Madden 25

Madden 25 takes the refinements of Madden 13 and smooths out the rough edges even further.  The game is notable for a number of reasons, not least the decision to break with convention and calling it “25” rather than Madden 14 to celebrate 25 years of Madden football games.  The history of the series is emphasized throughout the experience, including the logo of every past Madden video game on the menu screen (which brought back memories for me), along with the use of screenshots and fun facts from past iterations of the game during the loading screens. 

Initial impressions of Madden 25 were that it was even slower in loading times than in previous years.  It took me over 30 minutes to manually advance week by week through a regular season before I could finally start my first playoff game.  Before the AFC Divisional game against Baltimore began, I was treated to a pair of team introduction videos to get me sufficiently pumped and fired up.  I thought this was a nice touch to have custom videos for all 32 teams. 

Once in-game, in a snowy Baltimore, I immediately noticed that the graphics had improved over the previous year.  Nantz and Sims were back, along with sideline reporter Danielle Bellini.  In addition to sharper graphics and smoother animations, I also noticed the addition of power meters of some kind underneath each player, showcasing how much “speed burst” and stamina they had left.  A bit gimmicky, but not terrible.  It did not take long for me to notice that the blocking AI had been improved in Madden 25, giving me an opportunity to experiment with a number of running and short passing plays – namely pitches, draws, screens.  This strategy in the snow worked out beautifully – after a pair of Joe Flacco picks, I found myself sitting comfortably with a 14-0 lead at halftime.  This included a monster 16 play, 94 yard drive at the end of the half.  After dominating the clock for the third quarter, I tacked on three more for a 17-0 lead into the fourth.  While the Ravens attempted a frantic comeback, an illegal touching play in which one of their players ran out the back of the endzone before running in and catching a TD wiped out their best chance at points.  The 17-0 Pats win was marked by total domination of the clock (15 minutes to 5), the way I like it. 

The AFC Championship in Denver (which also took a long time to load) was a very different experience.  Peyton Manning was playing out of his mind, changing plays at the line, and surgically pushing the ball down the field.  Less than two minutes into the first quarter, I was down 0-7 after a Manning to Welker TD pass.  I came out swinging though, and despite losing Stevan Ridley to injury managed to tie things up with just under 4 minutes left in the second.  Manning responded once again with a dominating drive before I finally got a stop with them deep inside the redzone.  By holding the powerhouse offense of the Broncos to just three, I went into halftime down just 7-10 despite Denver’s domination of all the stats. 

I opened the third quarter with perhaps my best drive ever in a Madden game.  I used frequent audibles at the line based on defensive packages and was unafraid to take shots deep.  In a grinding drive that lasted nearly five minutes, I finally took the lead 14-10 with just 18 seconds left in the third.  My self-satisfaction did not last long, however.  After the Broncos failed to convert on a third-and-long a questionable roughing the quarterback flipped the field for them and gave them new life.  A few plays later, I was once again behind, this time 14-17 with just 3 minutes left in the game.  Clutch time.

Brady came to play in this one, taking the ball across the 50 to the Denver 41 by the 2 minute warning.  Once I was in field goal range, I tried to strike a balance between milking the clock by not scoring too quickly, but also making sure that I came away with points.  A few plays later, a Gronk TD pass put me up once more – 21-17, with just :34 ticks left on the clock.  It wasn’t over yet though.  Manning and the Broncos once again mounted a furious comeback, slinging the ball all over the field.  After a string of first downs, it all came down to one play with 2 seconds left and the Broncos on my 30 yard line.  Fortunately, Alfonzo Dennard stepped in front of DeMarius Thomas to snag a pick as the clock expired and to cement the 21-17 win in thrilling fashion. 

