Madden NFL 16

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by SlyBelle1

I have all penalties at 55 except interference at 100...getting good results so far.

Thanks.. will try those.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Has anyone read if the last gen versions (Xbox 360 in particular) has the improved penalties? I am probably not going to current gen until Black Friday, but I wouldn't mind buying Madden 16 and playing it for 3 months on my 360.

[SlyBelle1]

I haven't seen anywhere it said one way or the other about the penalties in last gen...however, I have seen information discussing about some missing features (as shown below) where it does not say anything about penalties...maybe that is a good sign they will be there, but don't know.

Madden NFL 16 (PS3/360) – August 25

One of the big new features of the new-gen version is the interaction between receivers and defensive backs – including timed button presses for different types of catches – but this feature is not coming to the PS3 and 360 versions. A representative told us this was due to technical restrictions with the old systems. The old-gen versions will support the updated XP goals system, but these are not surfaced in the game and during drives.

Nevertheless, the old-gen Madden does including the tweaked QB throwing (high/low throws, etc.), the Draft Champions mode, and other updates like stadiums and uniforms for the upcoming season.

[SlyBelle1]

Just completed my first game in franchise mode, Steelers vs Patriots for opening night...great game and Steelers edge Patriots out 31-28 in a game that came down to the wire. Played on All Pro default, with only slider adjustment to penalties...that alone is making me love this game since I hate playing the sliders game...just some observations...

- Good penalty mix, Steelers had 5 while Patriots had 9..a few pass interference calls..a number of them costly. Steelers had Patriots pinned on their own 2 yard line with a 3rd and 18 and pass interference called which allowed them to continue the drive which they eventually scored a TD. As Steelers were driving, Patriots called for interference in the endzone, which allowed the ball to be placed on the 1...Steelers punched it in to take the victory.

- Auto subs...finally, without even having to change the auto sub settings, players (including RBs) are being rotated realistically. My backups are getting very realistic touches (and CPU) and they never completely exit the game like in past versions were players disappeared in the second half.

- Patriots (CPU) had a good running game with over 100 yards on the day....at times I couldn't stop them...felt just about right. There passing game was strong too, distributing the ball to the receivers and Gronk.

- Computer QB was not robotic....had some very realistic throw aways and scrambles.

- Really enjoying the stats and various things shown throughout the game...feels like football.

- Think I need to bump up injuries, none happened in the game, not even minor. I started at 55 so will go another 10 or so.

I am sold on this game and glad I pre-ordered! I am sure others will see some negative things here and there, happens every year. But this is the first version where I am really excited to actually finish a season.

[MizzouRah]

I won my 2nd Draft Champions game 17-0 - played against Kaepernick who through 3 INT's. Tomlinson didn't rush as well as last game, but took a screen pass to the house for 6!

SB.. I'm waiting to start my Rams franchise until after the real life cuts, but are you on 15 minute quarters/12 seconds accel clock?

I think the sub in/out are great too on default and penalties at 55 seem great.

Agreed on injuries.. I haven't seen one yet.. good thing is, sliders seem to work so hopefully only a tweak or two here and there.

[SlyBelle1]

I am playing 10 minutes with 25 seconds for acceleration. Need to bump it up a bit to get a number of more plays.

[MizzouRah]

They even have the Rams "DONG" when the other team gets into the redzone and the Eagles chant. lol

[SlyBelle1]

Well Amazon screwed up my pre order so won't get until after release day....recently Amazon has messed up a couple of my orders, hopefully not a trend.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by SlyBelle1

Well Amazon screwed up my pre order so won't get until after release day....recently Amazon has messed up a couple of my orders, hopefully not a trend.

This is what happens when Amazon goes soft. I blamed the New York Times and its expose. It ruined a perfectly good thing!

[SegRat]

Played my first game. I was Buffalo playing at Tampa. I won 35-25. Very fun game. Stats looked good. A number of penalties called. I struggled running the ball. Madden seems like a very solid game this year.

[MizzouRah]

Best version since like 96

[Groundhog]

First patch announced 'asap'. From what I quickly read this morning, some issues around player progression and generated rookie ratings, so hold off on career-play (as usual).

[RainMaker]

I'm intrigued by this years game but holding off till I hear more about career mode. There is always a huge gamebreaking bug in that mode.

[Balldog]

Played my first game last night...as the Falcons I beat the Saints 33-21.

