Without even reading one iota of material on this year’s Madden, I could see in the first 20 minutes of gameplay what the big deal was with this year’s football game — simplicity. The game sports a simple system of throwing, catching and defending. It focuses on what we already know to be natural, intuitive controls, and enhances those gameplay abilities into something that matters when playing. As someone who is not the most diehard fan of the series, meaning that I don’t play every waking moment — I don’t have a lot of time, I do appreciate how EA Tiburon has pulled back a bit on complicated control schemes and finger magic to make the game work, and work well. For example, I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that my receiver can bring in a pass by hitting the triangle button. If I’m a receiver, that means that I have a better chance of catching a pass thrown over my head or in traffic, though the risk of getting the snot knocked out of me because it opens up my player’s body is quite high. A nice reward/consequence to think about when finding a receiver to throw to in the game. Regardless, a simplistic improvement over what generally is a complicated, must-have-good-timing style of gameplay.
The single button option in the game allows non-hardcore football players the chance to play with the big boys in the game. Who can fault Tiburon for trying to make an easier experience? I’m sure plenty will, but this type of button simplicity certainly makes the game far more appealing to a wider audience than the usual try-hards, and far more appealing to this reviewer.
Of course, the simplistic controls don’t stop with just the receiver. Tiburon added more of a push for people getting tackled (pressing square) that allows them to continue to run/dig, which gives the player a chance to break away. It provides more of a second chance to keep the momentum going, while also offering up the sense that every play can go for more yards. Of course, you always run the risk of getting the ball stripped and what not, but the fact that they make it easy, and tempting, really does bode well for the gameplay. It adds just a bit more action into the gameplay mix.
Other improvements on the gameplay side include an easier, more responsive way for the quarterback to throw the ball (bullet, lob, etc.). When EA can make Johnny Manziel out as the next Joe Montana because of throwing mechanics, you know things are good (maybe not realistic, but I’m a pessimistic Browns’ fan). I played Manziel in the career portion of the Franchise mode, and the guy was just getting the ball in the right place the majority of his time. The passes were more precise, easier to control and everything just felt like it worked well. Not having a nervous feeling about how the pass is going to come out is a good thing when you’re trying to get into the game.
The same could be said about the defensive side of the ball, though the one-touch button controls weren’t as obvious, but the gang tackling and the less clunkiness from previous Madden titles had been enormously improved or eliminated. Breaking an offensive line to sack a QB or take down a running back is a lot smoother and less patterned this time around. In the past, the defense would feel like it’s stuck in some preset motion, but this year it feels loose, yet tight. I was happy to blitz and been given a chance to make something happen. That has not always been the case in previous Madden years.
Having said all this, I think the majority of the complainers with these controls are probably going to be the people who have spent their tears and sweat perfecting their Madden gaming abilities. They certainly will hate the fact that Tiburon has evened the playing field without requiring tons of effort and skill. That sounds like a negative comment, but honestly if Tiburon wants to expand their audience even wider, they have to even the playing field just a bit. They do that with the controls and I personally couldn’t be happier. Gaining newer audience members for your game is a huge plus when it comes to continued success. In short, suck it up, try-hards.
Shifting gears to modes, Ultimate and Franchise are business as usual, though Franchise has a nicer reward/goal system intact in comparison to last year’s version. I found it much easier, flashier to keep up with on-the-field goals when it came to Franchise. It was always quite nice to see confidence building goals, such as requiring Manziel to complete four straight passes, which boosts the confidence level of Manziel (and me). Opportunities to earn XP in plays, drives and games was abundant, as well as welcomed. Anyway, the goals were nice to see, as was the presentation of them (big, clear and not hidden away).
The big addition to this year’s modes for Madden NFL 16 was the introduction of Draft Champions. Now, I’m a huge fan of fantasy football. It’s the reason I want to watch all the games during the season and keep up with random players I would otherwise not keep up with on a year-to-year basis. EA Tiburon has basically taken the fantasy football structure, mixed in a bit of Ultimate, then produced something that allows for players to draft random football Gods and put together a team that the player can control on the field. Oh, yeah, you can either go head-to-head with actual other players or just go the CPU route. Adding that human element to a fantasy football structure and putting actual selected players against each other is what makes this one of the more interesting additions to Madden NFL 16. It certainly is one I have enjoyed more than I thought I would. Included in all this is a nice rewards system that follows your progress as you win, rewarding you properly for doing things, such as winning 3-4 games in a row.
Again, this is a solid addition to the game package.
On the presentation side of the field, Madden NFL 16 looks to have finally broken away from choppy, torn graphics in exchange for current generation hardware looks. The players look less stiff, the contact between players is much, much better and the stadium environment is out of this world proper. There are occasions where a player still breaks through the ground with their foot or where there is some slight clipping, but for the most part it’s solid all the way through. I have to give special mention of how Tiburon has improved the crowds.
I saw this last year when the crowds were a bit more rowdy and definitely more responsive to what was going on during the game. When someone scored for the home team, the crowds would go nuts. When someone did something wrong, they would jeer. Tiburon carried those improvements into this year’s game, reworked them a bit and it has paid dividends. For example, when playing against the Steelers, there’s nothing quite like Manziel throwing a bullet pass to Josh Gordon and killing the crowd momentum that Heinz Field was building up. Love it, as it creates some great atmosphere, or absolutely kills it in this case.
Anyway, the presentation for Madden NFL 16 was stepped up this year. Glad to see EA Sports is finally shifting that direction. Can’t wait to see what FIFA looks like.
So, while there isn’t a tremendous amount of reinvention here, EA Tiburon’s Madden NFL 16 took a solid game from last year and made the experience better by working on the little things (controls), adding one big thing (Draft Champions) and refining the looks and atmosphere. They made Madden NFL 16 a worthy purchase for someone looking for a fun, entertaining and addictive football experience. My only thoughts now are, where can they go from here? It will be interesting to see the direction for Madden NFL 17, but in the meantime know that you’re going to get a great football game with Madden NFL 16.
Onto the summary.
