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For whatever its worth that is the score I'd give it based off of my season ticket weekend with the game. Couldn't find sliders to make the game any more enjoyable than NCAA is either so I'm renting it and we will see with PS4.Quote:
Originally Posted by SCClassof93
I had season ticket but have been away for a few days..........if I get it at all I am thinking ps4.Quote:
Originally Posted by CLW
imho it's not worth $60 especially if you might upgrade to ps4 (even with the $10 special that may or may not apply to madden)Quote:
Originally Posted by SCClassof93
im renting it from gamefly to pass the time until GTA comes out and a few other titles i'm interested in.
Oh boy! That's a tough question. Let's look at gamespot's premise.Quote:
Originally Posted by SCClassof93
Madden 25 is NOT disappointing IMO. Having said that, I agree with all of the above points listed. To give this game a 6 is a little too harsh IMO. I think people need to be realistic with their expectations of this yearly Madden release on it's last ps3/360 year. Personally I would give this game a 7.5 to 8 rating. It is a different game from last year but the gameplay is pretty much the same as it is every year. If you are NOT into OWNER MODE then you don't need to buy this title. Almost everything in the article I agree with, except for the rating.Quote:
Madden NFL 25 marks a quarter-century of football gaming with a disappointing addition to this venerable franchise.
The Good
Still a very comprehensive and full-featured treatment of NFL football
Undeniably exciting to play at times, especially on offense
New run free and heat-seeking tackling offer control scheme enhancements.
The Bad
Core gameplay barely changed from last year
Offense still overpowered and defense still not smart enough
Disappointing presentation
New Connected Franchise mode lacks depth.
Ask my wife and kids, for as much as I complain about issues with this game I have been playing it every second I can. Frankly the "fun factor" is significantly higher in Madden 25 than it is in NCAA 14. In the history of Madden I am doing something I have never done... play with multiple teams. Currently I have two different franchise experiences. I have an online CFM with the Rams and I have an offline CFM where I am controlling the Raiders, LA Dreams (Vikings), and auto-piloting the London jags and LA Rams. Although I wish owner mode had more depth and options I do find myself somewhat interested in occasionally checking what the fans think about our concessions. But again, if you don't want owner mode and you don't want to relocate/rebuild your stadium (and deal with some of the bugs and glitches...) then I don't see a compelling reason to buy Madden 25 IF you own 13.
If you are hoping for a real sim football game then this isn't it and if you love defense you have come to the wrong game. If you like fun arcade football with a sprinkling of realism then I think you will love this game. If you don't like NCAA then you probably won't like this game, even though it does play much, much better than NCAA.
Just my .02c
EA write-up on popularity. HOWEVER, there is no mention if it's dynamic...
http://www.easports.com/madden-nfl/n...onality-rating
:up:Quote:
Originally Posted by jaymo76
My season ticket is running out but another quick impression: the cpu always recieves when they win the coin toss... every single time. Plus during breast cancer awareness month the commentary (re: the cause ) each game is the same word for word.
I'd say 95% of the time NFL teams choose to receive at the beginning of the game unlike college. It's rare when they defer imo.
Ugh! It takes sooooooooooooooooooooo long to manually upgrade players this year! You choose the trait and then you must confirm it and it loads... there is huge upgrade lag. I have progression set at end of the year again as with 13 there were cpu issues if you didn't progress at the end. Other than a few key players and positions I will give the cpu full control. It just takes too long otherwise.
The retail version of Madden 25 is tuned differently than the demo and M13 (PS3). I agree with those that feel the Infinity Engine has been scaled too far back. I think the M13 demo looks better in this regard. Player movement is a bit jerky as well. It doesn’t feel as smooth for some reason. Because of this I tried playing at Very Slow and it felt better but I just don’t like the lack of explosiveness at that speed so I will be sticking with Slow. Overall I had fun playing a bunch of different games - many of the one half variety to check out different styles. The first thing I noticed is that on All-Madden the cpu offence is a lot better than the demo. The run blocking is far superior and the cpu QB is ridiculously accurate.
