Overall Grade: B+
The new season of Madden NFL is upon us. For some, the kickoff to #MaddenSeason is better than Christmas. There are new features to test out, new modes to experiences and new players on new teams to explore. Before you head out to pick up your copy of Madden 16, we're going to give you an overview of what to expect for Madden 16.
Gameplay
The most important aspect to any video game is the gameplay so we will start there. Madden 16 adds in the new Air Supremacy feature which focuses on the interactions between receivers and defensive players. This year EA added aggressive, RAC (run after catch) and possession catches to the offensive arsenal. On defense, you now have the option to play the ball (try to intercept or swat the pass) or to play the receiver (make a tackle and try to knock the ball out). The Early Access response to these features has been mixed but there is still something for everyone.
When you jump into an online head-to-head match or heads up match in the new Draft Champions mode you are going to see your typical "lobby ball" type of gameplay. Aggressive catch is going to feel overpowered for some of the top wide receivers like Calvin Johnson and Dez Bryant. You're also going to notice some issues with defensive coverage and some erratic safety play. Don't fret however as it seems these issues are mostly contained to these modes. CFM (Connected Franchise) seems to play entirely different.
I'm not sure of the exact reasoning, but it appears EA purposely made things less realistic and less "sim" in the online H2H modes. Meanwhile, the franchise mode seems to be far more balanced and realistic in its gameplay. A possibly explanation is that it is a marketing tool. That EA wants the spectacular catches to be easy to get so that people will share videos and screenshots on Twitter and Facebook. Another possible explanation is that making it "easier" and neutering some of the more advanced gameplay mechanics appeals to a wider audience and keeps new or casual fans more engrossed in the game longer. That also makes sense as the depth of realism could certainly overwhelm the less experienced player.
For those that are experienced sim players and looking for the most realistic football experience possible, I think we are as close as we've ever come to getting that wish in Madden 16. Within Connected Franchise, the gameplay feels much, much more fluid and responsive than Madden 15. Man coverage works much more realistically and zone coverage has been improved. Aggressive catches still work, but may actually favor the defender (which isn't necessarily unrealistic). We may certainly uncover issues along the way but, from the initial testing, things are much improved on Madden 16 in regards to CFM. Add in improved run blocking, defensive pursuit angles and improved QB and RB animations and we're set up to have the very best Madden game to date in terms of gameplay.
Connected Franchise
To many, a game's franchise mode is a close second behind gameplay in terms of value and importance. That's certainly true here with our leagues utilizing the feature. With the numerous improvements to gameplay along with a new scouting system, free practice with your CFM team, new game and drive based goals and the addition of a player card with player attributes when bidding on free agents, CFM is certainly looking as strong as it has since debuting the feature a few years ago.
Scouting is the one feature that received the biggest overhaul for Madden 16 in CFM. This year EA tried to add in some fog of war as I like to say to hide some of the attributes from the user's view. Now when scouting you only have access to that player's top three skill specific attributes. You will also get things like 40 time and bench press results after the combine (three weeks after the Super Bowl). At first it will be kind of unsettling as you have less control over what attributes you unlock. Give it time though as I think it now makes it far more difficult to load up on good players in the draft. Just because a player has a 1st round grade doesn't mean he's going to be a star. Also, you can still find guys in the middle rounds who could very easily be worthy of a 1st round pick. You are just going to have to take a leap of faith on some and will probably strike out here and there (which is more realistic).
You also get to practice with your team in CFM for the first time in many years. Gone are the days of signing a big free agent or drafting an impact rookie and having to learn how they play during games. Now you can take your team out onto the practice field with your playbook and learn how to best utilize those players in your scheme. Along those lines, game prep is now more practice oriented as well. Doing the actual drills during game prep is the only way to get full XP each week. You can no longer just click buttons and add 1,000 XP. The game makes you improve at certain game specific drills to earn XP for your players. That's a positive as well. Gone are the days of only playing your games and button clicking your rookie quarterback to 99 OVR in a couple of seasons. You gotta work for those points in Madden 16
Draft Champions
Honestly, this is a fantastic mode. It is a ton of fun and very well put together. You get to "draft" 15 players of NFL stars and former NFL superstars. You will be given the choice of three players each round to choose from and they will be different every time that you draft so the combinations are endless. You might pick Chip Kelly as your coach but then get a heavy dose of defensive players, tight ends and pocket quarterbacks. But that is ok because it forces you to think outside the box and see how to best utilize the teams you have drafted within the playbook that you have. The players you are given is balanced too. You get a good variety of players at all positions so if you wind up with three running backs or three free safeties, that's really just bad drafting on your part.
