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Best Madden and Why ?

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Old 05-12-2022, 04:30 AM   #1
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Best Madden and Why ?

I'm not finding madden 22 fun at the moment. I feel like I'm not in control and the animations take over too much.

I'm looking for a madden game with reasonable graphics a solid franchise that is fun to play and feels like I'm controlling the player and not the game controlling me if that makes sense.

Any ideas ?
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Old 05-12-2022, 11:10 AM   #2
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Re: Best Madden and Why ?

16 for gameplay
12 for franchise.. but gameplay is horrific

.. plenty will laugh, but I think 10-11 are the best blend of the two.

Franchise mode is still deep
Gameplay is a little slanted toward offense, but so is the NFLs game nowadays
No custom playbooks
No full preseason rosters, or working IR

I think the pros outweigh the cons, personally.

I tried and tried to love 12.. franchise was great, but gameplay made me want to Hulk controllers. Just awful.

.. not sure if PC is an option for you, but its worth a look. The mod community does some amazing, game-changing things.
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Old 05-12-2022, 12:43 PM   #3
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Re: Best Madden and Why ?

These are the ones that are still in my personal rotation:

Madden NFL 12: I certainly wouldn't call this Madden's peak gameplay-wise, but player movement feels pretty good once you slow the game speed down. This was also a year that gave the user a decent/fair challenge on default All-Pro (which we know isn't the case very year). Franchise mode holds up quite well; it has features we just got back (like proper stat-tracking on player cards) and ones we're still clamoring for the return of (editable coaching tendencies and a more straightforward way to control all 32 teams). The one area that has aged like milk is the commentary. Gus Johnson and Chris Collinsworth are absolutely atrocious. One final disclaimer: if you never downloaded roster updates for this game, you'll be stuck with janky, pre-lockout rosters that were shipped on the disc.

Madden NFL 16: On the flip side, M16 is probably Madden's peak, gameplay-wise. Players had weight to them and felt rooted to the ground in a way they just haven't since. CPU QB's would scramble in sensible situations and all of the underlying gameplay systems (fatigue, injuries, etc.) functioned smoothly. And, it was a possible to get a wide variety of game types this year (defensive struggles, shootouts, and everything in-between). I will say, however, that gameplay has felt a bit different since they shut the servers down a year and a half ago. Could just be a placebo sort of deal, but it's just something I've felt. The major downside to M16 is that Franchise mode is pretty barebones; quite a few essential features (practice squads, full player editing, out-of-town score ticker) wouldn't be introduced until the following year. I don't have a strong opinion on the Nantz/Simms commentary one way or the other, but I did appreciate how the broadcast graphics from this era tried to mimic was CBS was using at the time.

Madden NFL 21: Probably the best gameplay of the Frostbite era (so far). I've only ever played the PS4/Xbox One version, but I've heard that the next-gen version offered some subtle improvements with regards to physics and player movement. Franchise received some nice, quality-of-life upgrades throughout this cycle (playoff bracket, proper stat-tracking on player cards, league history). While some of the presentation elements from this year were pretty horrid (namely the game intros), I'm a bigger fan of the Gaudin/Davis commentary team than a lot of people.

Honorable Mentions: M10, M17, M20
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Old 05-13-2022, 06:14 AM   #4
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Re: Best Madden and Why ?

To play today, Madden 22 for gameplay, but 21 for franchise mode.


In the context of it's, time, you would have to go back to the PS2 days.
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Old 05-13-2022, 09:42 AM   #5
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Re: Best Madden and Why ?

Honestly, I think '21 (current gen, not old gen) is the best overall package. Player movement is quite good and it has a grounded feeling to it. The franchise mode is also far better than '22 (and all the ridiculous power-ups disguised as franchise features).

Madden 16 still has a spot in my heart as a solid, balanced gameplay experience. But, it's franchise mode is antiquated, not even including basic things like player editing that can often be necessary for some lifecycle management.

My sleeper....Madden 20. There's something about it that is just bleeping fun to me. Yeah, things can get a little crazy with abilities and so on; but I'll be darned if I do not have a ball every time I play it. Now, if you've been on current gen, going back to old gen can be tough at first; but give it time to adjust.
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Old 05-13-2022, 11:27 AM   #6
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Re: Best Madden and Why ?

Josh - Fully patched or out of box?
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Old 05-13-2022, 12:06 PM   #7
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Re: Best Madden and Why ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by JoshC1977
Honestly, I think '21 (current gen, not old gen) is the best overall package. Player movement is quite good and it has a grounded feeling to it.

My sleeper....Madden 20. There's something about it that is just bleeping fun to me. Yeah, things can get a little crazy with abilities and so on; but I'll be darned if I do not have a ball every time I play it. Now, if you've been on current gen, going back to old gen can be tough at first; but give it time to adjust.
I had a good time with M20 when it was the most current version, but the CPU play-calling was bad enough to kill a lot of its replay value for me. CPU play-calling has always been kinda janky with Madden, but it seemed especially bad that year.

Which is a shame because there are a couple of gameplay elements I prefer over 21, namely the "feel" of running the ball. While I do prefer the player weight in M21, the frequency at which I get awkwardly suctioned into tackles while running the ball is a bit much for me. Would've been nice to have just a bit more user control in that aspect of the game.
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Old 05-13-2022, 01:32 PM   #8
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Re: Best Madden and Why ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by mrsaito
Josh - Fully patched or out of box?
Madden '21 current gen - fully patched
Madden '21 old gen - no idea tbh
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