All this set up the Super Bowl against the Saints in a very snowy New Jersey.  I felt confident going in, based on my success in the snow against the Ravens – perhaps overly so.  After I got called for roughing the passer on the first play, the Saints took advantage of their good field position and scored easily, putting me in the hole 0-7 just two minutes into the game.  In contrast, it took my offense a little while to get going, but I did manage to tack on 3 points early in the second after my drive stalled at the 6 yard line, cutting their lead to four points.  On their subsequent drive, I continued to struggle to get off the field on third down.  After a string of failed attempts, I found myself down 3-14 with less than two minutes in the half.  I had no answers on D and no idea how to stop them. Thankfully, my offense was able to respond thanks to Mr. Rob Gronkowski.  On second down, I hit him streaking down the right sideline.  A broken tackle and 75 yards later, I pulled back to within four points to make the score 10-14 going into halftime. 

My drive to start the second half was the most critical of the game.  It took a few clutch third down conversions, including a deep pass to Josh Boyce that flipped the field, and Gronk trucking a guy near the goal line to convert a first down.  A short Stevan Ridley TD run later, I had finally taken a 17-14 lead with 2 minutes left in the third.  Playing from behind, the Saints suddenly became more desperate in their play-calling, shifting heavily to the passing attack and allowing me to flood the field with corners through nickel and dime packages.  I was able to force back to back punts and effectively milk the clock for the entire fourth quarter to claim a 17-14 win and another Lombardi trophy. 

These three games of Madden 25 were different and memorable, but each seemed fair and made sense to me as a player.  From a run-dominated blowout against the Ravens in the snow, to a back-and-forth shootout with Peyton Manning and the Broncos, to a come-from-behind thriller in the Super Bowl against the Saints, each game was fun for different reasons, mixing strategy and action.  Madden 25, as its name implies, has the feels like the culmination of years of improvement in the long history of this series of video games.  Here’s to another 25 years of Madden to look forward to!

Madden 13

Madden 13 is the first in the series that I played on the PS3 and things started off strong.  Following an inspirational video featuring Ray Lewis that encouraged me to “leave my mark,” I was treated to a stream of silky smooth menu animations that were completely over the top and reminded me of something out of the Matrix.  One of the first things I noticed was the disappearance of the traditional “franchise” mode, which had been replaced by something called “connected career.”  While I’m sure that this feature has all sorts of multiplayer implications, for my purposes it just meant that I had to manually advance one week at a time on the menus until I finally found that Pats in the playoffs, this time in the wildcard round against the Raiders.

First impressions on getting into the actual gameplay on the field were that the framerates are much improved over the previous year.  Even Jim Nantz and Phil Sims looked more realistic in their pre-game reports.  I’m not sure if it was the better frame rates, if the game was easier, or if I was just in the zone, but on my very first drive against the Raiders, I was able to methodically march down the field before punching in a TD run with Shane Vereen from just a few yards out with mere seconds left on the clock in the first quarter.  A combination of ground and pound alongside short and medium passes allowed me to dominate the clock and strike first.  After a second quarter battle, I was able to take a 10-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.  I was dominating the time of possession (8 minutes to 2), but only had a three point lead to show for it. 

It was raining hard in the game, which to me made the consistent framerates even more impressive.  A third quarter pick gave me good field position, but I was only able to tack on another three points, giving me a 13-7 lead late in the third.  While it looked as though the Raiders might surge ahead to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, a pick by Will Allen sealed the game and a 13-7 final.  Following a fun postgame show with some highlights from the actual game, the Pats were on to the divisional round against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. 

The game got off to a rough start for me, with Tom Brady throwing a bad pick that led to a Steelers field goal late in the first quarter.  I followed this up with a failed fourth and inches QB sneak by Brady, and then a suspect 51 yard pass interference penalty against the Pats’ D.  This put the Steelers deep in New England territory late in the second.  While I was able to hold them to a second field goal, I was not feeling terribly confident taking a 0-6 deficit into the locker room.  I was not moving the ball and it seemed as though nothing was breaking the right way. 

