What's the skinny on Madden 12?
 

After reading that the guy from NFL Head Coach 09 (which I loved, just missed not having a training camp, that it was running off of an older Madden engine for game play, and I couldn't go in and fully edit any player at all) was heading up the franchise mode for Madden 12, I was stoked. I figured if I could get the game play of Madden with the depth of Head Coach, I would be in heaven.

I know training camp isn't back and that is due to how the game does progression and stat unlocking. I still will miss it, but I do like the alternative.

I have read some issues with the game like the UDFA nonsense and some other glitches, but here are some things I would like to know:

1) After you buy the game, are there any add on costs to unlock online access for the purposes of getting roster updates and such? I probably won't be playing games online much so I really could care less about that, but I would very much like to have up to date rosters. Are there additional costs for anything?

2) In franchise mode can you edit players' appearances, names, and numbers? In head coach you could only edit numbers, but would only let you select from a few. For some reason it really hated to give D-linemen a number in the 90's. I had a team full of 60's and 70's on my D-Line and I hated that sooo much.

3) in Head Coach when signing a free agent, rookie, or re-signing a player that has had his contract run out it would give you a window with options of contracts that the player wanted. He would choose one (usually the highest one) and then you had to counter offer. Eventually if you were good enough, you could meet in the middle. Is that how it is done here? I know the off season free agent auction thing is totally different. Even in Head Coach you had to be the highest bidder which only won you the right to negotiate a contract. Your options were severely limited in what that player wanted though and you ended up paying through the nose.

4) Stat tracking. In Madden 2011, almost nobody got any pancakes. Fullbacks and wide receivers would never get any pancakes if you simmed the games. Your 4th string CB would never see the light of day, even if he was on your special teams unit. Has anyone noticed if these things have changed?

I really want to like this game, but for $60 I want to know exactly what I am getting into. I am a franchise freak and that will be where 99.9% of my time will be spent.

Also, I usually like to "watch" my teams play. I want to see how they perform without my influence. In previous Maddens it was hard to get settings that would result in realistic stats. Has anyone tried this out yet?

Your feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thank you SO much!