Are there any M16 players still out there?

[picker19]

M16 was the last Madden I actually had fun playing that was a challenge on All Pro, and despite its warts and age, it's still enjoyable for me to play over the others. So against all hope, would be great to know if anyone out there is still playing it. Would be nice to have someone to compare notes with. But I'm not holding my breath.

[TheGentlemanGhost]

I don’t have M16 anymore. But I went back to M17 for a while, and now that I’ve finally found sliders for M18 that fix the all or nothing running game, I’ve been having fun with my Franchise on that. The XP system was also a lot better than this newer development system. It has the halftime show, good TD/INT ratio for franchise stats, CPU QB accuracy slider worked. It’s better good once you get the sliders right.

Madden has a huge problem with actually improving their games year after year. The games feel slightly different, but not actually better every year. They just keep removing stuff, adding 1 or 2 year gimmicks and changing things that don’t need to be changed while ignoring the big problems most times. So instead of Madden getting better, it just becomes an individual preference of which Madden you like most any random year.


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[ripcandlestickpark]

It's hard for me to go back to Madden NFL 16's Franchise mode (the full player editing, practice squads, and in-game ticker introduced in M17 are invaluable), but the gameplay still holds up very well. Every now and then, I'll fire M16 up and spend some time in Franchise's free practice or a Play Now game.

One of my favorite things about M16's gameplay is the sense of balance. I've had shootouts, defensive battles and everything in between. M17 tipped the scales towards the offense and that's been the case ever since. Ball-carriers felt like they had a proper amount of weight to them and were rooted to the turf in a way that felt natural. IIRC, M16 was one of the few games from this generation where QB scrambling AI functioned properly at launch. Also, the penalty and fatigue systems worked well.

It's tough to choose between M16 and M17 as my favorite from this generation. M16 had the better overall gameplay, but M17 was strong as well (in spite of QB scrambling AI taking a step backward). M17 might be better as an overall package, considering the Franchise additions from that year, all of the updated equipment, and the Gaudin/Davis commentary team. M20 would probably round out my top three.

[Ren The Conqueror]

Quote: Originally Posted by picker19

M16 was the last Madden I actually had fun playing that was a challenge on All Pro, and despite its warts and age, it's still enjoyable for me to play over the others. So against all hope, would be great to know if anyone out there is still playing it. Would be nice to have someone to compare notes with. But I'm not holding my breath.

Madden 16 plays a great game of football. It held up really well.

If I were to put down Madden 20 for another Madden, it would be for 16 - hands down.

I’m not playing Madden 16 atm, so I can’t share any current notes with you. There are definitely guys on here still playing it.

During the spring and summer, I occasionally get the itch to go retro. If I do, I’ll hit you up (assuming that you’re still playing it at that point).

Gonna be hard to put Madden 20 down though...

[picker19]

The fact that I got 3 responses is amazing in of itself! I may be the only person on here still actively playing it, but it's nice to at least see that others appreciate it still.

ripcandlestickpark -- Totally agree with you on most of your points. I have a love/hate relationship with M17. You're right...there's SO much that draws me to it over M16 in regards to CFM and even the UI. But to your point, the game is not balanced. I find M17 too easy (not OOTB, patched version) mostly because the CPU offense, especially the running game, got nerfed with the last patch. I would play OOTB M17 since it still had M16's great fatigue system, but it was totally out of whack in other ways. M17 overall has so many bells and whistles that M16 does not. HOWEVER, you're 100% right...no game in M16 ever felt the same. I actually love going into a game not knowing if I'm going to kick butt, get mine kicked, or a close one. 500+ yards one game and then 300 the next. That's why I still play it. Because the game is still plain old fun and it was challenging on AP back then. It felt, as you put, balanced. Yes, I miss all the cool add ons that M17 had, but in the end, we play the game to play the game, so to speak. I want to have fun and M16 was the last one that did it for me.

TheGentlemanGhost -- you're last point is spot on. One step forward, one step back. Add a few things, and tweak a few things that didn't need changing. And in the end, each version is different but not always evenly progressing.

Raider_Ren -- I actually learned after M18 not to buy Madden anymore until after the Super Bowl, when all patches are typically done and the game is 50% off or more. So I still don't have M20 yet. I refuse to give them $60 so they can keep patching the game only to break something that was working fine. M18 and M19 disappointed me. Mostly because I'm a Coach Mode player (been since Head Coach 09), and they took that away on defense starting in M18. But in a couple months I'll pick up M20, and I do hope I'm like you and don't want to put it down. Would be grateful to find something better than M16. As I said above, I'd go back to M17 in a heartbeat if it wasn't too easy on AP. But definitely ping me if you ever got back to M16. Always interested in hearing others house rules and such. For instance, I learned that the progression system is kind of broken where it's WAY too easy to build up superstar QBs and OL but harder to grow defense. So after 5-6 years, you start seeing 500+ yard games as the norm and the best defense only averaging 2 sacks a game. So, now I take control of all teams at the end of each season and control the EOY progression. It's tedious but makes a HUGE difference. If only M16 had player editing like M17. Then I'd likely never leave it!

Thanks everyone for your comments!

[Ren The Conqueror]

Quote: Originally Posted by picker19

Raider_Ren -- I actually learned after M18 not to buy Madden anymore until after the Super Bowl, when all patches are typically done and the game is 50% off or more. So I still don't have M20 yet. I refuse to give them $60 so they can keep patching the game only to break something that was working fine. M18 and M19 disappointed me. Mostly because I'm a Coach Mode player (been since Head Coach 09), and they took that away on defense starting in M18. But in a couple months I'll pick up M20, and I do hope I'm like you and don't want to put it down. Would be grateful to find something better than M16.!

This ^^^^.

This is a brilliant approach to purchasing Madden. One that I’ve been trying to do myself... but my will power is often lacking. The game is a mess due to constant tweaking by EA until Feb / March. By then, the product is mostly finished and you no longer have to battle the patches. Madden 20 is so good, that I’ll likely play this until March 2021.

[picker19]

Quote: Originally Posted by Raider_Ren

This ^^^^. This is a brilliant approach to purchasing Madden. One that I’ve been trying to do myself... but my will power is often lacking. The game is a mess due to constant tweaking by EA until Feb / March. By then, the product is mostly finished and you no longer have to battle the patches. Madden 20 is so good, that I’ll likely play this until March 2021.

Hey, I was the same way until M18 finally convinced me to knock it off and just wait. The torture of a patch every month and new rosters every week, only to see the game change and everything out of whack was just killing me. Now, just imagine if everyone did that? Or hell even 25% of customers did that...it would send a powerful message. Just wait 8 months after launch and then buy the game cheap. Only way EA will ever change is via the wallet.

Anyway, glad to hear you're enjoying M20. I look forward to checking it out...in 3+ months.

[booker21]

madden OTB 2017 counts?