Things turned around in the second half, as I opened things up with a sustained drive that was by turns systematic and aggressive, culminating in my first TD of the game with just 21 seconds left in the third.  Short-medium passes from Brady were enough to reclaim a tenuous 7-6 lead.  The game was not over yet, however, and the Steelers mounted a serious drive of their own late in the 4^th.  A critical sack of Big Ben on third down pushed them back to set up a 51 yard field goal for them to take the lead with 55 seconds left in the game.  After a good snap and hold, however, the Steelers kicker pushed the ball just barely wide-right, allowing for me to cling onto a 7-6 win.  It felt good to win, but I needed to figure out how to put more points on the board. 

Nevertheless, the AFC Championship in Indianapolis was a defensive struggle for much of the first half.  After a series of three and outs, the Colts finally struck first with a field goal to take a three point lead with just over 2 minutes left in the first half.  As was the case in the Steelers game, the Patriots were able to respond from behind.  Throughout the ensuing drive I found myself reading their defensive packages and formations and using audibles when necessary to take what they were giving me.   This drive eventually set up 2^nd and goal from the 8 yard line.  I had a quick pass play called, but when I got to the line I saw that they were playing dime and had no linebackers in the middle of the field.  I audibled to a draw play with Danny Woodhead and walked in untouched to take a 7-3 lead with just 17 seconds left in the half. 

The Colts were far from dead, however, and responded with a field goal in the first drive of the third quarter, cutting my lead to just one point at 7-6.  However, I once again applied the methods used in my successful 2^nd quarter TD drive, switching plays and reading defensive coverages all the way.  While I had to convert on two 4^th and inches plays, I ate a ton of clock before scoring a second TD to go up 14-6 with just 1:58 left in the game.  Andrew Luck’s comeback bid was put to rest with a Will Allen pick to seal an intense and fun AFC championship and set up the Super Bowl against the 49ers.

At first it seemed as though the Colin Kaepernick-led Niners would be tough to stop, as they came out with a string of first downs.  While I was able to eventually force a punt, their D was equally up to the task and my offense was promptly shut down.  After a string of 3 and outs on both sides, followed by a trading of turnovers (they fumbled and then I threw them a pick), both teams went into the half deadlocked with a boring 0-0 tie. 

I knew I had to do something different in the second half to get things going, so I started to experiment with different play types.  My first play of the half was a screen pass to Danny Woodhead who was able to sidestep a tackle before taking the ball 60 yards down field.  Unfortunately for me, their defense once again tightened up after this and held me to a field goal.  3-0 with 3:31 left in the 3^rd quarter.  Not to be outdone, the Niners came out with a series of first downs of their own, setting up a long 54 yard field goal.  The ball came in low and hard, hit the left upright and miraculously bounced through to tie the game up at 3 with 1:34 left in the third.

Frustrated, I tried to get aggressive on my next drive by forcing the ball deep.  This was a costly mistake, as Brady threw a pick that set them up with strong field position in the fourth quarter of a tie game.  The Niners followed this up with their best drive of the game, grinding out the clock before finally scoring a touchdown with just over 2 minutes left in the game.  Down 10-3, desperation time had arrived.  After a couple of incomplete passes, the Niners miraculously forgot to cover Julian Edelman on a go route from the left slot.  A perfect Brady pass deep down the field allowed Edelman to walk untouched into the endzone with just seconds left in the game.  Things were now tied up and the Super Bowl was going into overtime! 

The Niners won the toss and elected to receive.  With the new overtime rules, I knew that I had to do everything to ensure their first drive was not a touchdown.  I did not have much time to think this through though, as on their very first play Kaepernick threw an interception to Aquib Talib on the right sideline at about the 25 yard line.  I ran the ball a few times up the middle before kicking a short Super Bowl winning field goal to seal the 13-10 final score.  Talib was rightly awarded Super Bowl MVP honors in this tightly fought and very exciting contest. 

