[RogueHominid]

I waited to get the game until about a month after launch, as I was upset that they clearly didn't prioritize the offline franchise gamer this year. I broke down and got the game because I really like football and I wanted to see how it was for myself.

I wanted very badly to be able to post a positive impression, to say that my pre-release skepticism was ill-founded. Unfortunately, after having the game for about a month, I've already had my fill. If I knew anything about the NBA or 2K's game, I'd be playing that.

There's lots to say about why and how this game falls short for me, but the short of it is that it doesn't feel or look like NFL football to me once the game is in motion and the strategic element comes into play. In still shots, the game looks pretty: uniforms and lighting are good. But it's just not football to me.

I envy those who are into MUT. I've never played it and never will; it doesn't appeal to me. I also envy those who play in full, 32-man sim leagues; that doesn't work for my schedule or play preferences.

As an offline-only guy, there are so many issues:

QBs just don't play realistically. They take too many sacks, don't move realistically within or outside of the pocket, generally have far too much accuracy, and are generally not severely affected enough by pressure. They can't throw screens well, they can't throw verts well, they can't throw curl/flats well, and when these issues get "fixed," we get Robo QB. There's no middle ground where Madden QBs resemble real life NFL QBs.

The CPU doesn't know how to use its playbooks and doesn't adapt strategically to the talent on its team. The game plans are an absolute mess.

Customization is lacking: formation sub menus have to be interpreted using a mirror, the positional designations and sub options are overly restrictive due to the online crowd, nobody really knows what any of the sliders do, and we just don't have a reliable set of tools for fixing the things the development team botches.

The strategic aspect of the game is so minimal that it feels stale to me after a few weeks. From the playbooks to the game planning options, Madden very quickly boils down to the action on the field for me, and the action on the field isn't satisfying.

I could go on, but to make this game even close to palatable, I have to use Sabo's playbooks and live with the CPU QB being dumb enough to take 75 sacks a season in my games. And to make this strategy work, I have to live with a playbook system that's buggy, incomplete and reductive, and really complex to use in franchise mode (2 controllers, 2 profiles, 3rd string QB workaround, etc.).

At this point, I simply don't think the current team can be trusted to produce a product that meets the needs of the offline sim gamer. I don't think they're bad people and I'm not evaluating their ability to provide a fun game for online franchise types or MUT players. But for my gaming style and for my money, this game is a disaster. I really wish I didn't feel that way. I want to like the game. I just don't feel like it's a football game; I think it's a football-branded e-sports title with NFL skins on the field and players.