A common thread in review after review of M25
 

Having read many online reviews, it seemed a common thread was appearing: Madden 25 has made mostly minor, incremental changes.

Now, if this game was close to perfect, I would be happy with that. But it’s not. Not by a long shot. We all know there are huge, glaring issues with the game. AI issues. Poor computer franchise-management logic. Poor receiver/defensive back interactions. Zone D not working well enough. Slider issues. I could go on and I’m sure many of you have other issues screaming out in your head right now.

Did I enjoy Maddens past, and Madden 13 in particular? Sure. I had countless hours of fun. But the last few years a sense of frustration, boredom and waiting has crept into me regarding this iconic franchise.

Waiting. Waiting for something big to change. Something really new to get excited about. Waiting to put a new Madden disc in my console and say… “ah, now this, this is it.”

Finally, like an addict that comes to grips with his problem, I’m admitting that I need to stop. Stop paying an organization that has made hundreds of millions of dollars for minor yearly changes while not addressing fundamental issues that have plagued the game for years.

EA is not getting my money this year. I may buy the game used but I refuse to support an organization that that has frustrated me so much and for so long.

I know many if not all of you don’t care. Make sure the door doesn’t hit my rear on the way out. But I’m using the only power I have and I’m voting with my wallet.

And this year it’s a vote of no confidence.

Below are snippets from reviews that speak to the fact that Madden 25 is just a mild tweaking of Maddens in the past. Yes, there were a lot of positive comments in the reviews but my fundamental issue with the game is consistently brought up in review after review.


IGN

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2013/08/2...-nfl-25-review

“UnfortunatelyMadden NFL 25 is more of a run-of-the mill upgrade than a big anniversary edition…”

“With its incremental but noticeable improvements…”


Destructoid

http://www.destructoid.com/review-ma...5-260660.phtml

"Take my review of last year's Madden 13. Give it a roster update. Associate any players I named who've been swapped around like pogs with whatever their new team is. Axe a missed dangling participle or two. Tighten up the mechanics of writing. Maybe there was a misused em dash. Replace it in a way that is (probably) grammatically correct. Add some flourishes here and there. Some new puns, maybe.

You now have my review of Madden 25.

Madden XIII-2 would be a more accurate title than the grandiose, franchise-celebrating Madden 25….

Any chance at radical, significant change seems to be hamstrung by the commercial, one-year development cycle.”


Gamerant.com

http://gamerant.com/madden-nfl-25-reviews/

“This year’s entry, Madden NFL 25 (named for the 25th anniversary of the franchise) attempts to justify the $60 price tag, but isn’t as revolutionary an entry as fans might hope. And with the next-gen right around the corner, it feels surprisingly empty when it comes to new or exciting features….

However, while new modes are all well and good, they don’t fundamentally change the on-the-field play in Madden NFL 25. And unfortunately, that’s where the game feels the most lacking. The game is competent, and mechanically sound – a byproduct of years of fine-tuning – but nothing about the experience feels new….

And that’s where Madden NFL 25 fails – it doesn’t justify its existence. In fact, in a few spots it feels like a step backwards for the franchise."


Gameinformer

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/ma...er-review.aspx

“the foundations it was built upon this console generation are not fully up to the task of delivering a highly polished product….

But if the past is prologue, Madden 25's inability to separate features from fluff and meaningfully execute them has me worried for what we'll be asked to accept as progress in the next generation.”


PC Mag.com

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2423507,00.asp

“…small incremental improvements in gameplay over last year."


Official Xbox Magazine

http://www.oxmonline.com/madden-nfl-25-review
“…the year-over-year alterations here are much more granular in nature — a common theme with recent entries.”

Re: A common thread in review after review of M25
 

The reviews in general have the game rated decently

http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-...critic-reviews

Re: A common thread in review after review of M25
 

Thanks for the links.

Here's some more, too.

One thing I learned, I could read all the reviews I want to online.

The only review that's important, though, is mine.

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...web-today.html

Re: A common thread in review after review of M25
 

This is it right here.

Re: A common thread in review after review of M25
 

PastaPadre's gameplay impressions are telling....

Re: A common thread in review after review of M25
 

One thing I will say for sure pertaining to Madden 25 for next gen consoles is the majority of the hardcore "football" gaming community is NOT WILLING nor WANTING to hear about the shortened development cycle which is the case for this coming game in Nov. EA better really nail it when it comes to next gen THIS YEAR or I can see mass devastation and negative feedback on a scale which we may never have seen before. I know many people aren't gonna wanna hear the "have patience, its all new technology spew". If not a solid fundamental improvement and an accurate representation of football is not there I think the folks at EA better be ready for a biblical ishstorm of proportions they've never seen.

I like where the game has gone in the past 2 years. its slow but it going in the right direction and making improvements to gameplay not "fluff back of the box NEW" features. I understand this dev team was left with all the broken pieces of 5 or 6 years of failure. I get that. However this next gen title has been know about and has been in the works for 2 years now a FRESH start so to speak. I REALLY REALLY hope they know what they are doing starting from the ground up with this IGNITE tech. or else we all can look forward to groundhogs day for the next 10 years. The Sim Standard guys seems to trust these devs and I trust TSS so all I can do is hope they are doing the right thing in the "lab" at EA and wait. I cant wait to see some gameplay videos so we can all start to judge for ourselves.

Re: A common thread in review after review of M25
 

thanks for pointing me to that.

Pasta Padre


http://www.pastapadre.com/2013/08/23...al-impressions

"Sloppy is the best way to describe Madden’s gameplay this year....

Madden NFL 25 feels like a 10 week bridge to next-gen rather than hitting a pinnacle in the way the series did..."

Re: A common thread in review after review of M25
 

Like they'll really care.

Worse to me then the terrible Madden games they've been putting out annually is their pompous, arrogant attitude towards things that could help them. Their unwillingness to listen is astounding to me. They just continue down the same path turning a deaf ear to anyone who complains and blocking loyal customers on twitter.