Well another year has passed and that means another lineup in sports games is about to hit shelves. Today was one that marked the arrival in probably the most popular in those games in Madden NFL 12. Well as we all know the name Madden itself sells but does that mean that it's worth your 60 bucks? Well I'm here to inform of the very verdict.
Presentation
One thing that Madden does have going for it is its visual presentation. Every team has authentic stadium fly-bys, team specific intros to the field and mascots. The TV style presentation does add to some great looking football as more players have better facial models than in year's past and you can really see the effort in lighting and in player models. Although some players, well most, seem alot larger than they should it doesn't detract from the overall look of the game. One gripe in visual presentation is the lack of instant replays. It makes no sense to have the cool animated transition but only to have the replay covered up by the playcall menu. Another downside to overall presentaion is the commentary which is inconsistent to say the least. You have Gus Johnson and Cris Collinsworth back in the booth and though at times they seem to sound like they're on the same tangent it breaks down into broken dialogue between the two that anyone can realize is recycled. You'd think that games such as MLB The Show and NBA 2K would've taught the brass at EA hey put the guys in the booth and start from scratch. But at the least it does a fair job of keeping up with 90% of the action.
Gameplay
On the field Madden does a great job of playing a consistent football game. Its very dynamic in the way that you run both the offense and defense. Me being a fan of classic football doesn't even bother with Gameflow. To me it should have never been implemented so I can't discuss how it works. I can however talk about the addition to change how you activate preplay reads. Last year Madden introduced us to D-Pad preplay
management, which I despised with a passion. It made for a confusing time of organizing your team before the ball snapped on defense or before a penalty on offense. But with them giving you the ability to go back to how it was in Madden 10 I was happy until it came to calling audibles out of your current formation. Its amazing how in NCAA it hasn't changed and is still fluid but Madden can't seem to nail it right. Then there's the actual game on the field, while playing Madden they have instituted new player roles similar to year's past. Now with this implementation into the game it gradually adjust to how a player is performing on the field. A player can either have an MVP type game or 1st round bust type game depending on how you play. I played a game with the Colts and ended up going 14-17 with Peyton Manning and the 3 incomplete passes were 2 tipped INTs and one ball knocked loose. so I figured ok maybe I just had a good game, I was playing the Eagles. So my next game I use the Titans and Matt Hasselbeck had an awful game due to dropped passes and Lebron linebackers, they jump high not as high as NCAA but high enough. I ended up goin 8-22 that game. But the difference I experienced with both games was how you start the game off. I started off completeing my first 6 passes with Manning and he got the ball rolling. With Matt I started off 0-7. So it does vary depending on how you start a game off same with all offensive positions that I saw. If a WR is dropping balls expect i all game. If a running back is only getting 3 yards per carry, expect it all game and vice versa. On the defnse side of things its a lot different. It all depends on how they are reacting to offenses. If your CB is getting beat consistently he receivers on his side will feast but if he's shutting opposing players down then you might as well call it Revis island. Now these attributes I like because they don't effect the whole team just that player. So if your QB isn't doing well you better learn how to run the ball, which is very fluid I might add. getting between the tackles and finding that seam always feels rewarding everytime you do it. Also if one WR isn't catching balls find other targets it actually makes you manage a game dealing with Hot and Cold streaks in an in-game setting, backup QB's are very valuable this time around. Overall the game on the field isn't anything real different last year's game. It's well paced and very fun. If you know how to play Madden you should have no complaints.
Conclusion
Madden does what it does well which is play a great game of football that is fun and enjoyable, while I still believe the controls should be reinstated to the Madden 10 days its nice for them to try and restore order. With players playing more like their real life counterparts, if Chris Johnson breaks free you won't catch him and the Eagles are a lot more harder to pass on, it's not a whole lot here that makes this version seem like a breath of fresh air. The added presentation elements are nice but I know us fans would like to see more work put in on the gameplay level. In all if you're a fan of Madden you'll love what they've done, especially with some of the added depth to Franchise Mode. But for someone who's satisfied and still is in the clutches of Madden 11 there's not much reason to upgrade here.
Graphics 8.5/10
Sound 8/10
Gameplay 8.5/10
Replay Value 10/10
Overall 8.5/10
