Madden 16 Reviews

[jaymo76]

As the game is about to release it's time for the official AND unofficial reviews thread. Official reviews from gaming sites with access to the full copy are allowed to release Monday morning. Informal gamers with EA Access or who have found the game early have no embargo.

[jaymo76]

http://www.pastapadre.com/2015/08/24/review-madden-nfl-16

Pasta Padre's review is up. His is a little more in depth with regards to all of the modes but essentially we are saying the same thing: solid gameplay yet underwhelming CFM.

[cdj]

EGM (http://www.egmnow.com/articles/reviews/madden-nfl-16-review/) - 90

New gameplay mechanics and the new Draft Champions mode mean Madden NFL 16 finally delivers a complete football experience that both casual and hardcore fans should be able to enjoy right from the start.


Game Informer (http://www.gameinformer.com/games/madden_nfl_16/b/xboxone/archive/2015/08/24/madden-nfl-16-game-informer-review.aspx) - 88

Changing Madden's modes isn't the priority this year, but you shouldn't skip this year's game. After years of fitful progress, Madden 16 finally puts its gameplay pieces together and delivers a truly dynamic on-the-field experience.


Currently at an 87 on Metacritic (http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-one/madden-nfl-16), 6.0 from users.

[skipwondah33]

Gameplay! Woooo!

Finally a version centered mostly towards it.

[gigemaggs99]

I like it!

Have only played a few games, but you can press the X to make your TE or HB take off upfield vs last year when they'd run out of bounds.

On a side note, Gamestop had a "midnight" release but they said we could get here at 10:45pm as they would release them at 11:01PM. He said it's 12:01AM "eastern".

So had the game in hand and back in the car by 11:05pm.

[jaymo76]

Word of warning for franchise people... there is no word yet on a patch for the major cfm bugs, namely progression and regression bug based on meeting or not meeting game goals. That will destroy your CFM league-wise as it causes havoc on cpu teams especially. Speculation is the a patch is at least 2-3 weeks away.

[SmoothPancakes]

Good thing I am 100% skipping Madden for the third or fourth straight year. No love for CFM, EA can blow me.

[jaymo76]

Good thing I am 100% skipping Madden for the third or fourth straight year. No love for CFM, EA can blow me.

The funny thing is that according to Kobe CFM got the most attention this year of anything. How is that possible though as the mode is so untouched? Then I got to thinking:

1. new scouting
2. 100% new menus
3. added combine stats
4. new player cards
5. player goals

The vast amount of time was put into recreating exisitng aspects of CFM rather than creating new additions. Personally I saw no need for new menus. I would have loved for that time to be used to create a weekly wrap-up show.

[SmoothPancakes]

Yeah, I'll give them credit for polishing the mode, but polishing doesn't earn my money. Not in a mode that is so bloody damn shallow to begin with. CFM is nothing compared to the depth you can find in FIFA, NHL, NBA 2K, NBA Live, MLB The Show, etc.

If they want to polish, fine, but if they care about ever receiving my money again, they're gonna have to step up and spend the time and give CFM proper attention in a development cycle.

[AustinWolv]

Is the stupid fantasy team cards crap still a huge component of the game or can you just play football finally? Is the gameplay significantly better than '15, which I didn't play much of, as the cards stuff was so annoying.......

[Rudy]

The funny thing is that according to Kobe CFM got the most attention this year of anything. How is that possible though as the mode is so untouched? Then I got to thinking:

1. new scouting
2. 100% new menus
3. added combine stats
4. new player cards
5. player goals

The vast amount of time was put into recreating exisitng aspects of CFM rather than creating new additions. Personally I saw no need for new menus. I would have loved for that time to be used to create a weekly wrap-up show.

Don't forget, kolbe is a former Show Dev and doing any changes is massive lol. The Show always progresses at a snails pace.

[bdoughty]

Is the stupid fantasy team cards crap still a huge component of the game or can you just play football finally? Is the gameplay significantly better than '15, which I didn't play much of, as the cards stuff was so annoying.......

Yeah, that is the gravy train so do not expect to see it going away any time soon. In fact the new draft mode is an additional card game, so basically EA is slowly turning the game into Madden: The Gathering. ;)

[bdoughty]

I would have loved for that time to be used to create a weekly wrap-up show.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo! Just another show I have to skip to get back to the menu screen. They are neat once or twice but gets stale quick.

[AustinWolv]

Yeah, that is the gravy train so do not expect to see it going away any time soon. In fact the new draft mode is an additional card game, so basically EA is slowly turning the game into Madden: The Gathering. ;)

Crossing fingers for NCAA XB1 backward compatibility soon!

