Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

[Mr.Smif]

The interaction between corners and wide receivers is much better. It is hard to say whether or not it's where it needs to be, but it's a start.

I wonder if he is talking about lack of contact before the ball is thrown, which is something concerning to me, there seems to be a lack of contact/jostling before the ball is in their air, hope this isn't the case.

[JKSportsGamer1984]

No mention of the cleaner more improved physics or gang tackling? This is arguably the biggest improvement in the game. Out of all the vids I've seen, I have yet to notice any morphing/player clipping (limbs fusing together, players walking right through other players lying on the ground after plays, etc...) This is a HUGE plus for me! Really makes the game look more polished. EA really paid attention to detail this year (minus the equipment upgrades & sideline characters). I'm impressed!

[RogueHominid]

A major concern for me will be whether the CPU QB is capable of throwing more realistic games at or near default.

Last year's game had lots of problems in this regard, with 85% completions being very easy to achieve unless one lowered QBA to a level below 5.

I was a bit concerned to hear Rex talk about how precise pocket passers could be at E3 and how they could carve you apart. That has not been a problem, but the opposite has.

If I have to do slider magic to produce realistic sack and completion numbers, this will be a no-purchase.

[LorenzoDC]

It's good to hear the targeting of legacy issues, and let's hope the gameplay arrives and stands up to real play time. This is the season for peak encouragement, but it has to be proven by hands on experience by sim players. Let's hope this year delivers on results more consistently than past years have.

I'm still not going to buy, because I've learned to be very suspicious of Madden claims prior to release. Also, even if the game play is much improved - and CPU AI has been a big, if not the biggest, thing for me as an offline sim player - I can't get ongoing enjoyment from the game worth $60 if the franchise CCM mode is done badly.

Since it doesn't sound like CCM is going to create an improved offline sim "fantasy" type experience, with no customization and expanded player based XP mini-game dynamics, even great gameplay would not get me to buy. I just wouldn't get my money value from what amounts to a series of offline play now games.

Still, this is the season for Madden optimism, so if game play is getting meaningfully improved, especially at the AI level, I'm all for it. It makes it possible for me not to write off the series completely, with an eye toward the unknown future.

[Mr.Smif]

Quote: Originally Posted by l8knight1

Not thrilled with 'nerfed' user control of running. Running was great, why mess with it?

IMO, the running was not that good in Madden 15. The main reason being that it was hard to hit holes because it was hard to perform small jukes and cuts, this issues seems to be improved in Madden 16, also one-on-one tackling was way too solid, not enough broken tackles which is another legacy issue in Madden which seems to be improved in 16. On top of that the running animations were bad, all the players carried/ran the ball the exact same and the open field running animations looked nothing like what we see in real life. From the videos ive seen the running game looks much better in Madden 16.

[KOYO78]

If EA devs continue on this path of refining what has been set from M15 through the years l believe we wi hv a goo product in the future. Liking the improvements anything that makes ppl play real FB I'm for

[OhMrHanky]

Quote: Originally Posted by JKSportsGamer1984

No mention of the cleaner more improved physics or gang tackling? This is arguably the biggest improvement in the game. Out of all the vids I've seen, I have yet to notice any morphing/player clipping (limbs fusing together, players walking right through other players lying on the ground after plays, etc...) This is a HUGE plus for me! Really makes the game look more polished. EA really paid attention to detail this year (minus the equipment upgrades & sideline characters). I'm impressed!

absolutely. this was one of the 1st things i noticed as well. and, if this is alpha version, and that's clean, i am amazed. These have been glaring issues for years. not only does this make it look more polished, this has to improve gameplay, i would think. I have always felt that madden's programming approach has been off (not that i know exactly what they were trying to do, but i base this off of years of playing the game. lol) in that it always feels like they are trying to calculate outcomes within the game, and then that determines the physics. When, it should be the other way around, meaning u need to create the physics in the game, first. create the football "universe" with gravity, momentum, etc, and THEN the players ratings will dictate the outcome based on their personal "physics", and of course, some calculated outcomes are probably inevitable. But, create the physics, FIRST, then proceed with the football. This game looks like they are close to that approach, anyways.

[JKSportsGamer1984]

Quote: Originally Posted by KOYO78

If EA devs continue on this path of refining what has been set from M15 through the years l believe we wi hv a goo product in the future. Liking the improvements anything that makes ppl play real FB I'm for

We're getting a good product this year lol. The future is here! Is it at the level we want it to be yet? No & even the devs admit that but they're getting close. I wouldn't of said that 2 years ago.

I get your point though