[DickDalewood]

One thing that I think somehow (and rather remarkably) goes almost under-appreciated/under-discussed is how ridiculously good the presentation is in this series. There isn't anything on the sports gaming market (now or ever, including NFL 2K5) that comes even close. The pre-game show, half-time show, post-game show, the studio "interviews" after the second quarter, the advertisements for upcoming games, the graphical overlays for holiday events, the commentary, all of the in-stadium stuff like the cheerleaders and mascots and the crowds... I could go on and on.

I took the last couple of years off from the series and have played only Madden and The Show religiously during that time. Don't get me wrong, I love both series (Madden 16 has been a huge step forward), and The Show's gameplay is always top notch. But playing this title? Wow. Jaw-dropingly wow. These other sports titles need to step up their game. Big time. It's almost embarrassing how poorly they perform in this department in comparison.

I'm so, so glad I decided to make the purchase this year.

BTW, the ability to play six minute quarters but have the stats sim as if I played a full-length game? Um... amazing! Talk about another feature other titles should adopt immediately. Huge for the little amount of time I have to play videogames in a given week.