Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

[ajk49er]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

First off, CFM is full of so many issues and problems that I don't think its fair to include it in my impressions. the list is too long.


so, I will go off of gameplay. this is easily the most fun I have had in madden in a long time. I see people complaining about pass rush, I am not having that problem out of a 3-4, I am getting great pressure. for me I am finally noticing the difference in a OK and a Great player. I played against Colt McCoy and destroyed him, he fumbled, got picked 3 times and was ineffective. I played Andrew Luck and he lit me the heck up.


the CPU run game is a problem, but I am not sure what the problem really is. I played the Colts and they ran all over me, 25-125...but compared to 14-12 and all the other results I have been getting...I was surprised at how well they gashed me.


presentation is so improved. the little things in commentary are huge. Penalties are FINALLY a part of the game, which again, is HUGE. I have lost 2 of 4 games thanks to penalties ruining my typical strategy that would never fail in closing out games. thanks Dee Ford for those 2 facemask penalties on 3rd down inside the 20.


Special Teams is still an issue. punters get far too much distance, which I am OK with in terms of a user because there is a huge risk reward in regards to where you punt the ball and how far, but the CPU has no real control over this, and I often have to handicap myself on punts.


I love the new WR/DB interactions, I would like to see more of a defensive emphasis and some S love, but this is a league with passing records set all the time, so I am not as bothered by this. I am disappointed in white photo players being black, I am disappointed in a lack of editing forcing progression/regression to be a major problem. I really dig the new scouting system, I find its not as easy as it used to be, and I likely won't remember the smaller photos and names quite as well as years past.


but this is the first game that doesn't feel "hollow" to me, I finally feel involved in the action, I finally feel like I am not playing the same game I had been playing for 10 plus years, and I am finally challenged by the AI. I lost my first 4 games on All Pro. this is after years of going on All Madden the first game and winning 52-0.


If they could just fix these problems that pop up in CFM every year, and if they could make minor adjustments to the gameplay(CPU running, Safety play can be incredibly frustrating)...I dare say this is the best Madden since 05, and its not really that close.(maybe 12 with player editing) I give them a lot of credit for reading these forums and addressing issues, because in years past it has felt like they were a bit put off by such "problems". now they seem to really want to attack and fix them.

[SportsGamer94]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

CPU controlled Elli Manning sucks in this game. Playing Play Now, All-Pro default sliders. I played him two games with Dallas the first game he only threw for 86 yards, the second game he only threw for 111 yards. Anyone else experience this type of performance from Eli or any other good Qb's?

Just played against Eli in my Cowboys CFM. He was 28-37-2TDs 413yds. He was 12-13 at the half with 205. We got two sack fumbles in the 4th quarter, one for a TD to break the game open. He then hit ODB (3 catches 87 yds) for a 57 yard TD and got the rest of the yardage in garbage time. Boys win the opener 44-38 with 24 unanswered in the 4th.

He was over 90% at one point in the game and then went cold and was all the way down to 60% before garbage time.

I guess CFM plays different than Play Now, since the game-play is much improved I might actually try Franchise mode for the first time since Madden 05 on PS2.

[fballturkey]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

From two runs through draft champion and two exhibition games:

DC is a neat idea but half baked, offline at least. I don't want to suffer through two easy games to get to the one good game every time it resets. That isn't fun. Also three minute quarters mean what happens doesn't really resemble football strategy at all. It's a good concept but badly executed.

Gameplay is improved quite a bit. I like the new catching/defending mechanics. Haven't gotten the hang of the new run game but that may just be me.

Presentation is bad. The camera angle changes between plays are both jarring and unrealistic (which is fine if they're asthetically pleasing but they aren't) and there are a ton of weird post-play animation glitches with guys popping up in unrealistic ways and laying dead on the ground for a few seconds then popping right back up. One good thing I saw was that a player missed an INT and went into the holding head animation. His teammate behind him ended up getting it though and ran right around him. It was a good, realistic looking sequence. Most of the DB/WR interactions look good now.

Commentary is a dumpster fire. Context specific lines are dropping at completely inappropriate times. I've got Nantz (I think that's his name?) giving the "And that will do it, they won't have time to run another one!" when the other team gets tackled with time left returning a punt. I've got Simms saying that what I need to do here is march down the field and score when I can kneel the clock out with a lead. I'm getting told how great my defense is playing after one play. It's awful.

