Home
Madden NFL 17 News Post



One of the biggest challenges facing sports game developers is adding new game mechanics to keep the game fresh while moving towards greater control and realism. The goal is to do all that while keeping the game accessible for the batch of players experiencing the series for the first time.

Anyone who has had a friend who wanted to play a friendly head-to-head matchup but has never played the game knows the struggle. “L2 is the precision modifier,” you try to explain. “There are approximately 42 different skill-move combos you can pull off with it.” Meanwhile, your friend accidentally laterals the ball back to no one in particular on an HB Dive play.

It’s tough to be a newb. But Madden has made the learning curve as soft as possible with its excellent (though not entirely new) Skills Trainer mode, along with a practice mode that boasts some great options that make it so useful you’ll often hear some of the best Madden players in the world frequently refer to it as “The Lab.”

Read More - Madden's Skill Trainer Sets the Standard for Tutorial Modes

Game: Madden NFL 17Reader Score: 8/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes for game: 17 - View All
Member Comments
# 1 scottyp180 @ 10/19/16 11:51 AM
Don't even need to read this article. 100% agree. I don't think I've ever played a game, sports or otherwise, that makes it easy and fun to learn both basic and advanced skills. There is a little something for everyone. Never played the series before? Easily learn the basics skills needed to play and enjoy the game. Are you a more advanced player that struggles on higher difficulties? Learn new strategies for both offense and defense to take your game to the next level.

What's also great is that you learn actual football knowledge as well. You'll learn more about different defense schemes and offensive strategies
 
# 2 BleedGreen710 @ 10/19/16 01:35 PM
I love the skills trainer and definitely wish other sports game had something similar. for example in nba 2k I dont have much basketball knowledge (more of a football guy) and I could really use a skills trainer like madden's. the alternative is i have to go into practice mode and keep looking at the control configuration and trying to master all the different moves and combos without ever really knowing if im doing them right.
 
# 3 Retropyro @ 10/19/16 02:08 PM
Madden definitely deserves credit for the excellent job they've done with Skills Trainer.
 
# 4 augmental @ 10/19/16 02:15 PM
I still think it is MUCH easier to block a punt or extra point in the skills trainer than in an actual game, but it is a nice setup that they have in order to learn how to play the game.
 
# 5 4thQtrStre5S @ 10/19/16 02:25 PM
Skills TRainer is great; my only improvement I would like to see, at this point, is for practice mode to show the plays art after each play when you use the "Random" play option to practice against.

I use "Random" because it is faster than loading a new play every few snaps..And if I saw the play art after every play during random play selection, I could take note of plays that I liked and go further into practicing with those plays, faster than loading each individual play.
 
# 6 335TDC @ 10/19/16 02:30 PM
2K, are you LISTENING?

But I suppose things like defensive rotations have to actually WORK in order to have skills trainers on them...
 
# 7 BadAssHskr @ 10/19/16 02:40 PM
I'll have to check it out. I've never even opened it up, which probably explains my 0-4 going on 0-5 start, as im at the half down 21-0.
 
# 8 Alfie @ 10/19/16 03:40 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by 4thQtrStre5S
Skills TRainer is great; my only improvement I would like to see, at this point, is for practice mode to show the plays art after each play when you use the "Random" play option to practice against.

I use "Random" because it is faster than loading a new play every few snaps..And if I saw the play art after every play during random play selection, I could take note of plays that I liked and go further into practicing with those plays, faster than loading each individual play.
This. It would be a great addition if Madden shows the play Defense played when you are in practice mode and are facing "Random" defense. I'm surprised why they don't have it already since the plays selected by O and d are shown in the actual game.
 
# 9 BleedGreen710 @ 10/19/16 04:38 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by augmental
I still think it is MUCH easier to block a punt or extra point in the skills trainer than in an actual game, but it is a nice setup that they have in order to learn how to play the game.
the drills are made to be automatic as long as u press the right buttons. for example, in the punt block drill all u have to do is press turbo and you will break through the line everytime. its not meant to accurately portray punt blocking in an actual game.
 
# 10 Essex Blue @ 10/20/16 10:22 AM
Not only did Skill Trainer teach me a lot about Madden it has taught me a huge amount about football over the last couple of years.

I've tried a few times to get into MLB The Show and the NBA 2K series but the lack of a skills trainer make them so much less accessible than Madden is. I really think anyone could pick up Madden and understand the basics very quickly.
 
# 11 servo75 @ 12/29/16 02:09 AM
My problem is that it's too "cookbook" Very little explanation, just tells you what buttons to press and when to press them. The training mode is insultingly easy and doesn't prepare you for real games. Gives you no credit for completing to the "wrong" receiver, but makes you force it downfield and then says "fail" when your guy drops it completely. I like the idea of the skills trainer but "setting the standard"? Not even close.
 
# 12 Cnada @ 12/30/16 02:15 AM
Agreed with you 100%

Skill trainer is brilliant. Its the first thing I do in the new editions to learn the new stuff.

Gaunlet is so much fun

Only thing on wish list would be the H2H mode from old days.

Use to play against friends heaps, very fun
 

Post A Comment
Only OS members can post comments
Please login or register to post a comment.