Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

[EddieDaGod23]

Re: Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

I am just glad they fixed the KR game! Nothing I hated more than scoring on a good drive and watching a guy take one back without showing any skill.

[DJ]

Re: Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

I haven't gotten very far but I think these aspects are pretty similar to current gen and still have much room for improvements.

Check and release routes
In game saves for play now and franchise

These are two things that I'm surprised ea didn't rep these additions, both are cool

In-game saves are in now? I had no idea. That's great news for when I make the jump to the PS4.

[MDgolf]

Re: Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

In-game saves are in now? I had no idea. That's great news for when I make the jump to the PS4.

I have the game and didn't notice there were in game saves? Are there?

[MMan]

Re: Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

What is the CPU accuracy?

CPU WR Catching 90
Passing 50

CPU still dropping 10-15 passes on All Pro

[rudyjuly2]

Re: Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

In-game saves are in now? I had no idea. That's great news for when I make the jump to the PS4.

I don't think that's an EA function. I believe both the PS4 and XBox 1 have that feature for any game in your system.

[MDgolf]

Re: Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

How do I do this? I went to standby mode and it didn't work

[rudyjuly2]

Re: Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

How do I do this? I went to standby mode and it didn't work

One user posted it earlier. This may be an EA/Madden only thing. Hopefully someone can clarify.

Don't quit the game. Just press the PS twice to bring you to the PS dashboard so the game will continue running in the background.

[MDgolf]

Re: Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

But the system needs to be still on. I heard that you can put the game in standby for Xbox one but ps4 can't and should be able to in a future updte

[jyoung]

Re: Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

I do not understand why this game still has an 11 formation, 400 play limit on custom playbooks. Surely the PS4 and its blu-ray discs can handle more now?

Especially when there were already football games on the Xbox 360 that supported over 6,000 plays in a single custom playbook.

This oversight, along with the lack of formation-specific depth charts, is one of the things that just kills this game from a strategic standpoint.

Also, as a fan of the Ask Madden feature, I do not understand why the game still won't let me use Ask Madden when I have a custom playbook.

[Only1LT]

Re: Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

But the system needs to be still on. I heard that you can put the game in standby for Xbox one but ps4 can't and should be able to in a future updte

I was playing a game and then closed the whole Madden app and started playing another game entirely. Upon starting Madden up the next day on the main screen that lists the modes, it had a box that said continue your play now game. I went to go to another mode and a message came up saying, if you continue, you will lose your in progress game. I went back to the play now game that I left and selected it and it started from the exact point that I left. Jim Nance said welcome back.

It saves automatically when you exit a game or close the Madden app. It even works for Practice mode.

[ucftechguru]

Re: Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

If you look at many of these posts from people who LOVE the game, it's the same people ranting about how good it is. I suspect this is a payoff by blogging companies/EA to get good reviews. I've played a ton of Madden 25 on PS3 and some on PS4 and it's basically the same game. Very little improvement in the PS4 version. If you want the same game, fine. If you wanted an upgrade, where is it at? The fans in the stands still look cheesy and fake. The field/grass still look vanilla. I was expected some upgrade. The only upgrade I can see or feel is a slight, very slight upgrade in gameplay and upgraded close-ups after plays. I have two large TVs next to each other and played both at the same time and they look almost the same. I'd pass on this if you already have the PS3 version.

[Anaxamander]

Re: Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

I don't think that's an EA function. I believe both the PS4 and XBox 1 have that feature for any game in your system.

No man, the PS4 suspend/resume isn't working yet. This in-game save is all EA. You can even turn your system all the way off during the middle of a game and it will let you continue where you left off.

I posted a thread about it yesterday.

But the system needs to be still on. I heard that you can put the game in standby for Xbox one but ps4 can't and should be able to in a future updte

It's true that the PS4 is getting suspend and resume and that the X1 will have it out of the gate, but Madden has a built-in save feature... and you don't even have to hit save. Just turn off your system at any point in your game (standby or all the way off) and it will let you resume when you start it back. Like someone else said, it even works for practice mode and skills trainer. (I haven't tried it with other modes though.)

Again, shameless link to my thread praising the feature.

[MDgolf]

Re: Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

Thanks boys for the info. Appreciate it!

[Only1LT]

Re: Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

After playing with the game over the weekend, I don't want to say that my mind is made up one way or the other, but I will give my impressions thus far.

On True Step:

As someone who has been harping on Madden getting realistic movement in the game for as long as I can remember (much longer than I've been on OS) I appreciate that they are finally taking steps to address this, even though it's extremely limited at this point. Having said that, I think that there is something very off about what they've come up with.

I've long said that the only way possible to simulate momentum, gravity, speed changes, etc, in a video game, is to force the user to lose control in situations where the effects of those forces I mentioned, are being simulated. However, the loss of control in Madden's True Step implementation, feels quite wrong and arbitrary. It feels very difficult to even make subtle changes in direction or speed without feeling like you came to a complete stop, or close to it.

As a for instance, the loco in APF 2K, is one of the best loco implementations in a sports game, IMO. If you were running at top speed in one direction, and then changed direction drastically, you would lose control, and there would be a animation that denoted changing direction, changing speed, losing balance, being affected by gravity and momentum, etc. However, there was a coding balance between what you saw on screen and what you did with the sticks. It was a very analog solution. Going from all the way left to all the way right abruptly, would result in one type of control loss scenario and animations, but going all the way left to right slow and easy, or not going too far left or right from dead center, would yield very different results, outcomes, and animations. In Madden, it seems like regardless of how subtle you try to be when changing direction, the end result is always the same abrupt result that you would get from an extreme change in direction or speed.

