Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

[Falconsfan21]

i just finished my first game. It was Atlanta Falcons (me) vs Jags (CPU) the new catch system took me a bit to get used to. i love the play the ball option. Robert Alford had three knocked out balls. Vic Beasley finshed with 2 sacks. Ryan threw 3 tds. Final score was Falcons 38 Jags 17. Bortles got some good passes on me. im loving the game so far.

[ehh]

Played two exhibition games, first was Patriots @ Jets (me) on 10 minute quarters, default All Pro. I lost 24-23 after I went for two with :15 left. Geno was a mess most of the game but led a great drive down the stretch capped by a 12 yard TD pass to Marshall before my 2 PT conversion failed.

Brady and Gronk were monsters. Brady was 19/21 for 278 yards, 3 TD 0 INT. Gronk had 9 for 141, 1 TD. It felt like every time I failed to focus/highlight Gronk sure enough Brady would target him. Not sure if that's a coincidence or what but it was nice to see the CPU using its strengths.

Ivory had 14 carries for 88 yards including a 37 yard TD. Geno finished 19/31 for 207, 2 TD and 3 INT, he was inaccurate and inconsistent. Blount struggled for NE, think he had 17 for 41 yards.

The game had 94 plays from scrimmage on 10 minute quarters.

Next game was Cleveland @ Green Bay (me) on 13 minute quarters. What huge difference from using the Jets, Rodgers completed his first 13 passes and Lacy was a monster in the running game. I led 21-6 at halftime. McCown was still a little too accurate for Cleveland, he was 12/17 at halftime and finished 26/38 for 287 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. He wasn't as good as Brady but he was still too accurate. Crowell did nothing in the running game, finished with under 2.5 YPC.


Things that stood out to me after two games...

• For the first time ever in Madden player ratings seem to matter and slider tweaks should make it stand out even more. From using Geno to Rodgers, the difference was huge. It was so stark that it has made me question if I want to use the Jets in my CFM. Nelson & Cobb created more separation and aggressive catch worked better for them (though Marshall had two nice catches). Lacy was much more explosive than Chris Ivory.
• Aggressive Catch is definitely overpowered on default All Pro. I played the first quarter of one other exhibition game, Dallas at Seattle, and Dez was unstoppable on fly patterns even against Sherman. Cobb made two insane catches against Cleveland. Marshall's game-tying TD against NE was a circus catch too.
• The CPU running game needs work.
• I was able to get decent pressure with the Jets DL against Brady. Richardson had two sacks and I had some other pressures when I blitzed.
• The new animations make this game seem so much more organic. Maybe it's simply because they're new and this feeling will wear off after a few months but I saw a lot of non-canned stuff that felt different from any other EA game. Against NE, Revis had a crazy "reach the arm out and poke the ball away" forced fumble on Amendola, who had just caught a drag route and was ready to streak up the sideline for a big gain. Revis lept, punched the ball out and Amendola kept running for a few steps before realized he'd lost the ball.
• The graphics and animations, to me at least, seem like a pretty darn big improvement over '15.
• I really like the new controls for passing and receiving. If we can tweak the aggressive catch to not be overpowered then as a whole these will be awesome improvements. Especially the "throw low" and "possession" catch where the WR gets down safely on congested routes over the middle - that's a life saver when using a team like the Jets that lacks explosiveness offensively.

Overall I'm cautiously optimistic that this will be a very good, very fun game. After a few hours with the game it seems like a very big improvement over 15.

[RogueHominid]

Just finished game one, which I lost as 29-19 as OAK vs. DEN. It was easily the most fun I've had playing Madden since I can remember.

The legacy issues that made last year's game unplayable appear to have been addressed in a major way.

I had a monster game with Khalil Mack, notching 11 total tackles and 2.5 sacks, but I worked my tail off for those sacks and pressures and still wound up with 4 total sacks on the game. That's a good game in the NFL, and it felt like a good game for me--i.e., not a game I could repeat every time out. Last year, a 4 sack game was the lowest I could achieve, and 10 sack games were closer to the norm.

