Once again, Madden comes out to prove its the game to beat. And once again it comes up short.
For years, gameplay has been one of the cornerstones of Madden, its gone from the arcade play of the late 80's and early 90's to a tight football simulation in the early 2000's. But the series has moved to a game strictly about presentation. It tries hard to look as realistic as an actual football game but at the expense of real football play.
I have come across examples of this and here are a few. I was playing against the Colts. Manning threw a screen pass to the FB who caught the ball and rather than turn up field he proceeded to run backwards 2 yards and then out of bounds. In another game against the Packers, I attempted to make a tackle and literally dove right through the runner not once but twice. It was as though my player was a ghost. On a designed run to the left, my LT rather than engage the DE ran towards the middle of the field and didn't block a single person. I have also had my 3rd string QB mysteriously inserted at QB. The starter wasn't injured or exhausted, he was simply just replaced by the CPU with my 3rd QB. It's these things make you feel as though you are a beta tester trying to help EA work out the kinks. Only you've already paid for the game and what you see is what you get.
Now EA has been working on the presentation of the game. It certainly looks more realistic. I for one cannot stand the cut scenes. There are too many and attempts to skip them can sometimes lead to accidental plays being picked. The commentary is weak. Collinsworth is good however the other guy is simply awful. Personally, I just can't listen to it. It will make you wish for the days of Pat Summerall or Al Michaels.
I am a few games into my franchise and I just don't feel any sense of accomplishment. Not in the same way I do with NCAA. There I am constantly fighting to get my team to the BCS Championship and recruiting players that can help continue a winning tradition. But with Madden, its just not there. It just seems like there is something missing to Madden.