Brees started off 0-5 with a pick then got going for a coupe drive before we shut him down again. He ended up with over 300 yds with a completion percentage around 65% but 3 interceptions.

I made them pay with a couple deep passes in 1-on-1 coverage against Roddy White and Julio Jones but I didn't take any other shots down field to see if aggressive catch is overpowered. I will say I tried a couple fades near the GL and never completed one.

Running was tough but fair for both teams. I had 123 yds with most of it coming in the 2nd half and they had 89 yards after they had to abandon the run when trailing 33-14.

I only had 1 penalty the entire game for both teams combined...

Sacks are under control, I only had 1 and they only had 1...much improved!

Overall seems like a good one!

I hope they fix the progression and generate rookie ratings quickly so I can get started

[Kodos]

A few more good reviews here and I'll probably pull the trigger.

[MizzouRah]

Put penalties on 55...

Injuries need patched too.. as always wait on starting career.

[korme]

Supersim is broken. 90%~ of plays ran are runs.

I got waxed by the Raiders in my first game with the Bengals. Got to work on it.

[korme]

Also, I'm bad at running.

[MizzouRah]

I'm just doing the Draft Champions.. lost to Peyton Manning in the final game.

Trying again and I don't get squat for a QB have to settle for Garappolo - at least I have Terrell Davis.

[Groundhog]

Grabbed this at lunch. I'm so weak.

[djsatu]

These made me laugh LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxRR...ature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8SAkwuGCdQ

[BYU 14]

Just had a cool first time penalty type. Working on my sliders in play now and was playing the Jaguars. One of their receivers ran out of the back of the end zone, came back to grab the pass for an apparent TD, except he was flagged for illegal touching. Favorite moment of that game.

It really is awesome just to see a game that has 4-6 penalties called on each team without drastically messing with the sliders. This is my fav Madden of all-time already.

[Hoya1]

I told myself I wasn't going to buy Madden this year because I hadn't seen any improvements the past few years...........I've literally had the game every year since the mid 90's....

now reading this, I might go out and get it.

is this a lot better than last year's version?

i"m on the PS4 BTW

[Kodos]

Let's hear some criticism so I can be strong and just say "No!"

[MizzouRah]

It's really blown me away. I haven't purchased Madden in many years so I can't compare it to last years game.

It's fun as hell to play.. just playing DC for now until the first patch and roster update.

[MizzouRah]

I haven't been able to win that 3rd game in Draft Champions. This time I have Elway, Calvin Johnson, Herman Morris and Dorsett.. won the first game 21-0, Johnson had a 79 yard TD. You can really tell the difference in players. Elway is so much fun to pass with and give me anyone 1 on 1 with CJ.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Let's hear some criticism so I can be strong and just say "No!"

You should know the drill by now. Give it 3-4 weeks. The warts will come quickly as they always do. Even the most hardened of Madden fans will tell you that.

[MizzouRah]

At least it's fun out of the box.. hasn't been that way for me in SEVERAL years.

[cartman]

You should know the drill by now. Even though plenty of people say they enjoy the game, MBBF will latch on to any criticism posted anywhere to say the entire game is a steaming pile of crap.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Let's hear some criticism so I can be strong and just say "No!"

I haven't bought the last 4 versions because it was really just no longer fun for me, but am extremely glad I took the plunge this year.

As mentioned, best Madden ever out of the box IMO and the sliders are so much more intuitive so you can easily adapt it to your skill level, without getting slider-itis.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

You should know the drill by now. Give it 3-4 weeks. The warts will come quickly as they always do. Even the most hardened of Madden fans will tell you that.

You've convinced me. Purchase made.

[Hoya1]

BAH

I'm gonna try and hold off for a bit to see if things are still as they appear.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by cartman

You should know the drill by now. Even though plenty of people say they enjoy the game, MBBF will latch on to any criticism posted anywhere to say the entire game is a steaming pile of crap.

That's something new..

[BillJasper]

I'll hold off til next week and see where things are at.

[MizzouRah]

All I know is.. I've played this years game more than any Madden in the past 5 or so years.

The animations are the best I've ever seen in a video game.

[Groundhog]

I played through two games last night. Definitely the most fun I've had with Madden in years. With penalties pushed up to 55, I had 5 or 6 each game called. I did see the phantom encroachment penalty called immediately after a huddle, but I declined the penalty.

I ran a fantasy draft for something different, and ended up with a run-orientated team with Carr at QB, and a defense that's probably too geared to stopping the run with mediocre defensive backs.

