Madden NFL 15 is now available in stores. Be sure to read our review if you haven't gotten the game. If you have, leave your own impressions of your first play sessions in the comments below!
As some of you know I am a big MLB The Show guy. I feel that game captures the sport like no other has ever done. I have always been a fan of Madden due to being an NFL fan, however it never was in the same regard as The Show. This years version is the closest.... Not saying its The Show, It is Not... But it captures the NFL feel better than previous versions. The players feel unique and the presentations improved. Defense is fun again. The sim stats need fixing via patch and if that is done it should help satisfy our football fix for now. So heres some pros and cons:
Just finished my first "disc" game. It was nice not to have to install the game again since I purchased the ea access package.
I played the as the Patriots vs the Giants. All-pro 8 minute quarters. I won 24-3, but I scored 2x in the last 2 minutes. A Brady TD pass then a pick 6 with Revis.
Eli was beyond horrible. He only completed 35% of his passes, so this gives me hope not every game has qbs completing 80% of their passes. (Haven't touched sliders yet).
Running the ball is hit or miss for me. I'm able to break some runs but nothing too big. But I average about 4 yards a carry.
I haven't had any trouble shutting down the CPU run game in about 11 games . Except for this game the CPU QB has been almost automatic.
One more thing about presentation. Maybe because I'm in play now or playing 8 minute quarters but I hardly see any stat banners. It seemed like almost every other play last year one would pop up.
this was yet another low scoring affair.... it was 13-7 at half.
steeler's got the ball but could only settle for a fg 13-10 going into the 4th.
so im driving in the 4th chewing clock etc on the ground and i go to pass across the middle of field deep to Gordon and troy P stepped in front of the pass and made me pay returning it for 6.... 17-13 steelers.
so i get the ball back and drive down and with less then a minute left in the game manziel found Gordon on a crossing route for late td pass and the win went for 2 and got it we win 21-17.
i was hoping to see the manziel money sign in the game but everytime he celebrated it wasent there.
so i can tell the difference between the qb's least so far between manziel and hoyer in the first game hoyer only competed 41% of his passes and seem to throw more bad pass's while in second game while using the running game manziel cmp rating was in the mid to near 70%.
Manziel had a great game both passing and running the ball he was 17-21 2 td's passing 1 int 227 yards and near 50 yards rushing.
gonna do some more testing of different teams today i may start grossman and shaw to see the difference in them as we'l in case when i start a cfm and either manziel or hoyer goes down i'll know there weakness and strengths.
Played the equivalent of one game. A half against the Browns and the Chiefs.
Visually, it looks very nice. A definite step up from last year.
Love the presentation elements. Nice real time camera angles, enhanced crowd, etc. Commentary while still limited, there seems to be more emotion. The game feels alive. In the past, it seemed more robotic in presentation.
Not sure how I feel about the new gameplay view. One is close (great for running) and another is a bit too far away (better for passing). It's a little tough for these old eyes on the passing routes, but I'm sure I'll adjust. Might not be so nice when playing head to head as I'm sure my son and I will have different preferences.
Really liking the defensive camera switch to a lineman. Guessing the snap is tricky, but enjoy the game inside the game.
Gameplay wise, as I've read, defense is the name of the game. Maybe I need to practice, but it seems there won't be a lot of track races to pay dirt on every possession. On my first play from scrimmage, Stacy took it 15 yards on a pitch on All Pro. Thinking the pitch is still money like in Madden 15, I failed to pick up any yards the rest of the half going left or right. I was able to bust a couple 5 and 7 yard gains up the middle but they were all earned. Passing is difficult if not just because of the camera angles. I'm finding the windows being much tighter than any previous versions. You really have to time the routes and perhaps throw the ball much earlier.
Overall, very happy with my initial play time. The digital version went very smoothly and I was up and playing as the clock struck 11 pm. Now I'm paying for it as I'm going on less then 6 hours of sleep.
