If wanted to play a last-gen Madden game, I should buy...

[thor-17]

I vote for Madden 17. It’s the last one from this particular gen of consoles. It’s also done by the NCAA football dev team, which means it plays like NCAA 14 and not Madden. It plays a great game of football.

I just picked it up for PS3, and I love it.

[shangsta]

Quote: Originally Posted by thor-17

I vote for Madden 17. It’s the last one from this particular gen of consoles. It’s also done by the NCAA football dev team, which means it plays like NCAA 14 and not Madden. It plays a great game of football. I just picked it up for PS3, and I love it.

You’re the only person I know playing madden 17. I like the gameplay a lot however there is a bug where cover 3 is almost an automatic interception for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[sinthros]

Madden 12 on the 360. Omega is STILL making updated rosters for it! It's a blast.

[thinwhiteduke]

i'm on ps2, Madden 2002,03,04.


they are still fun and full of surprises

[chargerrich]

6th Gen (PS2/XBox) - Madden 07 or Madden 2005 (I prefer 07)

7th Gen (PS3/360) - Madden 10 or 12 (I prefer 12)

Madden 07 is the king though if you focus on franchise mode.

[wcchamp2020]

Any thoughts on Madden 13? I picked it up for my nephew since it was $0.99 at Gamestop. Seems like your typical older generation Madden game to my untrained eye, but doesn't seem to get mentioned much here.

[ripcandlestickpark]

Quote: Originally Posted by wcchamp2020

Any thoughts on Madden 13? I picked it up for my nephew since it was $0.99 at Gamestop. Seems like your typical older generation Madden game to my untrained eye, but doesn't seem to get mentioned much here.

It was a step up from M12, gameplay-wise (first year of the Infinity Physics Engine) and presentation-wise (Nantz and Simms replacing Johnson and Collinsworth, CBS-inspired graphics package).

Franchise-wise, the game took a big step back, though. M13 was the year Tiburon rebranded the mode as Connected Careers and removed a number of features that we've just had returned to us (proper stat tracking on player cards, for instance) or are still asking for the return of (coordinators, a straightforward way to control all 32 teams, etc.).

It's not a bad game, but it's sandwiched between two iterations that are looked back upon more fondly (M12 for its Franchise Mode, M25 for being a more refined version of M13).

[ripcandlestickpark]

Quote: Originally Posted by chargerrich

6th Gen (PS2/XBox) - Madden 07 or Madden 2005 (I prefer 07) 7th Gen (PS3/360) - Madden 10 or 12 (I prefer 12) Madden 07 is the king though if you focus on franchise mode.

Nice list! I agree with each of your choices, and I'd also add a couple of more.

For the 6th generation, I'd add M08. Unfortunately, the Tony Bruno Show (along with some of the newspaper licenses, but I'm not 100% sure on that) was removed that year, but the Fantasy Challenge mode that was introduced is very fun.

For the 7th gen, I'd also add M25 to the mix. I never played it much, personally (M12 lasted three years for me), but I know it has a bit of a cult following on here.

I guess now that the Xbox One and PS4 are technically "last-gen", here are my choices for those consoles:

Madden NFL 16: M16 still has the best gameplay in series history, IMO. Player movement felt very nice, the players themselves had some weight to them and felt rooted to the ground, and the game had a nice sense of balance that it hasn't really had since. Also, all of the underlying systems (penalties, fatigue, etc.) worked pretty much perfectly, which isn't always a given for the series. While I prefer the Gaudin/Davis commentary that was introduced the following year, I did appreciate the efforts they made to mimic the CBS broadcast graphics from the time. While M16's Franchise mode is certainly playable, it's a bit tough to go back to, however. You're missing out on a lot of features that were added throughout the course of the generation (practice squads, full player editing, the out-of-town ticker, not having to make any pre-season cuts until after the 4th game, custom draft classes, proper stat tracking on player cards, etc.).

Madden NFL 21: Gameplay isn't quite at M16's level, but it's the best it's been since then. Just gotta hope the rest of the patch cycle doesn't ruin anything in that regard. Although Franchise improvements in Madden can be very frustrating on a year-to-year basis, comparing this game to M16 does give a good idea as to how the mode has improved throughout the generation.