PASSING GAME
After some testing I think cpu accuracy at 3 is about right. Even at 5 guys like Jake Locker and Kevin Kolb rarely misfire. Human accuracy is good at 5 imo although what does that say about EA when you have to have sliders so close to 0 (or 100). This year’s Madden is similar to the past in that balls rarely hit the ground. To see actual misfires where neither WR nor DB touches the ball you have to have the accuracies near 0. Low accuracy can also result in too many picks so the interception slider has to be turned down. I like adjusting sliders but there is no question that Madden at default is tuned to be a very arcade style game where every pass is completed or nearly picked off at default. I tested out playing a couple games with and against Locker as he’s one of the worst starting QBs in the game for accuracy. That list also includes Pryor, Vick (a little surprised by how bad they made his accuracy) and Sanchez. Quite frankly the QB accuracy ratings are fairly poor. How does a bum like Scott Tolzien have better short and medium accuracy than any of those QBs listed? The rookies have inflated ratings as well imo.
The cpu QBs do seem to make pretty good decisions and it is nice to see a great cpu QB tear apart my defence this year. I think this area is a huge upgrade over M13 as in M13 it was a near miracle to get the cpu QB to throw for 300 yards. I was actually worried the cpu was too pass happy as Romo practically lived in the shotgun but teams like the Bills and Titans ran the ball a lot more. WR catching seems to be too good. Even at 45 I played an entire game with Miami and Dallas and there wasn’t a single dropped pass by either team and both of the teams passed the ball a lot.
RUNNING GAME
User run blocking is too easy. I have to put user run blocking at 0 to keep it in check and it felt good there in my first few games. I felt a team like SF was too easy to run with in the demo and I’ll have to take them again and see if Boldin continues to wipe out CBs while Gore rushes for a ton of yards. I will do that soon. It was far too easy to run the ball in M13 last year on any slider setting. I’m hoping that won’t be the case in M25 and it may be good. Again, I HATE that a slider should be at 0 (or 100) to fix something. With all the complaints about the over-powered user running game I’m hoping EA tunes this a bit. The cpu running game is good. The RBs spin and make good decisions generally speaking, the run blocking is strong for them and running QBs take off and the run the way you like to see them. Pass blocking is over-powered at default (it seems as though nothing is good at default lol) but sliders do fix this imo.
DEFENCE
I’ve read many complaints about the lack of cpu pass defence on curl routes but I’m not seeing that problem right now. With cpu coverage boosted up a bit I saw DBs blanketing my WRs and even some mirror coverage at times (note that I’m not a great passer). What I did like was that both teams can hit the deep ball and the cpu will burn you if you bring the safeties up. Right now I think user defence is good and overall defence is good in the game WITH slider adjustments. I had one game at 7-6 at the half. My only concern is if the cpu will be good enough to stop the user running game. At 0 run block it appears OK for now.
SPECIAL TEAMS
I messed around with the special teams sliders and noted that the cpu kickers aren’t that accurate if you push down the FG accuracy. At 40 or less they start to shank them too much but the cpu kicking game is pretty good near default. User kick returns are a bit too easy while the cpu never breaks a long return. My biggest issue with special teams is how ridiculously easy it is to kick FGs again for the user. The sliders are horrible and can’t be used to fix the problem. You get separate human and cpu sliders from the main menu but can’t touch them in game and you only have global sliders apparently in franchise mode. It doesn’t really matter though as I tested human FG accuracy at 0 and you will still make every kick! The r-stick does virtually nothing! Just aim the accuracy error pre-kcik, swing your stick to ensure enough distance and don’t worry about the aim on the r-stick as you will make it every time. I kicked a near 50 yarder with my r-stick at 45 degrees off from where it should have been and made it. How can EA not get this area right? Clearly EA must think that the customers want to make every freaking kick but why not fix the sliders so I can actually get realistic outcomes if I want them? (EA must be right because I have yet to read a SINGLE review that points out how easy it is to make every kick).
