Madden 16

The first thing that I noticed in getting into Madden 16 was the addition of a new catch mechanic allowing the player to control the type of catch a receiver makes – aggressive, possession, or yards after catch.  I thought that this new mini-game added a lot to the offense, innovating on an already solid foundation dating back to Madden 13.  A new menu interface also helps to modernize the look of the game, and I found it more intuitive than its immediate predecessors.  In addition to the new catch mechanics and menus, the graphics in Madden 16 have improved even over Madden 15, marking further steady progress.  While load times remain lengthy, I suppose that this is the price paid for such impressive graphics and visual effects.

As far as the action went, I played my first game in the wildcard round against the Colts.  Once again, it was a defensive struggle, made more challenging my injuries to Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski (sadly a realistic development).  A touchdown late in the fourth was enough to put me over the top though, with a 7-0 win in another low scoring affair by me.

For the divisional round game in a snowy Pittsburgh, I decided to take points however I could get them, even field goals, given how rare scoring seemed to be in my games.  When my opening drive stalled at the four yard line of the Steelers, I took three rather than risk getting stuffed.  A Devin McCourtey pick set up my second FG at the end of the second, making it 6-0 going into halftime.  While the halftime show once again confused me by citing the Steelers’ special teams touchdown (what are they talking about?), I dove into the third trying to build on my pathetic score.  I once again drove deep into Steeler territory, but stalled at the 2 and kicked another field goal to go up two scores - 9-0.  However, the Steelers weren’t done and nearly came back after a TD put things at 9-7 and they got the ball back with 1:28 to go.  While they nearly converted as the clock ran out, my D held to preserve the 9-7 win.  Another low-scoring game.

The Championship game at San Diego played out differently, this time with me finishing drives and hitting long field goals.  After racing to a 10-0 lead, the Chargers took advantage of some penalties on my D to narrow the lead to 10-7.  A frantic drive in the last thirty seconds of the half pushed my lead up to 13-7 at the end of the half.  Furthermore, a third quarter TD cemented things, resulting in a 20-7 final in which Brady played great (81% completions).  A slightly more respectable score, but nothing like the real Patriots offense.

All of this served to set up Super Bowl 50 against the Packers.  After a nice intro, a 50 yard screen play to LeGarrette Blount resulted in my first TD with 1:56 left in the first quarter – finally a big play from my offense!  Midway through the second quarter, Green Bay responded with a TD to tie things up, before disaster struck and Brady threw a pick six.  Down 7-14 at the half, I knew I had to finally figure out a way to score if I was going to pull off a comeback.  That moment finally came at the very end of the game with a frantic two-minute drive culminating with a Brady TD pass to Edelman (see below).  This set up a Super Bowl overtime period and a Stephen Gostowski field goal to take the lead 17-14.  A Jerod Mayo pick on Green Bay’s final drive immediately ended the game and set the field into wild celebration.

This final game was without question the most fun I had with Madden 16, which marks a further improvement in the series.  While incremental, additions like the new catch mechanic, smoother interface and improved graphics all move in the right direction.  The series continues to improve and pave the way for future innovations.