The Madden 15 (early) Access started today which brought with it the embargo lift preventing those with retail versions of the game from streaming it. I, and many others, spent a good portion of our day watching streams from one of those fortunate few that got the game early. I thought I would share my impressions. Feel free to share yours as well!
The Good
I love the new skills trainers. You can now use the trainer to learn how to read defenses and how to beat them. You can also practice different route combinations (like the curl flat) to better dissect a defense. I think that will be a huge benefit for gaming in general but even more so for leagues like ours. People can now learn how to play the game correctly and not just try to find the glitch or AI flaw to exploit to be able to compete. It won't eliminate all of it but will help a great deal I believe.
The graphics overall look good and have been refined. Personally, I thought Madden 25 looked pretty good, but Madden 15 gets just that much better. Sometimes it can be hard to distinguish between being a video game and watching a real life NFL game. That just helps to immerse you in the experience.
The new halftime show is decent but not spectacular. It is cool that they will reference different plays form the same drive. But there also isn't a ton of variety to it either. Its a nice feature and a step in the right direction, but minimalist at best.
The Bad
The commentary seems pretty much untouched. Its not horrible but it is becoming stale. I would have liked to see them rework that more.
Some of the shadows from the lighting on the uniforms looked also kind of splotchy. I had limited exposure to just the right type of lighting that caused it but, at times, it felt like the color was splotched on rather than an actual shadow. Could have been the stream or an isolated incident though...
The Ugly
Although I like the new defensive camera and the D-line interactions, the whole "perfect" release messages as well as which buttons to push seems very arcade-like. Hopefully this is an option that can be turned off as it took away from the rest of the game that had a much more authentic feel.
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Overall I am hyped for the game. I liked Madden 25 and think Madden 15 is going to be even better. However, you may need to temper your expectations. As we've seen from Electronic Arts lately, they make improvements, but they are rarely earth shattering. Go into Madden 15 without expecting it to blow you away and I think you'll likely be happy with the release.
The Good
I love the new skills trainers. You can now use the trainer to learn how to read defenses and how to beat them. You can also practice different route combinations (like the curl flat) to better dissect a defense. I think that will be a huge benefit for gaming in general but even more so for leagues like ours. People can now learn how to play the game correctly and not just try to find the glitch or AI flaw to exploit to be able to compete. It won't eliminate all of it but will help a great deal I believe.
The graphics overall look good and have been refined. Personally, I thought Madden 25 looked pretty good, but Madden 15 gets just that much better. Sometimes it can be hard to distinguish between being a video game and watching a real life NFL game. That just helps to immerse you in the experience.
The new halftime show is decent but not spectacular. It is cool that they will reference different plays form the same drive. But there also isn't a ton of variety to it either. Its a nice feature and a step in the right direction, but minimalist at best.
The Bad
The commentary seems pretty much untouched. Its not horrible but it is becoming stale. I would have liked to see them rework that more.
Some of the shadows from the lighting on the uniforms looked also kind of splotchy. I had limited exposure to just the right type of lighting that caused it but, at times, it felt like the color was splotched on rather than an actual shadow. Could have been the stream or an isolated incident though...
The Ugly
Although I like the new defensive camera and the D-line interactions, the whole "perfect" release messages as well as which buttons to push seems very arcade-like. Hopefully this is an option that can be turned off as it took away from the rest of the game that had a much more authentic feel.
-----------------------------
Overall I am hyped for the game. I liked Madden 25 and think Madden 15 is going to be even better. However, you may need to temper your expectations. As we've seen from Electronic Arts lately, they make improvements, but they are rarely earth shattering. Go into Madden 15 without expecting it to blow you away and I think you'll likely be happy with the release.