Overall it seems like it is probably good online if you like that. CCM isn't ready to be played yet so if that's your thing hold off till they fix it. A rating based on the current game would probably be a 3/10, but if they fixed CCM it'd probably be a 6.5.

On a different note, the opening sequence clued me in to something that I didn't realize is missing but really is. The players have no emotion or personality. Seeing Brown jabbering at the ref and then talking up his team put me into the game 100x more than I normally am. I don't know how you'd do it exactly, but getting some of that into regular games would make a massive difference in terms of immersion. Hopefully it's on their radar.

[LowerWolf]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

It's pretty nice being able to throw an actual fade at the goal-line now.

[SportsGamer94]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

I wish they would give us the ability to tweak the camera angles, like give us the ability to adjust the height of the cameras. Non of the camera angles are exactly I how I would like them, I play in standard camera but I wish it was a little lower. The ideal camera angle for me would be how it looks in Zoom camera angle when it zooms out on pass plays, wish I could make the camera angle like this at all times.

Also the team select screen in Play Now does not provide much information about the teams at a glance. I would like to see the star players names, rookies (and what rd they were selected in), offensive & defensive styles, and head coach name for each team without having to select Advanced.

Also please make it so highlights can be sorted per player like in NBA 2K. The way it is now (by quarter) is so tedious and annoying, it's been like this for years and hasn't been touched or improved upon in years for some reason.

[dmslapped]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

I love so much. But defensive backs are so dumb.
Still a solid 8.5 from me

[SportsGamer94]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

As far as a score goes, I have to give it a 7.0 out of 10. I am not comparing it to other Madden games, I am comparing it to the other major sports video games, its still way behind the other major sports titles.

A big reason for the score I gave it is because of pass blocking and pass line play, it does not look anything like real football, that other football games from years ago still does it better. And since line play is such a big part of football it takes a hard hit in my overall review score. It's still 1-2 years away from being a great sports game imo.

[IUxHOOSIERS]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

I know for sure this has probably been mentioned on here, but I am sick and tired of my defensive players going brain dead and going offsides by themselves 5 seconds after the offense breaks the huddle.

[Master_lord85]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

A question:

Have they removed "Player of the game"? I just started playing Madden 16 and when I play with my friends - after the game we don´t touch a single button just to see who is the MVP of the game but it doesn´t show.

Have they removed it? WHY??!!!!

[TouchdownSaints]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

Is it just me who is experiencing my secondary being clueless when the ball is thrown towards them. To many wide open or easy completions for the CPU :@

[Smallville102001]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

I know for sure this has probably been mentioned on here, but I am sick and tired of my defensive players going brain dead and going offsides by themselves 5 seconds after the offense breaks the huddle.

Yeah I have not seen any one say any thing about this but I have now played 2 games and in the first game 4 times I got called for offside just breaking the huddle before I even got to the line and it happened once to the CPU. Second game it happened like 2 times to me and like 1 time to the CPU. Also it fells like when I try to make d adjustments that some times causes my guys to go offside to. I really hope this gets patched soon.

[Master_lord85]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

Yeah I have not seen any one say any thing about this but I have now played 2 games and in the first game 4 times I got called for offside just breaking the huddle before I even got to the line and it happened once to the CPU. Second game it happened like 2 times to me and like 1 time to the CPU. Also it fells like when I try to make d adjustments that some times causes my guys to go offside to. I really hope this gets patched soon.

Anyone knows if the MVP of the game has been removed? On Madden 15 you could always see who was the MVP of the game but I can´t see that on Madden 16... Has it been removed do you think?!

[johnprestonevans]

+ Physics are definitely improved (but still not where it needs to be)

+ Love the gang tackling

+ Love that they cleaned up the post play (players no longer clipping / morphing together)

+ CPU QB AI is definitely improved & QB's are playing like their real life counterparts

+ The new passing mechanics are a nice addition & much needed

+ Love that they added various Ball Carrying styles! Bout time!