I'm having slight issues too (I'm ps4 digital) that I didn't notice on X1 access time. Nothin huge but just slight menu lag and play calling screen in game seems a little unresponsive some times. I might reinstall or try the disc version
I've noticed the delay or lag also im ps4 digital as we'll where it seems to skip when u trying to pick a play u choose and it seems to click pass play u want,
what i wanna know is why does it ask u to choose the way u wanna see the play calling and i select the traditional way or old way and we get stuck with huge play calling screens? if u choose old way it should go back to like the previous yrs look.
Do yourself a favor and pick this game up. I went in with relatively low expectations and Madden 15 has exceeded every expectation that I had. Is it perfect? No. Is it worth our $60 and continued support, Yes. They really tried hard this year and it shows.
Does anyone know if you and a friend can be on the same team during an offline franchise connected? In Madden 13 they didn't have it and it was a huge bummer. Last year they did allow it and my brother and I could play on the same team. We've done this for about 15 years now and It's about the only mode we can play.
This will determine if I buy the game today or not...
I've noticed the delay or lag also im ps4 digital as we'll where it seems to skip when u trying to pick a play u choose and it seems to click pass play u want,
what i wanna know is why does it ask u to choose the way u wanna see the play calling and i select the traditional way or old way and we get stuck with huge play calling screens? if u choose old way it should go back to like the previous yrs look.
This might sound crazy to some, but the new playcall screen is completely ruining this game for me. The constant drop down of the menue when switching formations and the layout is so brutal that it makes it really tough to call plays especially only having 10 seconds when on D.
I really wish the old playcall screen was available because the new one is beyond terrible IMO for people that call plays by formation.
Two 15 min games on all-pro with user sliders lowered and CPU sliders raised and I haven't seen any penalties but the gameplay has been so nice I'm afraid to mess with penalties and possibly affect gameplay
Does anyone know if you and a friend can be on the same team during an offline franchise connected? In Madden 13 they didn't have it and it was a huge bummer. Last year they did allow it and my brother and I could play on the same team. We've done this for about 15 years now and It's about the only mode we can play.
This will determine if I buy the game today or not...
You asked this is the (correct place) QA thread and this question has been answered multiple times. Yes.
Two 15 min games on all-pro with user sliders lowered and CPU sliders raised and I haven't seen any penalties but the gameplay has been so nice I'm afraid to mess with penalties and possibly affect gameplay
I've messed with penalties a ton and they IMO don't do diddly to game play.
They don't even do anything to the penalties for the most part. Well a couple work but that's about it.
i have gave an opinion in another thread but i feel like it was a bit premature
i would still give the game a 7.5 out of 10, would have rated it higher but somethings are broken but i kinda understand
replays... wont make or break the game for me but the camera angles are not good and they replays are fast (read this all over OS and is true) but one needs to think when you do your own replay, how much camera adjustment do you have to do in order to get the right views so i can understand the problem EA has here... 3-6 second replay is probably because we dont have a lot of time to choose a play
I really dislike play calling screen...
I dont like the fact you can see the last play a person has ran
I dont like the UI, especially the vertical tile set up for picking a play... probably because i am use to the horizontal last gen madden but its not a big complaint unless i still feel like this after a month of madden
When playing the CPU I barely have enough time to pick a play... again probably because i am not use the play calling UI but again if its still like that when i get acustom to the game it will be a personal downfall
(these dislikes are no biggie just adjustment issues)
Animations
Still a little glitchy at times but thats being nit picky
one play i the CPU RB was coming out the backfield and my CB was trying to make a tackle , the tackle was broken and my SS made the tackle, the thing that happened was the CB was still in the tackling animation (and it was an animation where its kinda like fighting for yards so that made it worst) but that was the only instance
Up tempo no huddle offense is amazing, i love the no wasted motions with the guys on the field
I like how it takes you to the play call screen, overall really nice and smooth
graphics
they are top notch, huge difference from M25 and definitely one of the few games that has showed real next gen graphics (IMO on the X1), i have froza and titan fall and few free arcade games that were really nice graphically (only fraza 5 really wowed me like M15)
you notice it the graphics with the zoomed camera angles
the Menu UI
for CFM its basically the samething (not a bad thing) but i wasnt a big fan of it to begin with, i could careless for these tile UI's
basically the same menus for most of the games
the running game is really nice, sometimes feel little loose and skating on ice when you have a really good agile RB.