[jaymo76]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo! Just another show I have to skip to get back to the menu screen. They are neat once or twice but gets stale quick.

2k5 and the Chris Berman Show respectfully dissagree. That was phenomenal IMO. That being said, room for comprimise... make the show optional.

[jaymo76]

Crossing fingers for NCAA XB1 backward compatibility soon!

Last I heard it was on page 6 of the top games and 100,000+ votes behind the leaders.

[bdoughty]

2k5 and the Chris Berman Show respectfully dissagree. That was phenomenal IMO. That being said, room for comprimise... make the show optional.

The catch is that 2K is pretty good at making shows like that, even though I still skipped them. You do recall this is EA, need I post a halftime show to show you why it would be time wasted?

[gigemaggs99]

Good to see the official SUCKS board is in full fledged mode.

[bdoughty]

Good to see the official SUCKS board is in full fledged mode.

Quality post! - IGN
10 out of 10! - Gamespot
Did not suck! - Kotaku
I laughed, I cried! - Polygon
Never has a post been so essential to a thread! - Destructoid

[bdoughty]

Back to the suckage. 15 minutes just to make it to the main menu. At least we Steeler fans got a 7th Super Bowl Championship out of it but for cripes sake.

Online Tuner - failed
Online Rosters - failed
Online Playcalling - failed

Really not digging the lack of an option to turn all of the menu music off. Only option I could find was to mute it from volume control. Bring back NFL Films music and a playlist to turn things on/off. Unless I missed it, then please share with me the secret.

[gigemaggs99]

One thing I can say is I'm glad I have the physical copy. Reading reviews online and seeing other post things on other sites, they are upset that the digital copy doesn't seem to be downloading.

I'm sure the digital copy is nice and all, but it sure would be nice if you could access it.

[jaymo76]

One thing I can say is I'm glad I have the physical copy. Reading reviews online and seeing other post things on other sites, they are upset that the digital copy doesn't seem to be downloading.

I'm sure the digital copy is nice and all, but it sure would be nice if you could access it.


I have the EA ACCESS copy still on my system. If I choose to buy it there is no re-download as it will simply unlock. In other news... the wife is still in shock I have not purchased.

[cdj]

The worst media review likely goes to Destructoid (http://www.destructoid.com/review-madden-16-307755.phtml). Not arguing or debating their score (6.5/10), but rather how it reads as if they went into the review knowing they were going to not like the game and be snarky.

[jaymo76]

The worst media review likely goes to Destructoid (http://www.destructoid.com/review-madden-16-307755.phtml). Not arguing or debating their score (6.5/10), but rather how it reads as if they went into the review knowing they were going to not like the game and be snarky.

Oh yeah. There is an agenda there I am sure. Basically a 6/10 says this game is worse than 15 and that is downright 100% false. This game is leaps and bounds better in gameplay. I could see a 9 for gameplay and a 6 for CFM averaging out to 7.5 but not a 6 overall.

[bdoughty]

The worst media review likely goes to Destructoid (http://www.destructoid.com/review-madden-16-307755.phtml). Not arguing or debating their score (6.5/10), but rather how it reads as if they went into the review knowing they were going to not like the game and be snarky.

I would argue reviewers at some of these sites are disgruntled by being forced to review a sports game. They picked the short straw.

[CLW]

Oh yeah. There is an agenda there I am sure. Basically a 6/10 says this game is worse than 15 and that is downright 100% false. This game is leaps and bounds better in gameplay. I could see a 9 for gameplay and a 6 for CFM averaging out to 7.5 but not a 6 overall.

In my limited playing time I tend to agree with you but I'd give it a 7 - and bump it up to a 7.5 (or even an 8) if/when they fix the offsides and CFM issues.

[cdj]

I would argue reviewers at some of these sites are disgruntled by being forced to review a sports game. They picked the short straw.

That's true, but I noticed on the author's Twitter feed he stated sports reviews were some of his favorites to do. Maybe he just doesn't like Madden?

[skipwondah33]

That's true, but I noticed on the author's Twitter feed he stated sports reviews were some of his favorites to do. Maybe he just doesn't like Madden?Or EA which both wouldn't be out of the question

I rarely pay attention to reviews honestly. Would much rather see a video "review" if anything like the way Jaymo did and watching Pasta's video gameplay "review"

[JBHuskers]

Here's my little review: I gave it an 8.5

Each year of the PS4 / XB1 era, Madden has continuously improved in many areas, but still lacks in the additions on the CFM side; which keeps it from reaching a perfect score. The area they have best excelled in is gameplay, and it has come a LONG way since it's current gen debut.

