If you play Madden I’m sorry for you. No other fans have
been subjected to such lazy and rushed game development than Madden fans. Every
year since EA bought the exclusive rights to make NFL games, the game comes
with an extensive list of issues and a severe lack of polish for 59.99. The
games never necessarily had bad game play but for a game that’s been worked on
for almost three decades, it’s completely unacceptable the state Madden is in. With
that in mind, let’s look at the Madden series over the past couple years and what
could be improved on in Madden 2013.
Game Engine –
The real issue with Madden is that it is a PS2 game running with HD graphics.
There’s only so much the developers can do with a game engine that’s over 10
years old at this point. This explains why nothing is ever really changed but
just slightly tweaked from year to year. It’s also why Madden still can’t
include real gang tackling because that would require them to rewrite the whole
game. While EA made the invisible wall you used to run into before you got
tackled less noticeable, it’s still there because the game relies on preset
animations for every play. Maybe
sometime in our lives EA will scrap this old game engine and start a new
because the game certainly plays like a 10 year old game in its current state.
There is a 0% chance they adopt a new engine while still making the game for
Xbox 360 and PS3.
Gameplay - This
has remained stagnant since the jump to Xbox 360 and PS3 and outside of a few
tweaks here and there, I can’t see the gameplay being remarkably different.
This is a problem because the gameplay every year just seems to be further and
further removed from the game you watch on TV. There are so many things I find
wrong with the gameplay from Madden 2012 I put them in a nice little list.
1. Linebackers jump like Michael Jordan in coverage and
magically swat down passes they don’t even see.
2. Most tackles involve the tackler being completely
horizontal when tackling and gang tackles still don’t really exist.
3. Receivers either make an incredible sideline catch or
don’t even bother trying to stay in bounds.
4. It rains ridiculously hard way too frequently. (Especially
in Franchise)
5. The computer still cannot manage the clock at all.
They automatically take a timeout with a minute to go regardless of the
situation and will kick field goals with 25 seconds left on the clock.
6. The best blockers in football just will stop and do
nothing on some plays.
7. Screen plays work about 1 out of 15 times doing them.
8. Play action seems to work based on luck rather than
establishing the run and never works on All-Madden.
9. Cornerbacks defy physics to jump routes then drop the
interception.
10. Apparently instant replays do not exist in “Authentic
NFL Broadcasts.”
11. Special teams are just completely unrealistic. Fair
catches are called for no reason and I’ve never seen the AI miss a field goal.
Don’t get me wrong. Playing Madden against other people
is still as fun of an experience as it was a decade ago but it’s not at all a
different experience. While these complaints are minor in some cases, you’d
think a game running on the same game engine since 2001 would not have
inexcusable things like terrible AI. I would like to see EA fix some of these
issues at the very least but they probably will not.
Game Modes –
There is absolutely no excuse for Madden today to have less game modes than it had in the past. It seems every time it moves to a new console they strip all the features of the game and slowly reintroduce them as "brand new," like they never existed in the first place. Madden is great to pick up and play with a friend or
against a stranger online but its game modes just feel so half-assed. I will comment on the Superstar and Franchise modes as I feel those are the crux of the game.
Superstar-
Superstar mode in Madden 2012 is atrocious and that’s being kind. These game
modes are awesome in NBA 2k and MLB: The Show but EA apparently doesn’t care
what the rest of the industry is doing. Hopefully Madden 2013 will make the
mode not as completely boring and broken as it was in 2012. Literally, all you
do in the current mode is play the games and improve your player. Your coaches
play calling makes no sense because the AI in the game is atrocious, no matter what your player is a starter so there is no competing for a roster spot or doing anything an up and coming NFL player would have to do, and worst of all your attributes advance way
too quickly and never based on how your player is actually doing.
