed as hard as it could.

It looks to me (and of course I am not giving any gameplay impressions yet till I have my hands on the game next Tuesday) from many indications, videos, reviews, hands on from OS etc that the game really is fun, immersive and taking not baby steps but some big steps up in quality from the PS3/360 era.


That to me is very exciting.

[A_Quiet_Pro]

Quote: Originally Posted by Armor & Sword

Madden is the best two player sports game in history...bar none.

I must say NFL Blitz was a great 2 player game. Especially talking about football, Blitz was great.

[Skyboxer]

I'd give the game a solid 8.5/10

Loved every bit of it so far. Really fun especially D camera

More work needs done (customization, full weekly highlights of all teams etc...) but it's a keeper that's for sure.

[Armor and Sword]

Quote: Originally Posted by A_Quiet_Pro

I must say NFL Blitz was a great 2 player game. Especially talking about football, Blitz was great.

Yeah Blitz was a hoot. So is NBA 2K for those who know how to play it to the fullest. But my best two player sports game memories came from Madden 93, 99 and 05, 25 and of course the legendary Tecmo Bowl.

Go Bo Jackson!!!!!

[SageInfinite]

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

I mean, in order for a game's Metacritic score to be high, it has to get a bunch of good reviews, which means the game has to provide an enjoyable experience in the first place, speaking holistically. The critical consensus for the past umpteen years is that Madden has provided an enjoyable experience as a football-themed video game. With the exception of maybe XBOX 360 Madden NFL 06 or the mobile platform derivatives, there's never been a point in history where the critical consensus of Madden is that "it's terrible".

Most reviewers don't take sports games that serious as is, so they aren't looking for the same things and won't dock the game for the same reasons guys over here on OS. It's like me reviewing an RPG.

That's what I'm saying the critical consensus has never been terrible, doesn't mean the game hasn't been terrible, lol. They aren't putting the game through the same paces guys that frequent this site are. Madden is not a bad video game on the surface, imo, but as a realistic "sim" based football game, at times it has been terrible.

[TheFlamingWeazel]

Quote: Originally Posted by GiantBlue76

I read a few reviews late last night (which included a few of the ones that were posted in the OP), and I notice the common theme. There are improvements, but they are not enough. This is always the common thread with Madden. These micro-steps towards a complete and well-implemented football game take WAAAAAAY too long, and with the power of exclusivity, it adds an entitlement to say, "be patient, it takes time" from the developers. a decade is too long to wait just to get the stuff back that we had in past games, and quite frankly, these reviews sound almost like a cut and paste from last year (and the year before). While I can appreciate the passion and effort (and candidness) of Rex and team, the execution is still very lacking. Since Madden is the only football game, I want to see it compared more to its peers like The Show, FIFA, and NBA 2k. The fact that anyone could say that the presentation is on par with NBA 2k and FIFA tells me that they are clearly watching or playing a different game than I am seeing. The commentary in Madden is still bad (this after nearly 4 iterations of the game when we were told this "new technology" would be used"). FIFA has multiple broadcast teams and the banter flows smoothly. NBA 2k has the TNT branding and it replicates quite amazingly. NHL has the real NBC Sports team and branding. What does Madden have, the EA Tiburon Sports network that shows highlights with dead space and zoomed in camera angles that don't allow you to see the play unfold? Also, in the videos, many OSers were speaking up about the "inaccuracy system" not being prevalent enough and sure enough it's been commented on in a few reviews already. Skyboxer also mentioned it. Eh, I could write so much more, but really I'd just be regurgitating the same stuff I have for 7 years and what good comes out of it? I just wish the bar would be raised more for this game and the expectations would hold this team more accountable. Reviews are powerful, and this game should never earn anything past a 7 if you were to compare it to not only its peers, but to itself from 2 gens ago and other competing football games of the past. The one thing that can actually gain the ear of the, apparently, tone def EA execs would be review scores and that doesn't happen because they are always inflated. Oh well, hopefully the guys who really enjoy Madden can have a great year with the game. For me, I'm just exasperated and completely worn out with this game. It's like pulling on a rope for 9 years and never being able to gain any ground.

Nail on the head, there are still standing legacy issues that are not fixed, there is always something that makes playing madden a mixed experience. They finally improve one area - 3 or 4 more remain.

[Gohorse06]

Are there any reviews for the last generation?