Madden NFL 18's Connected Franchise Mode Comes Up Short: Here's Why

[MJLA19]

It needs to be more immersive. Seems like we have the same playbooks, the general presentation is the same. One thing I liked that they still haven't done is the crowd. I mean if the score is 35-3 with 5 minutes left in the game then the stadium should be half empty if the home team is losing. That is one thing I liked about NCAA.*

They also need to implement Coaching in the franchise mode. Now I'm really good at the sticks but I've also played just as a coach well you have to take over as kicker and it is a completely different take on the game. The real strategy occurs then and you have no control over actual play outcome which gives you feelings of frustration *or exaltation, it's great! You feel more like a coach or fan. This should be a franchise option which you could get coaching leagues online along with with other franchise leagues.*

[Sheba2011]

Quote: Originally Posted by Shadymamba

everything now days is MUT MUT MUT - not everyone wants to play that mode, but EA Madden team just does what they want - they could care less if you enjoy it or not

Everything is not MUT. MUT itself has a completely separate team that works on it. What happens in MUT has little effect on what happens in CFM. What did affect CFM was Longshot and NBA Live.

The EA Madden team doesn't do what they want, they do what they are told. That is how big corporations work. When they are told to devote more resources on Longshot and NBA Live, they devote more resources to those or they get fired. It's a pretty easy decision to make when you need your job.

[lowndsy]

If i have said it It once I may have said it many times Head coach with current graphics would be great.

Why can't that be a mode rather than SIM or arcade.....

[mlb61]

While I think Franchise Mode could use a whole lot of T.L.C., I also think that if you're staking out the moral and developmental high ground, more or less omnisciently, you have a responsibility to get the nomenclature right. Because if you can't do that, what can you expected to do (beyond repeating what you've heard others say). The name has been simply "Franchise Mode" for a couple years. Nothing "Connected" about it.

[Hassan Darkside]

Good article and very necessary to call EA to task about their failures with CFM. Their answer that they're now trying to share resources and sync with NBA Live's franchise mode should be alarming because NBA Live has been the shakiest sports franchise over the past 10 years. That game still has a lot of work to do to be a legitimate competitor to 2k making it very difficult for me to believe that franchise will be more of a priority next year than it is this year. The odds of CFM being cast to the back burner seem higher now than before.

IMO EA continues to underestimate the importance of this mode to gamers. Admittedly, I still play this and still have fun, even if I must overlook glaring issues and adopt house rules. That being said, it's laughable in comparison to 2k's MyGM/MyLeague modes.

I was listening to Kevin Durant on Bill Simmons's podcast talk about playing 2k's MyGM mode. He was talking about how he's 16 seasons deep with an expansion UNC Tarheels team trying to sell Bill Simmons on playing. "It's real GM stuff, real cap room, restricted free agents, unrestricted free agents. It's fun, it's addicting...My boy Bryce was here the other day and he never plays video games. I loaded up the GM mode and he about to go buy a whole xbox for his house right now."

I don't think anybody or any company would have expected a superstar to big up a franchise mode without solicitation. 2k made their franchise mode a priority, put a hardcore franchise gamer in charge of it, and it's now reaping dividends proving that depth and realism aren't just the desires of the hardcore sports gamer.

[qetuonz]

First time in at least 15 years Madden has not been a day 1 pick up for me, and likely wont be at all.
I dabble in other modes but offline CFM is where 99% of my game time is spent. I enjoyed 17, and there is not nearly enough in 18 for me to invest if CFM is essentially the same with what looks like a different color scheme.

[cook_diddy]

lol why did i but this game?

i play 2 video games and i play them almost every day. i run a franchise in MLB the show every spring/summer and a franchise in Madden every fall/winter. for the first time in 20+ years i'm going to skip doing a madden franchise and just stick with MLB the Show.

i'm not even into basketball but going to give NBA2k18 a shot to mix it up a bit.

i spent like $500 on MUT cards in Madden 17 and don't even play MUT. i did it out of curiosity and sports card collecting nostalgic feels. i'd like apologize to the community for that lol. i'd also like for anybody reading this who works at EA to know that i'm a customer willing to spend $560+ on this game and i don't see the value in the $59.99 i'm already in for this year.

[lilrosati56]

My biggest gripe is the lack of news from around the league, that stupid Twitter setup is ridiculous...When one of the big headlines is simply "Eagles gear up to play the Broncos".....that's just lazy.*

Everyone, if you really want to get upset, go look up images of the last few NCAA games, not just the gameplay parts (which are still beautiful despite being last gen) but the menus. Remember how much fun it was building up a team and a coach, cycling through assistans ,the coach cycle, the race for awards. Remember flipping through the magazine for the 8 or so big stories of the week.....You'd be a small MAC school but still know what's going on with the heisman, and the National Championship race, even if your team had nothing to do with it. There were preseason all americans, major injury updates, you knew when a major upset *happened, there was a denoted "game of the week"....Now, quick, go back to your CFM and tell me the big over-arching storyline for your season? Who's the best team/player? Biggest injury? Biggest surprise? What's the biggest game of your current week......The CFM is so, so very far behind what we had in NCAA football as far as immersion goes.