[DeuceDouglas]

I don't think you're really missing anything. I think the consensus is that gameplay has been significantly improved while franchise is pretty much staying the course with limited additions. Most of the "hype" around franchise has been from articles which aren't very reliable resources or at least should always be taken with a huge grain of salt.

Scenarios has a ton of potential but are going to be pretty lackluster, at least at launch, this year. Updated contracts to closely reflect real life is a great change but I have a feeling it's going to wreak havoc on the CPU since nothing's really changed for them to be able to handle such a huge shift. Pro Bowl is the Pro Bowl. Overall the franchise experience is going to be very much the same as it's been the last several years.

Madden has already been a H2H focused game and I think this year that's felt more than any other IMO. If you play H2H, this year is probably going to be a blast but if you play vs. the CPU, it's going to feel more like an improved version of 19 which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But the AI for both franchise and gameplay both continue to lag behind the rest of the game and in a case of this year where the game feels so improved and so much better than M19, that sticks out even more.