Madden NFL 15 Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (XB1/PS4)

[mcal24]

There's a really dumb friendly quit bug. You can offer it as many times as you want! I was beating a guy with less than a minute left and he offered me freindly quits for 10 minutes! Needs to be patched ASAP!

[CoachOfTheYear]

I have to admit. I'm the biggest critic of this game. I run a hardcore Online Sim Connected Franchise and I have only played 2 online games so far, but everything about this model tells me that EA is getting heat from people like us in the community. The opening scene with Cam and the Seahawks is spot on and that immersion factor just gets me going. Here's a list of my pros and cons, with my overall score

Pros
Runners actually have lifelike movements. Can't cut on a dime
Error passes by QBs is nice
Crowd and sideline interaction is spot on
Server and online gaming is close to offline
Social Media and interaction messages need to be in every game
Graphics are on point. Field rundown, jersey wear and tear, matchup stats
User interface in all of the menus
Gauntlet.... Keep this in the game forever
Connected franchise owner mode is the best I have ever seen. Top to bottom

Cons
Replay challenge system needs a serious overhaul
Online presentation and offline presentation needs to sync/be the same (Cut scenes, halftime, etc.)
User tackling is a bit of a challenge
Play call system should keep the community calls but go back to the traditional choice
Instead of grunts from players, they should include interaction between the players. Even if it's mild talk

Overall 9.2

I think that OS was very critical. If you math it with every other Madden release this is by far the best. It had to be!

[Bootzilla]

Okay I definitely have to tweak sliders pronto. I've restarted Broncos (me) vs. Chargers 5 times because I've sacked Phillip Rivers at least 4 times before the 1st qtr was over. One qtr he attempted to pass 6 times and I sacked him 5 times and I picked off the other one. Most aren't user sacks. I do primarily play as a d-lineman but my teammates are eating him up or he just won't throw if there's any coverage. Rivers only throws if someone is wide open or a check down.

[Pappy Knuckles]

Has anyone had any issues with it running kind of choppy? The frames are skipping on me fairly often in the game I'm playing now. The first game I played it wasn't that bad. With the exception of that, my initial impressions of this are quite positive.

[allhailben7]

Screw the Geno Smith/Peyton Manning differences, I couldn't do jack squat with Dri Archer at HB. Yes, I plugged in sub-4.3 default Archer to see what would happen and I couldn't dominate like past Maddens. I'll play some more later to see, but it seems like other ratings actually matter now.

[Lakers 24 7]

Overall, I'd say Madden is finally playable for the first time since the PS2 versions, but still a ways to go before being accepted as a true sim.

I have to base my impressions off of All-Pro since all I play is ranked online. On All-Pro the passing game is too easy and it just feels unrealistic how you can consistently thread the needle into double coverage with average QBs like Flacco. Also, I'm starting to notice that curl routes might be the new money plays in Madden. I just played against someone who gained all of his yards off of curls and screens, despite me calling for my corners to play underneath. This coverage adjustment literally made 0 difference as he was still able to consistently hit curls play after play. Switching to zone, opens up an array of other weaknesses. In zone there are always going to be windows, but those windows in Madden are so easy to exploit it makes zone coverage worse than it should be.

I know most of these issues mentioned above are solved on All Madden, but huge let down that we're forced into All Pro only for ranked.

I like how the running game is actually a challenge this year, it doesn't feel like you can cheese it up anymore. The downside is that the way run plays and block assignments develop are still extremely flawed. Run game on 2k felt a little more natural and less predetermined.

Still some big flaws in terms of realism, but some core aspects of sim football are finally in place making the game enjoyable.

Pros:

Graphics and player models
Longer quarter length for ranked play (not sure when that changed, but last I played Madden ranked games were too short)
Player weight and momentum
Being set in the pocket matters now along with improved control over your passes
Stats seem fairly reasonable, aside from completion percentages
Less cheese
Great presentation and commentary (feels realistic)
Feels like X's and O's matter now, but definitely still a lot of room to grow in that regard

Cons:

Game doesn't feel physical and intense. Significant lack of big hits
Trying to make precise movements can get somewhat clunky
Coverage adjustments don't have the impact that they should
I don't notice much of a difference between different style of running backs
Run game is definitely hugely improved, but still doesn't develop as realistically as 2k
Too easy to pound the ball in on goaline
No PI
Sometimes defenders won't react to the ball at all despite manual input and being in position to do so

Solid 7.5/10 (again, would definitely score a little higher if All Madden was default)

[TheBleedingRed21]

Pappy, I am on PS4, I have not noticed anything but buttery goodness! LOL

I usually would put this in the video thread BUT since my impression is how well the CPU can actually run the ball, I felt it would help the case..

This is CPU Ben Tate for Browns vs Colts (ME)

Spoiler

[Pappy Knuckles]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheBleedingRed21

Pappy, I am on PS4, I have not noticed anything but buttery goodness! LOL I usually would put this in the video thread BUT since my impression is how well the CPU can actually run the ball, I felt it would help the case.. This is CPU Ben Tate for Browns vs Colts (ME) Spoiler

I'm on PS4 too. I'll just restart the application after I finish up the game. Maybe it's just acting funky for me right now.