The downside is the gameplay. As I mentioned earlier, the gameplay appears to be much different in Draft Champions than it is in Connected Franchise. Maybe that's because Draft Champions is set to Pro or rookie and we were playing CFM on All-Pro. I do not know for sure. But the gameplay will drive you crazy after awhile if you prefer the realistic version of football. That being said, it is still an extremely fun mode and the crazy gameplay just gives you an opportunity to test out new coverages and practice your skills user controlling players in coverage.
Madden Ultimate Team
MUT has been a huge addition to the series ever since it's inception a few years ago. I don't know the specific numbers, but it has been reported that MUT and other Ultimate Team mode games make up a majority of EA's game based revenues now. Some people do not like that as they claim it is a "money grab" but it has been successful for EA and a large portion of Madden players enjoy the mode even if in small increments. This year MUT got a face lift with a slick new logo and a fresh coat of paint on the menus. Other than that though, the mode remains mostly unchanged from last year. I'm not sure what more that they could do with the mode so that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm sure there are new and unique solo challenges and that we will see a plethora of different cards sets to delight our card collecting sensibilities. For the most part though, this mode will be familiar and easy to navigate for anyone who has spent a reasonable amount of time with it before.
Final Analysis
I wavered on whether to give Madden 16 a B or a B+ mostly because of the gameplay issues that I encountered when playing Draft Champions. I also know that as we play and the newness wears off we will uncover some issues that we did not notice initially. However, I settled on a B+ because of how much better playing a CFM game was. I really enjoyed watching my defenders move and flow to the ball more realistically. I love the new animations (although I can already feel myself tiring of the OBJ one-handed catch animation) and the improved blocking. I think the new XP and stat pop ups may get annoying after awhile but they are fresh and appeal to my inner stat junkie.
I also love that they added a new mode like Draft Champions and seem to have done it very well even if they dumbed down the gameplay. This feels like a very solid game overall. Many of the issues from last year were improved and they seemed to try something new to appeal to a wide range of fans. While it might not quite be where it can be and some will surely find things they use to justify picking the game apart, I think it is as good as just about any other sports game out there. I also can tell that the devs at EA are listening to the community and trying to give us everything that we want. I also believe that there is a solid foundation to build form that allows tthe devs to more easily upgrade and update things than we saw on the PS3/360. Which all adds up to a very good and fun game and one that I think most of us will enjoy well into the real life NFL playoffs and beyond.
The new season of Madden NFL is upon us. For some, the kickoff to #MaddenSeason is better than Christmas. There are new features to test out, new modes to experiences and new players on new teams to explore. Before you head out to pick up your copy of Madden 16, we're going to give you an overview of what to expect for Madden 16.
Gameplay
The most important aspect to any video game is the gameplay so we will start there. Madden 16 adds in the new Air Supremacy feature which focuses on the interactions between receivers and defensive players. This year EA added aggressive, RAC (run after catch) and possession catches to the offensive arsenal. On defense, you now have the option to play the ball (try to intercept or swat the pass) or to play the receiver (make a tackle and try to knock the ball out). The Early Access response to these features has been mixed but there is still something for everyone.
When you jump into an online head-to-head match or heads up match in the new Draft Champions mode you are going to see your typical "lobby ball" type of gameplay. Aggressive catch is going to feel overpowered for some of the top wide receivers like Calvin Johnson and Dez Bryant. You're also going to notice some issues with defensive coverage and some erratic safety play. Don't fret however as it seems these issues are mostly contained to these modes. CFM (Connected Franchise) seems to play entirely different.
I'm not sure of the exact reasoning, but it appears EA purposely made things less realistic and less "sim" in the online H2H modes. Meanwhile, the franchise mode seems to be far more balanced and realistic in its gameplay. A possibly explanation is that it is a marketing tool. That EA wants the spectacular catches to be easy to get so that people will share videos and screenshots on Twitter and Facebook. Another possible explanation is that making it "easier" and neutering some of the more advanced gameplay mechanics appeals to a wider audience and keeps new or casual fans more engrossed in the game longer. That also makes sense as the depth of realism could certainly overwhelm the less experienced player.
For those that are experienced sim players and looking for the most realistic football experience possible, I think we are as close as we've ever come to getting that wish in Madden 16. Within Connected Franchise, the gameplay feels much, much more fluid and responsive than Madden 15. Man coverage works much more realistically and zone coverage has been improved. Aggressive catches still work, but may actually favor the defender (which isn't necessarily unrealistic). We may certainly uncover issues along the way but, from the initial testing, things are much improved on Madden 16 in regards to CFM. Add in improved run blocking, defensive pursuit angles and improved QB and RB animations and we're set up to have the very best Madden game to date in terms of gameplay.