Perhaps my playcalling was too conservative, leading to consistently low scores and tight games.  Nevertheless, each game I played in Madden 13 felt fair and exciting.  The Super Bowl in particular was one of the most memorable that I had played, and the experience was enhanced by uncharacteristically good commentary from Phil Sims and Jim Nantz – they spoke at length about how amazing it was to have a Super Bowl go into overtime, for example.  The bar is low for Madden commentary, but they cleared it in Madden 13.  Overall, Madden 13 is a huge improvement over its predecessor.  While the physics can be wonky at times – with some hopelessly unrealistic body contortions and occasional bugs – this does not offset the huge improvements of better animations and framerates.  Put simply, Madden 13 is the most fun I have had playing Madden in a long time.  

Madden 12

After a five year hiatus, I’m back and ready to finally write about Madden 12.  In rereading my review of Madden 11 for the first time since I posted it, I can confidently say that I did not have nearly as much fun playing Madden 12 as I did its predecessor.  It is an example of the franchise taking one step forward (graphics even better), but two steps back (commentators worse, various features missing, awful music).  While the presentation was generally pretty slick, with HD menus and fun screen wipes and transition screens, I found the controls slightly laggy, the CPU AI inconsistent, and the play calling forgettable.

Diving into my playoff run, the Wild Card opener featured the Pats hosting the Baltimore Ravens.  Things could not have started much better for me, with an interception of Joe Flacco on the first play that set up a short TD run by Benjarvus Green-Ellis, the Law Firm.  I was happy to take the 7-0 score right out the gate, but was immediately struck by two key flaws in the game.  First, there was no drive summary – a feature that I always appreciate – and also by the stilted commentary from Gus Johnson and Chris Collinsworth.  They were quiet for long stretches, and when they would chime in, often their analysis would be off-base and laggy (more on that later).

The Ravens were able to recover and respond with a field goal of their own early in the second quarter, but I responded with a second TD run from the Law Firm.  One incident that took place on the drive that would become a recurring theme in my playing of Madden 12 was that Rob Gronkowski was hurt on his only reception and knocked out for the rest of the game.  Getting Gronk the ball over the middle and Gronk going down with an injury literally happened in all four games that I played, which is a little bit silly.  He might have an injury history, but he does not get hurt every time he touches the ball.  Regardless, the Ravens once again matched my TD with a FG, putting the score at 14-6 at the half following an impressive 2 minute drill from Joe Flacco.

The halftime show, unlike in Madden 11, was simply lame.  It only showed one “highlight” from the first half, which was the final play of the half, a Tom Brady kneel down with 2 seconds left.  Thrilling stuff.

The third quarter began with a flurry of matching TDs, including a deep bomb from Flacco following a blown coverage by me when I accidentally took control of my safety and took him out of the play by undercutting the route.  The final quarter was largely a defensive struggle, although I did punch it in while running out the clock late in the game for a garbage TD to put the final at 28-13.  While the game was never really in doubt, it was fun to play through. 

In moving to the divisional round in Pittsburgh, I was immediately struck by the great likenesses in game of Ben Roethlesburger and Mike Tomlin.  These models are much better than the one they use for Brady.  Unlike the Ravens game, this one was never really in doubt.  My first possession culminated with a 7 yard TD run from Law Firm, which I immediately added a FG to following a Jerod Mayo Pick of Roethlesburger.  While I made a few bad passing decisions and threw a few balls directly to Pittsburgh corners and safeties, the game let me off the hook with them dropping them rather than picking them off.

Although Gronk got hurt again on my first pass to him, I still managed a 17-0 lead late into the third.  My defense was also on fire, sacking Roethlesburger four times through three quarters.  Following a five minute drive to kill the clock, I capped things off with a field goal before picking off Roethlesburger a second time and sealing the game at 20-0.  This game was even less competitive than the first one, and more or less forgettable. 