PRESENTATION
This area could use a boost. The cut scenes are a bit repetitive (switch to real time please) and I wish they had more press box angles for replays. I like the commentary. I really enjoyed Simms and Nantz last year and like them this year. A few more stat overlays would be nice but overall I’m satisfied in this area. Not great but not horrible either imo.
OVERALL
Overall the game feels good but it is disappointing that IE has been tuned down. I’m hopeful the cpu play calling is better in franchise and that there aren’t too many bugs unlike the buggy mess of M13. I do like the Legacy camera and went back to that. I don’t see this as a huge upgrade so far to M13 but a nice evolutionary upgrade in terms of gameplay. I think the improvement to the cpu offence, particularly in the passing game is worth the purchase. I’ve only played about the equivalent of three or four games so my thoughts can change.
I'm still wondering what the point of the precision modifier is. If that's supposed to be a super move with guys highly rated why would I do the basic move and not the super move? Why not just keep those controls the same as before? I just don't see the point of having to hit L2.
Careful with auto subs or your RB disappears to never come back. I scored a TD with Victor Cruz who got tackled in the end zone. He did his salsa dancing only to find out he busted something when he got tackled and was out for the game. Not exactly immersive lol.
I think saving separate cpu and user sliders is unnecessary myself. I wish we had access to the tuning mechanic instead of just the weak sliders they give us.
Man I am throwing a lot of pics. Yes many are my fault but on occasion I will see one of those "madden moments" where you just roll your eyes. I might actually drop the cpu ints down as I am averaging two pics per game. I'm not sure why but for the last couple games I have really struggled offensively.
Has any of you been doing the draft for this year ? How is the draft classes and draft mode for the game this year ?
I haven't gotten that far Gator. Just doing Play Now. And yes Jaymo, I have stretches where I throw a bunch of picks. They are normally a result of me pre-determining my read and/or forcing it into tight coverage. Sometimes I just have to learn to scramble.
I took the 49ers against the 49ers and we both ran for quite a bit of yards. Only time for one half of play but it was fun. I'm seeing some good things now and that does include defence.
Yup I lock at to a reciever and it's hell or high water. With the zone d at 75 and ints at 30 any bad pass may be picked off. Have you seen a lot of route mirroring? In my last game vs Tennessee my recievers were totally blanketed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
Draft is pretty much the same as last year and all classes are pre-made. However, I imported NCAA class i my test dynasty. I recommend you don't do that as it totally removes all of the commentary insights and completely removes players from the twitter feed discussion for the entire season. IMO you need to keep the fake classes so you can keep the immersion factor. Apparently in the fake classes there is occasional commentary from a second announcer.Quote:
Originally Posted by GatorfanStovy
I've only got pass coverage at 65 for cpu and I saw one bad example of it. The rest has been tight coverage at times but nothing that I can't say is cheating. If I make good reads I can move the ball. Your patience and decision making is key. The one weakness I still see in the coverage is the zone press from the CB on streak routes. If you recognize it you can still get the ball in behind the CB and in front of the safety too easy. The CB needs to trail the WR a bit more before he stays in his short zone imo. He can't just jam the WR and let him run free down the field completely.Quote:
Originally Posted by jaymo76
It's funny how certain qb's play in this game for different people. I have faced Wilson and Kaepernick and both games they weren't great at passing and rarely ran the read option. However, a guy who just destroyed me is Cam Newton. Newton trucks linemen and lb's for breakfast! Jake Locker is also really tough to contain.
Same here.. what us the point exactly? It's really awkward to try to work acceleration while at the same time trying to push l2 for a spin move.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
That freaking sucks balls! I was all stocked for importing classes. Stupid player rights! Looks like iw ill stick with NCAA this year until Madde or a football game lets us actually use the names again. That was so much in franchise mode. ugh. such a let down.Quote:
Originally Posted by jaymo76
Humbled... I just lost 33-17 to the Bears. Bradford threw four pics and my rb's combined for three fumbles. I'm dropping cpu pass coverage back to 65. As with all Tiburon football games, why will the receiver not go up and fight for the ball???