The great part of the gameplay comes with a new wrinkle of the WR/DB interactions. It feels like there is a true jostling between the two players with true results. Not only do you get true results, but the animations and look and feel are fresh with every pass attempt. Speaking of the pass attempts, you can do a lot with QB to get it to the WR in the best possible way from holding down the button for a bullet pass, double tapping the button for a touch pass, or tapping the button once for a lob. You can modify using L1 or LB for a high pass and L2 or LT for a low pass, and once you get the hang of these mechanics, you can start doing them without thinking about it when the situation arises.

While it is disappointing that CFM is pretty much unchanged, and still isn't as engaging online as the Online Dynasty was in NCAA Football. There are still some great additions, including a long time commish wishlist item, choosing the winner for simulated games. I also really like the dynamic drive goals. Much like the dynamic goals in NBA 2K's MyPlayer mode, it gives a level of immersion and changes it up for you instead of just sticking to your same ol' gameplan. It makes you change things up, but really doesn't penalize you if you choose not to accept the mission. I also like the running tally of game, season, and career goals for the players showing at the bottom after a play as well. Those are some welcome tweaks.

The biggest new mode of Madden 16 is Draft Champions, and it is fun as hell. First you choose your coach that will give you style boost for one offensive and one defensive group, then you draft 15 players to mold your team. You'll be shown three players and you have to choose one. The great thing about this is when you highlight the player, it also highlights your current depth chart below so you don't draft two studs at the same position. That is very slick. I could have done without Adam Schefter's commentary after picks though. The players that come up will be a balance between gold and elite Ultimate Team players with the 15th and final round drafting a legend. You'll then try to win three games to be the Draft Champion either solo or online with friends. I think it's a great way to play Madden for some competition with friends on a random night.

Speaking of Ultimate Team, it is back with a very sharp new logo and a bunch of new content as well. There are well over 150 solo challenges to do in the new Journey; which are full of scenarios and not just full games to beat. Not only is it something new to try to beat with your Ultimate Team, but it is a great way to get your team started as well because each challenge gives you coins and sometimes packs to help build your team without having to break the bank early on buying packs.

And finally, I'm not going to give any spoilers, but the opening playable scene is AMAZING and props to those who had a hand in creating it.

Overall, Madden 16 is VERY close to achieving their ultimate goals, and if they work on Connected Franchise next year with what the community wants to see, they will reach those goals.

[psusnoop]

Really wanted to play online with this so reading the reviews really are not inspiring me to go out and purchase this game.

NCAA has really been tough to stay engaged in and I had hoped Madden would fill my void there but it doesn't seem to be the case.

I may wait it out for a little bit before I buy this game.

[steelerfan]

I had hoped Madden would fill my void there

Fee-fuh. ;)

[jaymo76]

Fee-fuh. ;)

FIFA looks good but NHL IMO looks fantastic!

[psusnoop]

NHL needs to bring back Connected!!

SF, you know your right. I'm buying FIFA this weekend! Game on haha

[steelerfan]

FIFA looks good but NHL IMO looks fantastic!
I can't say I feel the same. I'm going to wait for reviews on NHL. FIFA is going to be a preorder.

[steelerfan]

NHL needs to bring back Connected!!

SF, you know your right. I'm buying FIFA this weekend! Game on haha
I'm game, brother!

[jaymo76]

You can really see the disconnect on Metacritic. Game revew companies are giving the game on average a 9/10 while as people who play the game come in between 6.7 and 7.5. I'm sure some of the reviewers are spammers (on both sides) but this game has two distint pieces: gameplay and CFM.

To me gameplay is a soild 9. The huge issues with CFM right now put the mode at a 6 for me. As such I score the game about a 7.5. Critics need to recgnize the issues in the game right now and the vast majority of reviews have not called EA on the CFM issues. They probably dont know about them but if they don't how do they have credibility as sports game reviewers? Any proper reivew that doesn't acknoweldge the issues is not worthy of review status and ultimately misleads the readers.

[JBHuskers]

You can really see the disconnect on Metacritic. Game revew companies are giving the game on average a 9/10 while as people who play the game come in between 6.7 and 7.5. I'm sure some of the reviewers are spammers (on both sides) but this game has two distint pieces: gameplay and CFM.

To me gameplay is a soild 9. The huge issues with CFM right now put the mode at a 6 for me. As such I score the game about a 7.5. Critics need to recgnize the issues in the game right now and the vast majority of reviews have not called EA on the CFM issues. They probably dont know about them but if they don't how do they have credibility as sports game reviewers? Any proper reivew that doesn't acknoweldge the issues is not worthy of review status and ultimately misleads the readers.

My assumption is most reviewers are casual players who probably play the game for a week, write, then wait for next year's copy.