+ Like the new camera angles on replays & cut scenes

+ Like the new stat bubbles on players. Nice touch

- The Sidelines aren't still lackluster smh (all players wearing high socks, not wearing their accessories, no names on the back of jerseys, etc..) This is holding the look of the game back & must be a priority going forward. We need chearleaders too!

- RB's still run up their blockers back without pushing off at times & RB's arms still bend behind their back with the ball stuck in their hand smh. I thought this would've been fixed by now! EA, RB's should contextually tuck the ball when in traffic to prevent this from happening. Please fix this!

- Animation quality still needs work (although it has improved)

- Some of the aggressive catch animations seem to be predetermined

- The hit stick has been severely toned down. I'm not able to lay the wood like I used to. I don't like this.

- Presentation is still lacking (including commentary). It's disappointing that there's a ticker in the game but they use it for goals instead of scores & updates from around the league smh. EA dropped the ball on this. We need highlights from games around the league & a weekly wrap up show during CFM. These are the things I expected & thought were a no brainer for this generation. EA has to step it up in this department. We also need to go away from cut scenes & add Real-Time presentation. It's long overdue!

Overall I like the improvements & I'm satisfied with the game but as usual with Madden it still falls short of greatness. Seems like every year I see the potential in the game but it always leaves me wanting more & waiting for next year.

I couldn't agree with you more about the game's presentation. The ticker is wasted here. EA still hasn't put together an immersive broadcast/telecast quality presentation. Scores, updates and highlights from around the league are much needed. A solid halftime show and post game wrap-up and weekly Sportscenter with highlights from other games should be in this game by now. They also have not yet included authentic true-broadcast camera angles (like other sports games have). I promised myself I wouldn't buy Madden until they fix their lackluster presentation. This is my 5th year passing on Madden. : (

[TreyIM2]

Got Madden yesterday after work and spent roughly an hr, overall, playing it. Started with the tutorials on the new pass/catch mechanics and the new defender mechanics and, at first, was not digging the new pass/catch mechanics because, just like I thought it would going in, relearning my twitch reflexes was a bit daunting. Didn't understand why EA went away from using the stick for high and low passes, for one, and when it comes to catching on oh, I don't always manually do it, for two.


Then ran a practice wit my Jets for a while to get acquainted with the new feel of the animations and see if I could get used to the mechanics. Had to bump the game speed up to fast cuz boy did movement feel like moving in quicksand and still wasn't feeling the new pass/catch mechanics

That said, LOVE the new animations, the feel of weight with the players and the new gang tackling. Also glad my Jets have some new plays. Enjoyed practice.

Moved on to n exhibition game against my old coach and his Bills in Met - Lil by little, subconsciously, found myself using the new pass/catch mechanics and appreciating them.

That's just a briefing of my experiences with 16. The game play foundation seems to NOW be pretty well set and I fully expect presentation to be fully realized in 17 but for now, gunna continue to enjoy the great game play of 16.

[Master_lord85]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

Got Madden yesterday after work and spent roughly an hr, overall, playing it. Started with the tutorials on the new pass/catch mechanics and the new defender mechanics and, at first, was not digging the new pass/catch mechanics because, just like I thought it would going in, relearning my twitch reflexes was a bit daunting. Didn't understand why EA went away from using the stick for high and low passes, for one, and when it comes to catching on oh, I don't always manually do it, for two.


Then ran a practice wit my Jets for a while to get acquainted with the new feel of the animations and see if I could get used to the mechanics. Had to bump the game speed up to fast cuz boy did movement feel like moving in quicksand and still wasn't feeling the new pass/catch mechanics

That said, LOVE the new animations, the feel of weight with the players and the new gang tackling. Also glad my Jets have some new plays. Enjoyed practice.

Moved on to n exhibition game against my old coach and his Bills in Met - Lil by little, subconsciously, found myself using the new pass/catch mechanics and appreciating them.

That's just a briefing of my experiences with 16. The game play foundation seems to NOW be pretty well set and I fully expect presentation to be fully realized in 17 but for now, gunna continue to enjoy the great game play of 16.

Do you know if they have removed the "PLAYER OF THE GAME" - after the game you could see who was nominated MVP of the game. I can´t see that but I could when I had Madden 15! Have they removed it? WHY?!!!