So, the issue isn't that there is a penalty for direction changes. That's a very good thing. What I think needs major work, is that there aren't any nuances to their direction change penalty. It controls very digitally, and I think that's a problem.

I can elaborate further if anyone wants me to, but I'll move on in this post for the sake of brevity.

Ball Trajectory/ Velocity:

Quickly on this. Not 100, and it bears further testing on my part, but it seems like there have been changes made in this area, at least from an early glance.

Balls lobbed on swings, and passes with arc in general, seem to travel a lot faster than they used to. I don't have CG Madden 25, so maybe it's the same there as well. It seems like the ball travels a bit faster in general, but especially so on passes that you did not drill. The arc also seems better in terms of getting it over defenders. likewise, I'm not seeing anywhere near the number of underthrows on go routes as I have become accustomed to in a Madden game.

Bears more testing, but this is initial analysis.

Presentation:

Though not drastically changed, there are improvements. Replay angles are much better. Post game cut scenes are done better. Shots of the sidelines are done from more broadcast type angles. Even touchdown celebrations can look good, AT TIMES. Other times they are still unsightly and the cutscene nature of them makes things like teleporting players comical. If nothing else though, while it is well past time for them to move on from cutscenes and do real time, at least the cutscenes are from real angles now. at least some of them.

Nothing spectacular here, but not as big an eyesore. An improvement is an improvement.

Graphics:

Definitely better than CG, but not anywhere near the level that I think we deserve. In particular, Madden has probably the worst lighting system implementation I've ever seen in any game period. The game looks drastically different when playing outdoors on a bright sunny day, as opposed to any lesser light situation (dome, rainy, night, practice mode, etc). The stark difference is laughable. The game loses so much detail, color gradations, shadowing, textures, highlights, etc, that the game takes on such a flat and 2D look that it's just unconscionable.

The game can look really good on rare occasions when there is a close up, but overall, it is only a slight improvement on CG, and I, for one, am EXTREMELY disappointed in the game in this area.

Player Models:

Won't spend to much time on this. They are quite bad and need to be changed like yesterday.

Animations:

Despite them touting how the power of the new systems would increase the "fidelity" of animations, I have to say, they still look quite jerky and not all that smooth. It is improved in this area, but not to anywhere near the point I thought they would be. It's one thing to have poorly captured animations, which Madden certainly does, but if those poorly captured animations were rendered to be completely smooth and buttery, it would still help immensely. The fact that they are both poorly captured and render choppily, makes it that much more of an affront to the eyes.

Improvements have been made in this area though as well. Running animation look better. The more upright running posture is greatly welcomed. There appears to be several different gaits depending on size or position, I don't know, but not everyone runs the same. True Step looks really good at times, though it can get really twitchy and jerky for a split second when you make some kind of change, be it direction, or speed, or using a special move.

Overall, it's better and I hope that by next year EVERY player is on the True Step bandwagon.

Battle in the Trenches:

Let me start by saying that pressure is very real in this game. The D Line comes hard. You will not get that speed rush animation on every single play, nor should you. A DE isn't going to speed rush on every snap. They would be pretty easy to defend if they did, unless they are just freakishly fast. It isn't all crimson and clover though.

One thing that I think needs changing is the variety in this area. I haven't played a ton by any stretch, but from what little I did, it seems that the DEs do things in tandem too much. They both speed rush or they both bull rush, or they both take inside moves, etc. I think this is why you don't see the pocket formed all the time. Not saying that a perfect pocket should be formed all the time, but seems to be a lack of Football strategy in this area.

Not enough Football concepts are being involved with how the D Line attacks. I know that the Giants are very fond of leaving huge lanes open when they rush, especially against Vick or other likewise fleet footed QBs (miss you Osi ) but this DE in tandem programming seems to lack a good amount of fundamentals.

In general the line play is definitely better, but there is too much "in unison" programming across the board in Madden, and there always has been. Need to move past this already.

Overall:

I don't hate this game. It's actually quite decent. It's got a long way to go, and it's pretty lackluster in many areas that went untouched, but it is better than any Madden that I have ever played. Not sure how much that says.

I think that quite a few people on here would enjoy the game, but I'd stop short of recommending it. Full disclosure, I took advantage of the Amazon buy 2 get 1 free deal. I was always going to get Battlefield 4, COD: Ghosts, Kill Zone, and Assassins Creed 4, so I needed to pick two free games. I chose NBA 2K, and Madden. Came down to Madden and Need 4 Speed and I haven't been too impressed with Need 4 Speed since Underground 2, so... Having said that, I don't harbor near the ill will towards Madden as I would have if I had paid for it. I don't know that it is worth $60 even though it has improved in certain areas.

The choice is a tough one. I think that Madden 25 NG is a pretty good game, but I'm not sure it's worth spending $60 on for those that are on the fence. I think many of you would like it, but I wouldn't want it in my conscience if you didn't.

Improvements aside, they need to do MUCH, MUCH better next year.

[N51_rob]

Re: Madden NFL 25 Impressions (PS4)

No man, the PS4 suspend/resume isn't working yet. This in-game save is all EA. You can even turn your system all the way off during the middle of a game and it will let you continue where you left off.

I was coming in to correct some erroneous statements. You are right. I have yet to leave my PS4 in stand-by mode. I always shut it down completely. Hell I even played three other games, and when I went back into madden my previous play now game was saved and waiting for me to continue. Really cool, and under represented feature by EA.

Which again baffles the mind why they would have such a restrictive embargo on the game.