The AFC Championship was at Kansas City, and I liked the opening sequence, which included a depiction of the Chief’s Mascot (K.C. Wolf).  There was triumphant music and even a helicopter flyover!  I was jacked and ready for an intense game.  At first it seemed like the game would be a tight one, with the Chiefs pulling out some trick plays (including use of the Wildcat formation).  The game was a defensive struggle resulting in a tied game late into the second when suddenly things got wacky. 

Following a Brady interception at the KC goal line, Matt Cassel immediately threw a pick of his own.  Brady responded with a bomb deep for Matthew Slater, making it 7-0 with 0:49 left in the quarter.  When Cassel got the ball back, he immediately threw a second interception.  This opened things up for a second Brady bomb, this time to Julian Edelman.  A short draw from the Law Firm put the score at 14-0 going into the half.  When the third quarter opened with the Law Firm running 84 yards for a TD on a counter play, the game was over.  Green-Ellis would finish with over 200 yards rushing in a 31-7 blowout.  The only other noteworthy aspect of the outing was Rob Gronkowski getting hurt again on his only reception. 

As the final gun sounded, I geared up for a victory animation at having won the AFC championship, especially given the big opening sequence, but instead nothing at all happened.  The game ended and it dumped me back to the menu screen.  In their analysis, neither Collinsworth nor Johnson even mentioned the AFC Championship, they just said, “so that Pats win.”  Snooze.

The Super Bowl featured a rematch of Super Bowl XXXI, with the Pats facing the Green Bay Packers.  Once again, the opening fanfare was great, but the analysts were even worse than before.  The game was in Lucas Oil stadium in Indianapolis, but they kept referring to the game being in Green Bay Wisconsin.  They kept prattling on about the importance of the Packers’ home field advantage.  What happened next stunned me.  I could not make a single play on offense.  Everything I tried failed, be it running or passing.  I ultimately lost the game 7-6. 

On the one hand, I suppose that it was good to lose one, as the previous three games had been such cakewalks.  It was proof that the CPU could compete!  But on the other hand, I was deeply frustrated by Tom Brady’s inability to throw accurate passes and by my offensive line’s complete inability to block anything.  The loss felt a bit cheap, like the CPU just decided it would win regardless of what I did as a player (as suddenly, nothing at all worked).  It also seemed like a random fluke, which proved to be the case when I played the rematch.

The second time around, it was another blowout.  After a long drive that led to a FG, I opened up a 10-0 lead following a Vince Wilfork strip sack/TD run.  Aaron Rogers never knew what hit him.  The sight of big Vince rumbling down the field before springing into the endzone was hands-down the greatest moment of my Madden 12 experience.  I was up 17-0 with 0:36 left in the half when the CPU behaved completely inexplicably.  It ran the ball three straight times for no gain, but took time outs immediately after each play.  This gave me all the time I needed to score one last time with a 53 yard FG to put me up 20-0 at the end of the half. 

As the third quarter got underway (Johnson: “Welcome back to Green Bay!”), the Packers had a decent drive that led to a missed field goal.  From this point onward, the CPU completely quit the game.  Whenever they got the ball, they just ran draw plays to run out the clock.  This makes no sense and is, frankly, just inexcusable in the third quarter of a Super Bowl.  I managed to score once more to make it a 27-0 final in a boring second half. 

As was the case with Madden ’11, winning the Super Bowl was followed by a pretty extensive celebration sequence, including a parade in Boston and trip to the White House.  This was nice to see, but hardly an improvement from the previous year.  By the end of this game, I felt like I was finally getting a sense of Madden 12’s laggy controls.  I had a better understanding of jukes, stiffarms and spin moves, for example.  But ultimately, these games were rather forgettable and uncompetitive.  I was generally able to cruise, except for the one time when the game locked me down completely and nothing worked.  This all-or-nothing approach made me question how fair the game really was.  In the end, I found Madden 12 to be just another Madden in the ever expanding sea of Madden titles.