You can still get the real players in the draft. It's just the extras like draft stories you miss out on. I personally don't want to do that myself and will just use the generated ones. But if you are waiting for this to change I wouldn't be holding your breath. There is a decent chance EA never makes another college football game.Quote:
Originally Posted by GatorfanStovy
I am finding that there is a very fine line between the cpu having a great passing attack and the cpu having a bad one. With some slider tweaks I took Miami into Foxborough and Brady was 10-23 with 4 INTs in the first half. A lot of that is how bad his WRs are and the fact they try to run a short two TE passing game and Hernandez is not there. No Welker hurts cpu Brady as well. I'm making a couple small tweaks and will see how it goes. The cpu does not run the ball enough. While Brady threw it 23 times in the half, I think Ridley had less than 5 carries.
I do find it odd that after every injury the cpu QB seems to take 10 seconds to snap the ball. The cpu likes to give the hard snap count but all it ever does is draw their own OL offsides. Whenever I make a big play the head coach of the other team can be found yelling at a player on his bench but the dumb thing is he's yelling at the wrong unit. If their WR drops a ball he's yelling at a LB. That could use improvement.
NCAA was the exact same way on a lot of things. Fine line from impossible playing against the CPU to easily rolling them.
Yes, and then you add DPP into the mix. If the cpu is hot and your D is cold... it gets ugly quickly!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
I think the game may have taken a step back in graphics and I think it's mainly because of the lighting. I didn't realize the Colts stadium could be opened. I thought it was a closed dome. I played a game there with it open and it was ugly as sin. The lighting and shadows were bad. I also took the Dolphins into Ford Field and lost 35-20. I was happy to see Stafford throw the ball around. Both CJ and Pettigrew were big against me. But the lighting just doesn't look that good. The Dolphins pants aren't white for some reason - they are off white or almost grey in the game. Even the Lions blue pants looked bad. It's as though the game doesn't use real lighting so it throws fake shadows on their lower bodies while the upper bodies stay clean and brighter. It doesn't look good for some teams and the Dolphins all-white look is one of them.
There was quite a bit of comments from EA pre-release about having more player momentum and things but I'm not seeing it at all. It may be worse. I caught a crossing pass with Mike Wallace going across the middle and he was going full speed. I instantly stopped on a dime and then went up field. The demo was better in this area and IE imo. It's not game breaking or anything but it should be better than this - much better.
Visually, what happened to progressive lighting? I think this has taken a huge step back this year. As to momentum, I don't see it a lot but I still ascertain that IE has taken a major step back from last year.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
Here are a few things I really want to see fixed ASAP. These are not the biggest issues but they are things that are getting on my nerves.
1. CPU HIT STICK... it seems like every hit from a safety or LB is a hit stick. Tone this down!!!
2. Patch in the option to open the roof in retractable stadiums. Currently it is IMPOSSIBLE to open a roof for a RELOCATED team
3. Fix the endzone art in CFM OWNER MODE for RELOCATED teams (Rams, Jags, Panthers, etc.)
4. Enough with these terrible replays... limit the replays but bump up the stat banners
5. Tone down the amount of ints. each game. I have NOT played one game without either a hum/cpu int (avg. 3 per game hum/cpu combined)
Sidenote... forgot to mention that we were told commentary was improved and would be more dynamic... NO!!! At this point commentary is the weak point in this game as it now stands. This needs to take a massive jump next year. For ps4 commentary needs to be dynamic and we really need to see a 2nd team. Plus this game does NOT have a broadcast feel... this needs to change.
My passing game has gotten worse. I'm terrible right now. I'm not reading the defense, I'm panicking and rushing my throws and staring down one receiver. It's ugly.
Tell me about it. In my Rams CFM Bradford has been hurt and or struggling and the backups haven't faired much better.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
Bradford: 4 td's 11 int's
Clemens 3 td's 10 ints.
