Madden NFL 25 Demo Impressions - RaychelSnr's Blog

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RaychelSnr's Blog

Madden NFL 25 Demo Impressions Stuck

Posted on August 14, 2013 at 11:01 AM.

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After playing both games and the skill trainers within Madden NFL 25, I can honestly say the game is on track to be good again this year. Madden 25 already plays one of the best brands of EA Football to date, but only time will tell if it's amongst the best. Here are some pros and cons:

Pros:

Game feels really good when playing it.
Option plays are executed as well as NCAA.
Clear improvements in Infinity Engine 2.0 -- even better than NCAA in some regards.
The presentation has seen some minor improvements (it feels to me), the big thing is it makes NCAA's presentation look junior varsity by comparison.
Running game has taken that noticeable leap forward that NCAA's did.
Passing game is still solid, but I have concerns about zone defense and pass blocking.
Game speed is faster than NCAA. I don't mind that so much making the jump from NCAA to Madden because it makes the NFL game seem more realistic, as the game is much faster on the pro levels.
The game overall feels much more polished than last year -- which was a mess due to the Infinity Engine tech causing players to do all sorts of crazy things.
The new combo moves, etc. are excellent but if you've been playing NCAA you already know what the gameplay is bringing to a large degree.
AI Playcalling has improved it seems, I feel it was more varied than in years past at least.

Filed under: The I'm Not Sure on This Yet File

The camera angle is farther away than it has been�really just need to get a customizeable camera or several options for players in the game. I didn't mind the camera at all FWIW, but I can see where some won't like it.
The commentary is fine I suppose. I just am rarely impressed with sports game commentary to begin with.
Late Game AI is better? Maybe? I don't know. I had an instance where the cpu successfully ran the clock out, followed by an instance it threw the ball all over the place with the lead under the two minute warning.

Cons:

Line play still needs work, it's impossible to shed blocks.
On that token, the run game is a bit overpowered like in NCAA. If you get a good line, it's all over. You will average 5-6 YPC automatically in this game without slider adjustments and tuning packs.
The zones still need work. I'm hoping next-gen cures this (but we'll see). IMHO the zone defenses work better than in NCAA, as I saw some guys reacting very fast to the play but you still get those one-track-mind players who simply are going one direction away from the action no matter what.
At times the run moves are way too powerful. Frank Gore should never in a million years be able to truck and then stiff arm two NFL LB'ers on consecutive plays the way he did.
While I saw more penalties than in NCAA, they're just not a major part of EA football -- and it's certainly a design decision which isn't changing.
This is a patchable offense but curl routes are way too automatic. I only missed a couple.
The pocket in Madden games has always been a bit of sham and artificially created. Whereas usually OTs should be pushing DEs out away from the play you are relegated to having one of two things happen every play: as both players step back you break free from the OT for a surefire sack or you are locked in a persistent blocking animation the whole play. This is likely something which isn't going to be fixed until next gen (if then). But the DE vs. OT battle is something which has never been done right in any football game ever.

Bottom Line

This is far from a complete pros/cons list (we need to have a review of the full game after all). However, this is the Madden game you should have been expecting -- Madden isn't going anywhere far concerning what the game is. EA Football has a formula which some like and others don't. The engine (this generation) has some clear shortcomings which we will likely never see solved on this crop of consoles. I have some hopes that some of the more nagging issues of this generation will be ironed out in next-gen, but I think even then expecting a magical perfect game of football is expecting way too much.

If you have liked Madden in this generation, I feel that this year's game is likely going to be one of the better ones especially with a patch or two and a good slider set to balance out some of the quirks. Madden NFL 25 on current-gen consoles isn't going to change many people's mind, but the game appears to have moved forward again this year.

Right now, if you have been a fan of Madden's in the past this is probably a buy for you. If you are on the other side of the fence, you likely should steer clear of this franchise until next-gen consoles...at least.

Comments

# 1 ianlast @ Aug 14

I would put the read option plays under "Cons". I was ripping off 30-40 yard gains consistently, especially when keeping. Its effectiveness needs to be tuned, I can see it become a cheeser's dream online.

# 2 TDKing @ Aug 14

I can still run slants all the way down the field... fail

# 3 B1MM3R @ Aug 14

If you played the ncaa 14 demo then you could definately destroy with the read option. I noticed that in the demo the new features are generally overpowered. NCAA 14 the full game the option is good, but it isn't nearly as overpowering as the demo. Im sure we will see the same in the full game of MAdden 25. Im not getting this for my ps3, I already have it pre-ordered with my ps4, can't wait.

# 4 GrandMaster B @ Aug 14

I thought the demo was good. Crisper graphics, the replays which I thought would be awful, were actually quite good and occasionally you would get some from a over the top angle. You can't deny the player graphics and models are really improved. A much cleaner look. The silly animations of players flopping around from last year are gone. Also changed the game speed from default Normal to Slow and it played much better. The camera can be changed in the full, retail version. So I am not too concerned about that. Overall a buy from me.

# 5 cmehustle @ Aug 14

For the first time in a long time Ive had fun playing NCAA. Madden as far as the demo goes looks even better. The clincher of course is I can trade Madden in for Madden 25 on Xbox one for 10 bucks! If I had to pay full price twice, no way was I gonna get this game.

# 6 B1MM3R @ Aug 14

Wait, what?? How can you do that?

# 7 trey2k198003 @ Aug 14

Not bad at all i liked it cant wait to get my hands on the early release and upload draft classes and draft devin gardner to the broncos, also for the guy who runs slants down the field...what level you playing on? on all madden the cpu takes them away from me unless there blitzing....anyway ill be there at midnight release time!!!!

# 8 razorkaos @ Aug 14

I liked the demo. i like this new stamina bar, and how every tackle you brake and every juke or spin depletes the bar, so you can't spam spins and jukes, cause the defenders will be able to catch you. Infinity engine looks even better now, and, as i didn't play NCAA, for me, it was a great improvement from M13.

# 9 tarek @ Aug 14

Has there been any news on the cross-play between current gen consoles and next gen? What I mean is that if I purchase Madden 25 for PS3 in August, play a bit until November then pick it up for PS4 as on release day would you need to start from scratch or can you import your PS3 save file into your PS4 version?
The reason I ask is to determine how much commitment I make to a connected franchise mode in the interim before next gen.

# 10 scottyp180 @ Aug 14

This sounds like a fair and honest impression. I have yet to play the demo but it sounds pretty much like what I expected. If I get madden this year it wont be until I get the ps4, which I hope will be a bit better overall compare to current gen, but im looking forward to playing the demo and seeing how much it has improved since last year. I played the ncaa demo twice to all the ncaa comparisons dont mean much to me

# 11 Feldman011teen @ Aug 14

If anyone has had any hope for the blocking and zone reading on defensive to be changed since 2011, you've lost your mind. The series is stale, much like NCAA this year was. Technically, it's the best in the series, but both this and NCAA should have been that way around 2011.

# 12 Invaderscs @ Aug 14

Worst demo of a game I've ever played because of 1 major bug. All the time there will be players that turn invisible. The only thing you can see is their shadow. Makes it almost unplayable for me because its really hard to tell if someone is about to sack you or if your guy is covered. This is on PS3 by the way.