On a side note, I liked that I was able to dominate with a right-side rusher. Typically it's the left side guys who dominate in Madden for some odd reason, and it's very hard to get it done off the right edge, but Mack just owned that side. I tried some plays with Tuck and had nowhere near the success, so the right/left DE/OLB performance might actually be determined by ratings and skill now, not the side you're on or some bug with RT pass blocking.

I saw a marked improvement in CPU QB pocket presence. After a few hits, Manning started moving more in the pocket, and he made some great step up and throw moves that left my jaw on the floor, literally, because I hadn't seen a Madden QB do that last year.

The biggest compliment I can pay the game is that this felt like a game of football, not Madden ball, and I was engaged in the game strategically for all four quarters. Ratings and matchups matter big time.

This game is headed in the right direction, and 16 is an immediate and significant improvement over 15 in core football areas. This crew appears to have core football gameplay as their real priority. I'm very happy that I made the day-one purchase.

One negative: they have to fix the ambient sound dynamics/atmosphere. It simply does not feel like an NFL game sound-wise, despite how good the graphics are. And the announcing is flat out terrible.

[hawley088]

Quote: Originally Posted by Trojan Man

Just finished game one, which I lost as 29-19 as OAK vs. DEN. It was easily the most fun I've had playing Madden since I can remember. The legacy issues that made last year's game unplayable appear to have been addressed in a major way. I had a monster game with Khalil Mack, notching 11 total tackles and 2.5 sacks, but I worked my tail off for those sacks and pressures and still wound up with 4 total sacks on the game. That's a good game in the NFL, and it felt like a good game for me--i.e., not a game I could repeat every time out. Last year, a 4 sack game was the lowest I could achieve, and 10 sack games were closer to the norm. On a side note, I liked that I was able to dominate with a right-side rusher. Typically it's the left side guys who dominate in Madden for some odd reason, and it's very hard to get it done off the right edge, but Mack just owned that side. I tried some plays with Tuck and had nowhere near the success, so the right/left DE/OLB performance might actually be determined by ratings and skill now, not the side you're on or some bug with RT pass blocking. I saw a marked improvement in CPU QB pocket presence. After a few hits, Manning started moving more in the pocket, and he made some great step up and throw moves that left my jaw on the floor, literally, because I hadn't seen a Madden QB do that last year. The biggest compliment I can pay the game is that this felt like a game of football, not Madden ball, and I was engaged in the game strategically for all four quarters. Ratings and matchups matter big time. This game is headed in the right direction, and 16 is an immediate and significant improvement over 15 in core football areas. This crew appears to have core football gameplay as their real priority. I'm very happy that I made the day-one purchase. One negative: they have to fix the ambient sound dynamics/atmosphere. It simply does not feel like an NFL game sound-wise, despite how good the graphics are. And the announcing is flat out terrible.

I feel the announcing has improved, much more enthusiasm now

[ZB9]

This is definitely the best Madden ive ever played, gameplay and graphics wise.

However, ive been getting extreme lag in online quick games and im wondering if that is common.

[TeamHawkins]

The best Madden ever posts are comical. This is the same Madden from last year with a few new DB/WR gimmick buttons, and a much weaker D-line. I played two games earlier, and I noticed the CPU God mode is still there, but they countered it by having the CPU throw more incompletions than last year's version which does help. Penalties are mainly against the USER, especially in the 4th if you have a lead which is cheesy to me. Running is definitely harder. Every year I averaged about 150+ per gm no matter who I used, in my two games today with the Browns and Packers, I gained 78 with Crowell, and 54 with Lacy. 7 min. Quarters on All-Pro

Manziel threw 7 ints against the Steelers, but I plastered them for 418 yards with Aaron Rogers. And only threw 2 ints with him. I'd give this game a....

6/10 rating

[TouchdownSaints]

I have to admit, I hate the whole "Press A/X/Y" feature. It's just a gimmick and I personally turn the on field feedback off as it is so irritating.

[roadman]

The 6/10 post are even more comical, especially when they stand out alone.

Just played another game and the CPU QB Stafford threw the ball out of bounds because no one was open.

Jacked up the penalties to 55 and one thing I noticed, the Roughing the QB is called more often than not.

Gameplay, the game is 8.5 out of 10.

7.5 until the bugs in CFM are fixed.