Davis 1 td 4 ints
The problem I am having is that my receivers do not fight or come back to the ball while the cpu defender does. This is just another madden legacy issue that NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED FOR NEXT GEN.
There are a lot of legacy issues but there is no reason for me to believe it will be much different on next gen. I hope I'm wrong.
Weird glitch... I am picked off in the endzone (that's a shock...) and the cpu goes out of bounds in the endzone. Next thing I know I have been given two points for a safety and the cpu is punting the ball to me. Brutal! :fp: :down: :dunno:
The game isn't tested very well. I was playing against my son and there were times (questionable out of bounds catch) where neither of us could challenge. It wasn't inside two minutes or a TD play and we had only challenged once before at most. One time I did challenge with Miami in Detroit and I heard the crowd boo before the ref actually talked which I thought gave away the play but he confirmed the play (good for Detroit). Then I saw Miami on the field pre-snap for both offence AND defence. It was fine when we went to play but it was goofy.
My 6 year old daughter actually said the game didn't look that good or real lol. I think the player models actually look a bit skinny. Overall I do think the game took a step back due to lighting and IE being toned down. It still looks good but something is off. I may play the M13 demo tomorrow to verify.
See that's the funny thing because when I compared the demo vs. madden 13 a few weeks ago I thought the demo looked really good, especially Green Bay. I agree with your take that the players are smaller although in some ways it is better IMO because I have always felt the players were too big for the field. However, some players, especially small rb's look funny as the head and body size don't match up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
Anyone else notice that on your first drive Nanatz refers to your team by the wrong name. It's 50/50 whether he will say the Rams. I am referred to as the Raiders and the Eagles just as regular as I am called the Rams.
Cpu really seems to run a lot of zone in this game. I would say 70% of the coverage is zone. I'm not sure what the real NFL stats are but that seems high.
My son uses Ask Madden on defence. Tons of zone suggestions. Part of the problem is that there are so few man defences. They removed all the double team options and there are no backet or shading options other than in the hot route menu. He CPU just isn't given enough to choose from.
Rudy have you started your franchise yet or are you still in play now?
Jaymo,Quote:
Originally Posted by jaymo76
1. I recently played with your sliders for 3 games. I completely agree that the CPU hit stick is way way overdone using your slider set. I get that the occasional big hit occurs in the NFL, but it seemed like in those 3 games 75% of the tackles were WWE over the top type tackles.
5. Yes the Interception total was high 7 combined picks (5 thrown by CPU), 5 combined picks (4 thrown by CPU), and all 4 picks in game 3 were by the CPU.
I am finding this game to be way way to easy for me. I have played a total of 7 games in Franchise (mostly pre-season and couple regular season) and only punted twice, that is mindboggling. I have no fear of the CPU and my slider set really can't get any harder in pass coverage (50 INT and 100 for both Pass Reaction and Coverage). The sliders are beyond weak in my book. 0 run blocking does not slow me down at all, I still average 7+ yards a carry with a pro style run game and almost 10 per rush using Shotgun Option. Like I said I saw your Franchise thread about the Rams and said maybe I will try those and my mind hasn't changed in the slightest, M25 sliders are extremely weak. The biggest problem comes from the ones they removed (Run reaction, Block Shed, Pass Rush) their gone and so is the ability it seems to slow down my Offense to realistic numbers. I am really disappointed in the lack of CPU defense and special teams coverage in M25. M13's defense and special teams coverage is light years ahead of this game and that was too easy. I am still working on my slider set but there isn't much wiggle room left (0 HUM pass blocking, 3 HUM QB Accuracy, 0 HUM Run Blocking, 75 CPU Tackling, 50 Interceptions, 100 Pass Coverage, 100 Pass Reaction).
I have been really slow to post any impressions because I am having such a hard time getting a competitive game out of the CPU. I really want to like this game but when it is an afterthought no matter the matchup (last game was Rams vs Broncos I won 48-9 for crying out loud), it is hard to stay positive. I will keep at it but I don't know how much longer.