Doug C

OG Madden gamer here been playing since 89, my favorite year was 99 on the PS1. This year’s edition overall I am giving 3 stars. Its not out of the box bad like prior years where rosters were terribly inaccurate and the game was bug laden. The noticeable changes I see are throwing dynamics and a revamped running game. More emphasis has been placed on ratings matching skill but with a catch. I’ve noticed that you will play games where the AI does not match the team’s ability. You will go from throwing 5 TDs in one game with relative ease against a decent defense and then play a team with a lower defense rating and take sacks, fumble, and throw a ton of picks. Not 2 or 3 picks but like 6-7. This can be annoying. The running game is better as runners can break free from arm tackles but again with a catch. If you have the option of pressing a button to break free, you are inevitably getting tackled for a loss because other tacklers get there before you break free. Also long runs are generally a thing of the past in this edition as you get caught from behind regardless of speed rating. So far the biggest glitch I have noticed is at the end of the game it crashes and starts over eliminating the franchise game you just played. This seems to be an annual event with each edition so you would think EA had this figured out by now. Overall though, once the bugs get worked out it is a good year. Not too bad