For instance, I made a running back for the New York Giants in Madden
2012. He was a 65 overall but he was starting over Jacobs and Bradshaw for
absolutely no reason. After practices and pre-season where he hardly touched the
ball despite being the de-facto starter he was ranked a 70 but with ridiculously
high speed and acceleration. He did nothing to earn getting better yet he kept
getting reward points because the Giants offense was doing well. Also, despite
the Giants turning into a passing team this year everyone knows there’s no way
they just wouldn't run the ball, which seemed to be the case for my player. By the end of the year the Giants won
14 games and he finished with 1,100 yards on 8.2 yards a carry, yet never got
more touches. The Giants won the Super Bowl and there wasn't even a wrap up of
how I did that year, it was just all the sudden the next season. Here’s a game
mode that doesn't reward you or make you feel like you’re doing anything but
wasting time.
Come on EA, this is unacceptable. Make this mode have
something. Contracts, endorsements, roster spot battles, trades, player
customization, or really anything substantial would make it better. I
haven’t played this mode since Madden 2006 and I remember it being far more
robust then. Why even keep it in the game if it’s going to be worse than it was
several years ago?
Franchise – I
remember when they added an Owner mode to Madden that allowed you to run the
business side of the team as well as the general manager side of things.
Apparently we weren’t smart enough to handle this so what we have in Madden now
is just a Franchise mode. This Franchise mode isn’t broken but it’s just
lifeless. Yeah, they did add some stuff like pre-season player cuts, player
roles, a free agent bidding process, and some improved player scouting but none
of it really seems special. EA always adds features that existed in past
iterations and touts them as brand new, and that’s what the “upgraded” Franchise mode seems like to me. The Franchise mode isn’t bad but let’s look at
a few ways they could make it better.
1. There’s a 10 year limit to Franchise. I don’t
typically play that long but what if you wanted a rookie to break an NFL
record. Is there any reason to limit the amount of years you can play at all?
2. The NCAA draft class import feature is full of
glitches. I renamed several players their real names in NCAA and they were not
there in the draft class. I never remember having problems with this in the past.
3. They added player roles but there’s still no indicator
on how your team is getting along. Teammate chemistry is so important in the
NFL I can’t believe this hasn’t ever been added.
4. You have to scout a player to figure out their Combine
statistics. Wouldn’t this just be readily available stuff for any general
manager? They apparently don’t have NFL Network.
5. There are still no restricted free agents, practice
squads, computer trades outside of draft day, or rational pre-season
substitutions. (Hakim Nicks got hurt playing safety in the 4th
quarter in one of my pre-season games...that can't happen.)
Presentation- This
is where Madden really need to improve. Despite focusing on presentation Madden
2012 was one of the most lifeless games I’ve ever played. The announcing
absolutely needs to be addressed and apparently is being totally reworked this
year. The stadium PA broadcaster is somehow worse as it sounds like EA used a
robot that was recorded inside of a bathroom for this voice. While they added
introductions for every team, they all feel similar and fail to really encapsulate
the excitement before a game. (Probably due to the robot in the bathroom
announcing the whole thing) Just play one game of any other sports game right
now and it feels more authentic and exciting than even a playoff game in
Madden. Every presentation touch EA has
in Madden right now can be skipped over without feeling like you’re interfering
with the experience at all.
Madden in its current state is not a bad game. It’s just
not an acceptable one for how long they’ve been working on these games. I hope
in Madden 2013 I won’t feel like old Maddens had more features or better
gameplay as I’ve felt the past few years. I really doubt anything will change
however, because it doesn’t seem like EA actually cares about improving the
game at all. I hope that all the changes they’re going to bring in this year
will actually address the issues I stated above and not just be used as hype to
sell the game.
The entire product at this point just seems like a cash
grab and that’s probably why EA is subject to such criticism. There just isn’t
enough of an improvement from year to year and it seems like they introduce
features every year that will sell the game and not necessarily improve it. I
didn’t purchase Madden 2011 and wish I never purchased Madden 2012. I hope
Madden 2013 will change my feelings towards this series but I very much doubt
it will.