I love how the momentum of the players running feels
the passing defense is refreshing, zones play good not great, but it really depends on the zone and awareness ratings of your individual players in the respective zones
man is my first preference and plays good (but man having a team like the browns, man scheme defenses are going to be beastly)
running defense is nice, have to be patient choose what gaps to hit or if your going to wait til the RB gets your level, over pursuing or getting caught up in the mix of blockers are high possibilities
i like the improving proportions of the game
the field actually feels the size of a football field and not a big playground, player models fit IMO, could slim down on the skill players (hate using that word)
the blocking are good but not great...ratings play a big part in this also, like i am in the preseason so when i have my starters in they the oline is pretty good , so QB hurries but respectable....when my 2nd and 3rd strings are in i notice what people are complaining about, i have a couple of mid to high 50 overall rated OL and low 60's and seen when there was noone in the vicinity of them they just stand there (but i think thats a low awareness kind of thing) now if my starters or decent OL does that then i would be mad, even though noone in the NFL is that dumb.
i noticed the suction tackles but its not as bad as the older maddens (M12 and older)
i played one online game and 4 preseason games
so my review is kinda skewed because i only played 8 qtrs of go hard 1st offense and defense ball but has left me with a taste of good can be great.
a step above any other madden released, patches will fix the few broken things and glitches
the presentation short comings are not enough to over shadow the steps foward to it which should go for every other aspect of the game
no matter what, you can nit pick anything out of a game, you have to enjoy it for what it is and give constructive real criticism that madden has seemingly been listening to the past 2 yrs.
ratings are opinion based so you cant really complain about that
the schemes are still not the greatest and i dont like the fact there still isnt any position coaches are annoying and idk if you can pick your captains but doesnt seem to be there
oh yeah and cfm practice is dissapointing, like game prep great idea but needs to built up more
such as in game drills you can barely do because you dont have enough hours to spend
hours left over do not carry over to the next week
can be overpowered but focusing on a few players
and they took out practice
my big thing is that the field feels more compact and it impacts defensive zone plays (in a good way)
the game feels very smooth and fluid
(im gaming on the x1)
for those trying to figure out what system to get it on, is really just the matter of what controller you would prefer because these are just ports of each other.....
full of potential and will be getting updates probably week to week
(those saying they released a broken game, would you like them to push it back and we complain and cry or release something that is close and they can be updated, gotta be greatful for how gaming took a turn)
MUT i can careless about, matter of fact i feel like it takes away from the game because it is a nonsense useless money grabbing mode for ppl who are really not that good in madden (just the mut players that i ran in to or know)
i'd say trash that and focus on cfm more or gameplay or even their superstar mode (idk what they call it now)
my opinions can change by the end of the week because i havent even played a regular season game let alone game out against users....
Alright just flipped it, pretty damn cool entrance. The only thing that's slightly annoyed me right now in a short period of time playing is there seems to be a massive delay when you want to get an overlook of your routes on the field pressing R2, kinda annoying since I use it a lot.
I'm not ready to officially say this game is great, but I've seen some really realistic stuff that has me excited to dive in deep. I will elaborate later
Other than choppiness in my digital version I'm very intrigued so far
I'm not ready to officially say this game is great, but I've seen some really realistic stuff that has me excited to dive in deep. I will elaborate later
Other than choppiness in my digital version I'm very intrigued so far
I'm now into the 4th quarter, everything on default. zero penalties. not a one.
oh yea and the no pass interference is annoying probably missed 3-4 calls in my 5 games
that killed a few drives for me and made me feel salty
lol sorry another addition the qb inaccuracy thing is real
flacco missed a few throws (kinda gets me mad because they highly underrated flacco's accuracy this yr, idc how bad of his completion pct was last yr)
but my backs ups tyrod taylor and wenning were just putrid, will def have to dink and dunk with them to be successful