Connected Franchise
To many, a game's franchise mode is a close second behind gameplay in terms of value and importance. That's certainly true here with our leagues utilizing the feature. With the numerous improvements to gameplay along with a new scouting system, free practice with your CFM team, new game and drive based goals and the addition of a player card with player attributes when bidding on free agents, CFM is certainly looking as strong as it has since debuting the feature a few years ago.
Scouting is the one feature that received the biggest overhaul for Madden 16 in CFM. This year EA tried to add in some fog of war as I like to say to hide some of the attributes from the user's view. Now when scouting you only have access to that player's top three skill specific attributes. You will also get things like 40 time and bench press results after the combine (three weeks after the Super Bowl). At first it will be kind of unsettling as you have less control over what attributes you unlock. Give it time though as I think it now makes it far more difficult to load up on good players in the draft. Just because a player has a 1st round grade doesn't mean he's going to be a star. Also, you can still find guys in the middle rounds who could very easily be worthy of a 1st round pick. You are just going to have to take a leap of faith on some and will probably strike out here and there (which is more realistic).
You also get to practice with your team in CFM for the first time in many years. Gone are the days of signing a big free agent or drafting an impact rookie and having to learn how they play during games. Now you can take your team out onto the practice field with your playbook and learn how to best utilize those players in your scheme. Along those lines, game prep is now more practice oriented as well. Doing the actual drills during game prep is the only way to get full XP each week. You can no longer just click buttons and add 1,000 XP. The game makes you improve at certain game specific drills to earn XP for your players. That's a positive as well. Gone are the days of only playing your games and button clicking your rookie quarterback to 99 OVR in a couple of seasons. You gotta work for those points in Madden 16
Draft Champions
Honestly, this is a fantastic mode. It is a ton of fun and very well put together. You get to "draft" 15 players of NFL stars and former NFL superstars. You will be given the choice of three players each round to choose from and they will be different every time that you draft so the combinations are endless. You might pick Chip Kelly as your coach but then get a heavy dose of defensive players, tight ends and pocket quarterbacks. But that is ok because it forces you to think outside the box and see how to best utilize the teams you have drafted within the playbook that you have. The players you are given is balanced too. You get a good variety of players at all positions so if you wind up with three running backs or three free safeties, that's really just bad drafting on your part.
The downside is the gameplay. As I mentioned earlier, the gameplay appears to be much different in Draft Champions than it is in Connected Franchise. Maybe that's because Draft Champions is set to Pro or rookie and we were playing CFM on All-Pro. I do not know for sure. But the gameplay will drive you crazy after awhile if you prefer the realistic version of football. That being said, it is still an extremely fun mode and the crazy gameplay just gives you an opportunity to test out new coverages and practice your skills user controlling players in coverage.
Madden Ultimate Team
MUT has been a huge addition to the series ever since it's inception a few years ago. I don't know the specific numbers, but it has been reported that MUT and other Ultimate Team mode games make up a majority of EA's game based revenues now. Some people do not like that as they claim it is a "money grab" but it has been successful for EA and a large portion of Madden players enjoy the mode even if in small increments. This year MUT got a face lift with a slick new logo and a fresh coat of paint on the menus. Other than that though, the mode remains mostly unchanged from last year. I'm not sure what more that they could do with the mode so that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm sure there are new and unique solo challenges and that we will see a plethora of different cards sets to delight our card collecting sensibilities. For the most part though, this mode will be familiar and easy to navigate for anyone who has spent a reasonable amount of time with it before.
Final Analysis
I wavered on whether to give Madden 16 a B or a B+ mostly because of the gameplay issues that I encountered when playing Draft Champions. I also know that as we play and the newness wears off we will uncover some issues that we did not notice initially. However, I settled on a B+ because of how much better playing a CFM game was. I really enjoyed watching my defenders move and flow to the ball more realistically. I love the new animations (although I can already feel myself tiring of the OBJ one-handed catch animation) and the improved blocking. I think the new XP and stat pop ups may get annoying after awhile but they are fresh and appeal to my inner stat junkie.
I also love that they added a new mode like Draft Champions and seem to have done it very well even if they dumbed down the gameplay. This feels like a very solid game overall. Many of the issues from last year were improved and they seemed to try something new to appeal to a wide range of fans. While it might not quite be where it can be and some will surely find things they use to justify picking the game apart, I think it is as good as just about any other sports game out there. I also can tell that the devs at EA are listening to the community and trying to give us everything that we want. I also believe that there is a solid foundation to build form that allows tthe devs to more easily upgrade and update things than we saw on the PS3/360. Which all adds up to a very good and fun game and one that I think most of us will enjoy well into the real life NFL playoffs and beyond.
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