I breezed through my preseason game, having a lot of success with all 3 of my QBs - Carr, Gannon, and Vick - and thought I might need to turn the difficulty up from all-pro.

Then I played an RG III-led Jaguars team with a couple of speedy receivers in the first game of the season. We got to the QB a few times, but RG III scorched us in the 2nd half with his passing and we fell 24-11.

One thing I'm yet to see is the AI attempt a 2pt conversion, but then I don't know how often teams will opt for the 2pt this season once the regular season is underway.

[korme]

It plays a good game, but franchise is broken until patch 1. That alone could have made me hold off for a bit.

[Groundhog]

I'm just using the patch waiting period to fine tune my skills. With no Madden or NCAA for a few years, I pretty much suck again throwing the ball to any route more advance than a quick slant...

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Let's hear some criticism so I can be strong and just say "No!"

FWIW, there are several huge bugs posted about on OS. Supposedly, they will be patched "very soon" but I'm waiting on that before I decide to pull the trigger...

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I'm just using the patch waiting period to fine tune my skills. With no Madden or NCAA for a few years, I pretty much suck again throwing the ball to any route more advance than a quick slant...

HAHA.. me too!

[SegRat]

So you can't play draft champions without a Xbox live membership?

[Kodos]

Well, in my first game, my Broncos fell behind 27-0 against the Raiders, but scored 35 points in the second half to win 35-27. I'd set penalties to 55 across the board, and boy were there a lot of penalties.

Fun game. Impressed so far. I threw 5 or 6 interceptions. Gotta work on that.

[MizzouRah]

Surprised there isn't more talk.. I'm really really really loving this game. Still waiting on my Rams franchise.. but play now and DC has been a lot of fun. I see all kinds of new animations each game I play. Some of the catch animations are like watching a real NFL game. Running is the best I've ever played in a football game and there are just so many options to play the game how you want to play. I've been using the coach suggestions for the most part and overall, they have done a great job with this one.

Now get out the patch so I can start my Rams run to the Super Bowl.

[Groundhog]

I'm having a lot of fun. Playing on all-pro, I've stared 6-1 so I'm thinking I need to bump the difficulty up. I seem to have a decent grasp on passing, with 16 TDs to 6 picks with David Carr.

The animations and interactions between WRs and CBs are great. I've also found that most my interceptions this year have come off bobbled/tipped catches or bad throws following my QB being hit, which I really like.

[SlyBelle1]

Still enjoying it myself...the only thing I find tough is running to the outside using a pitch or handoff. Always seem to be tackled in the backfield. Running between the tackles I have good results.

[Groundhog]

Yeah, only time I have success with the pitch or running to the outside is on the goal line, otherwise I go right up the middle. I built my team around the run game expecting to run a lot of pistol-type formations, but as with most years I think the best runs usually come out of a 'spread' 3 or 4 WR sets.

It might just be my back (his name escapes me) because I've seen others saying that HBs get subbed at a decent rate. I'm running my guy a consistent 30 times a game with his backup getting about 2 or 3 carries on average.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I think the Madden crew may be on to something here. If you produce a franchise that you yank/put back modes every 3-4 years with tweaking of graphics here and there, you can get someone to jump back in every few years and give it a positive review only to swear it back off after the warts jump up for another 3-4 years.

Genius. Pure genius. I like these guys.

[jeff061]

Whatever, its the on the field action that has sucked for the majority of Madden's existence. If they want to add modes or whatever, that's gravy, but priority 1,2,3,4,5 is on the field. IMHO.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by jeff061

Whatever, its the on the field action that has sucked for the majority of Madden's existence. If they want to add modes or whatever, that's gravy, but priority 1,2,3,4,5 is on the field. IMHO.

Don't disagree. The on-field play is what has lead to the continuing decline in sales for this franchise. Their only salvation is that they still have decent sales because they're declining from such a high point. Their marketing has saved the franchise as well.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by jeff061

Whatever, its the on the field action that has sucked for the majority of Madden's existence. If they want to add modes or whatever, that's gravy, but priority 1,2,3,4,5 is on the field. IMHO.

FWIW I couldn't disagree more with this. I was actually going to buy the PS4 bundle just based on the reviews in this thread until reading the OS review and finding out franchise was still a trainwreck. If a sports game doesn't have franchise/career mode that is worth playing, it's not going to keep my interest for more than a day. Each to their own I guess