Madden 24 Superstar Mode Review - A Yard Short

[Steve_OS]

Madden 24 has been out for a few weeks now, and as always, the opinion of...

Written By: Josh Houtz

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[tsbmolina]

More like 99 3/4 yards short. I can’t believe we are coming up on the 20th anniversary of NFL 2K5 and Madden still lags behind in many categories. Truly sad and pathetic.

[PhillyPhanatic14]

The biggest issue with this mode is there's no ability to move to another team. You can't demand a trade. And if you do the offseason release option, a lot of people report signing with a team doesn't actually work and it makes you retire. A lot of people are also getting traded without warning and without a notification after season 2.



EA loves to put constraints on how we play Madden. They need to let us play the way we want and enjoy the game the way we want. Let us demand a trade at any time. Let us demand a release at any time. And my goodness, don't make us retire our superstar after 2 seasons.

[kehlis]

Quote: Originally Posted by tsbmolina

More like 99 3/4 yards short. I can’t believe we are coming up on the 20th anniversary of NFL 2K5 and Madden still lags behind in many categories. Truly sad and pathetic.

2K had a game mode similar to Superstar?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[TarHeelPhenom]

Quote: Originally Posted by kehlis

2K had a game mode similar to Superstar? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

No, it didn't. And I would think, with this being the Madden forum, that the proper choice of game with regards to anniversary would have been Madden 2005. But hey...

[Broncos86]

This mode continues to be painful for me. These interactions with people like Dion Sanders and your agent, all of it just hurts my soul. They're so unrealistic, but meant to give you that "big drama." They're just stupid and canned, and they actually take away from the experience for me. At least give interactions that aren't just brain dead responses. Sorry, but I couldn't care less about talking to Snoop Dogg or Chad Ocho Cinco. It's a 15 second interaction that does nothing for me. But I guess I'm not the target audience, and there's some kid out there going "Bro! It's COACH PRIME, no cap!"

The problem with this mode has ALWAYS been the same. EA puts too much focus on the pre-NFL experience and next to nothing on the NFL experience itself. Every year, we've seen the same thing. You go through, you get drafted, and POOF, it all changes. You go from a scripted experience with characters and events to just... the Madden grind. It's Madden, but with less control over everything.

At least the NHL series lets me watch the game from the bench when I'm off the ice. I don't interact with my teammates in a meaningful way of MY choice. I don't talk to the media in a meaningful way(beyond some dumb boost here and there), and if you DID like any of the characters from the pre-NFL experience, they're just GONE.

This mode is and has been a giant waste of time.

Meanwhile, you go play the FIFA version, and you have goals to achieve to keep yourself in the line up, activities to manage that affects what kind of player you are, and you can ask to be moved. That mode is by no means perfect and needs some improvement, but it's a HECK of a lot better than this horrible cringe of a mode.

[JoeRodgers1175]

Wow, I didn't realize there was a draft cutscene after Coach Prime. Maybe because I skip the Deion thing because it's so painfully stupid.

Also, I wish there was a way to use the standard camera view when playing as a QB. But maybe I'm too dumb to figure it out; see above.

[goalieump413]

I really like that EA chose to go back to Superstar, but after making a QB for my beloved Seahawks, and playing only a couple of regular season games, the Mode is already growing the green patina.

My goal was to play Superstar while EA figures out how to fix Franchise (again), and get used to the interface, game speed, and so on. However, now that I've been in Superstar for several days, I've noticed some things that don't make sense.

First, the player creation engine limits you in player appearances, resulting in some strange face models. This could have been addressed in early development, but probably was de-emphasized.

Second, the Combine portion of the game works well and since you can restart any activity, it is good practice for newer players. However, the conversation you have with Chad Johnson at the end seems to go nowhere. Why put Chad and Prime in this game if their appearances are meaningless?

Third, each week's schedule looks (so far) pretty boring. Same old stuff, no real variety. It would be better if the game designers offered some reason why choosing one activity over another benefitted your Superstar. For example, if my Superstar QB was taking the self-promotion path of being the good guy (Russell Wilson) instead of the bad guy (Deshawn Watson), there should be a way to track the progress of these decisions, how the affect your Superstar's star-power, and what reputation you're building.

Finally, (maybe a glitch) I was informed by my agent that my Superstar QB was moving into his new 'crib', but this new crib looked exactly like the hotel room from the week before. IDK, maybe I have to wait another week for my mansion to get built? Just seems like there are some cul de sac's in the game that sound like promising game elements that under-deliver.

If you want to pass the time, Superstar is a good place to do it. But this Mode isn't fantastic.