Madden NFL 15: Hands-On Impressions

[RaychelSnr]

I had a chance to play Madden NFL 15 on the PlayStation 4 yesterday for about an hour, so this is obviously a small sample size and I expect to have more impressions through the show. While waiting for my opponent to choose his play, I would peek over at the other stations to see more and thus, I’ve seen quite a bit of gameplay. There is still time for the team to tweak some of the items mentioned below, so just remember that as you read through them. These are my impressions from the build I played, I have no idea how close it is to the finished product, nor do I know if things will change for the better or worse when it hits store shelves. I’m just telling you what I’m seeing now with this build, so take it for what it’s worth

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[Cryolemon]

Sounds good, but there still seem to be a lot of legacy issues.

[Aggies7]

Madden NFL 15: Hands-On Impressions

Sounds good. I assume the turnovers when a pocket passer tried to scramble was fumbles , which I am fine with as they are out of their element, but hope it doesn't happen every time. Also hope players pile on while trying to recover it.

[LovejoyOTF]

Re: Madden NFL 15: Hands-On Impressions

that's made me think actually! wouldn't it be great to see them bring back the whole fight for the fumble shebang but just fluidly represented like celebrations e.t.c. this year rather than the cutscene like it used to be. turn off the button tapping thing and you're left with a proper decent pile on, with an epic wait for the outcome. like FOOTBALL.

[Aggies7]

Re: Madden NFL 15: Hands-On Impressions

that's made me think actually! wouldn't it be great to see them bring back the whole fight for the fumble shebang but just fluidly represented like celebrations e.t.c. this year rather than the cutscene like it used to be. turn off the button tapping thing and you're left with a proper decent pile on, with an epic wait for the outcome. like FOOTBALL.

Exactly my thoughts. I don't need the button mashing. I just want to see realistic fumble recovers where you don't immediately know who recovered it.

[dougdeuce]

Re: Madden NFL 15: Hands-On Impressions

Rodgers hasn't done the discount double check on the field in a long time so that's a good thing. Fyi

[roadman]

Re: Madden NFL 15: Hands-On Impressions

Rodgers hasn't done the discount double check on the field in a long time so that's a good thing. Fyi

It's usually only when he scores a TD and he was injured for 9 weeks last year.

[Step2001]

Yes, the Coin Toss Presentation was removed per Madden Dev team member (said it in one of the audio interviews).

Steve, any word on when EA will announce what is new/fixed with Connected Franchise Mode?

[Big FN Deal]

Re: Madden NFL 15: Hands-On Impressions

This write up expresses the impression I got from reading about Madden 15 so far, nicely improved but still lacking in some key areas.

I was really glad to read about the inaccurate QBs because I have always felt that the passing game should have proper risk/reward, linked to ratings and situation. I should be nervous dropping back to pass with all but the most elite of NFL QBs and/or offensive schemes, not just flinging it all over the field, all game, regardless of the QB or team. I despised QB Vision and never want to see it again but it did add a much needed element of risk/reward for the passing game. Hopefully Tiburon can build on these pass inaccuracies, with independent physics for the football and true weather effects to make passing risk/reward even more evident.

I remember back on the older consoles when playing older NFL games, I had to focus on playing good defense and time of possession through the running game when playing with my Redskins because we didn't have a solid dependable QB. I look forward to those days again, when you actually have to adapt the way you play based on your team's and opponent's personnel.

Also about interceptions, I agree with the writer, don't nerf them down, if the situation makes sense that it be an INT, let it be an INT, regardless of how many occur. Again, if there is not proper risk to doing x, then there is no need for anyone to stop trying to do it, lol. An incomplete pass is not a big enough deterrent for some gamers, so take the training wheels off and let them set NFL records for INTs until they learn to not force passes, take what's there, setup plays, run the ball more, etc.

[dougdeuce]

Re: Madden NFL 15: Hands-On Impressions

It's usually only when he scores a TD and he was injured for 9 weeks last year.

I've watched every Packers snap since 09 when I got the ticket. I haven't seen it since 11 when he said he thought it had become a distraction.

FWIW, If he's done it I haven't noticed.

[NicVirtue]

Re: Madden NFL 15: Hands-On Impressions

Disappointed but not surprised to hear about the non existence of WR/DB interaction. It's been done 10 years ago, literally. 2 generations...and we still don't have it in Madden.

[The JareBear]

Re: Madden NFL 15: Hands-On Impressions

Disappointed but not surprised to hear about the non existence of WR/DB interaction. It's been done 10 years ago, literally. 2 generations...and we still don't have it in Madden.

This is definitely a letdown.

[CarryTheWeight]

Re: Madden NFL 15: Hands-On Impressions

Great to hear about real-time presentation. Cutscenes really made next-gen M25 look horribly dated.

I wonder if the real-time stuff will include more than just celebrations or contextual/transitional events (e.g. timeouts or the end of a quarter). It would be nice to see real-time huddling and substitutions one of these days. I also wonder if head coaches will react to a play as it happens and we can watch the reaction while in replay mode.

Otherwise, I still think a lot needs to be done to catch up to other next-gen sports games. All 22 players should use "True Step". Legacy animations should be phased out. CFM should not be left unchanged. As I've said plenty of times before, there can't be any excuses on the new hardware. If this shared "Ignite" tech is as advertised, there should be no excuse why Madden isn't at the level of FIFA, which, for all its faults, at least looks and feels like a Gen 8 title.

[asu666]

Nice preview. Thanks for the detailed impressions. Last year Madden felt like a bridge game between console generations. From your impressions and what I've seen, it looks like Madden is making some nice progress.

[brza37]

Could you please check if they adopted the NCAA no huddle system (More realistic, slower return to the line; full playbook available per personell grouping not just 4 plays etc)?

This is huge in my opinion considering how many teams are running up-tempo offenses. You could replicate it perfectly in NCAA 14 without feeling cheesy. In Madden its just way too fast and too little playbook options on O and D.