![]() ![]() EA Sports claims it’s cleaned up the overall progression and interface, utilising a Battle Pass-style system to issue rewards and more closely associating Sets to your binder. And the same is true of Franchise, which is unquestionably getting better the addition of new Free Agency logic which takes into account player motivation undoubtedly adds depth and variety to the team-building aspect, but some of the peripheral features like coordinators still feel undercooked.Īnd to be honest, we’re not sure about some of the changes to Madden Ultimate Team either. Taken individually, we enjoyed Face of the Franchise this year – but it fumbles the ball when compared to established alternatives like MLB The Show 22’s Road to the Show or NBA 2K22’s M圜areer. We did find that some of the individual drive objectives didn’t always feel achievable from our position, but this is a minor gripe. For the most part, though, you’re simply playing football and earning XP, which you can then spend on increasing your statistics and becoming a better player. You get to select your weekly preparation, which includes training drills and rest days for statistical boosts, as well as your overall goals. Rather than pepper you with poorly acted cutscenes, the gameplay loop focuses on the field. ![]() We speak from experience when we say it’s all fun and games until you take one wrong step and get smoked by Tyreek Hill. You can now play as a cornerback, which we selected, and “enjoy” the unenviable responsibility of covering some of the world’s best receivers. EA Sports has cut out a lot of the crap here, allowing you to pick up the plot of a fifth year free agent looking to get their career off the ground. The same is true of Face of the Franchise, even though it has made an Odell Beckham Jr-esque leap from last year’s dismal attempt. ![]() Is it better? Yes, especially when you’re able to knock the ball out of a receiver’s hands with a last-ditch hit – but there’s still room for improvement here. But there are still occasions where you can see the game awkwardly transitioning between motions as it calculates the outcome, and some sequences feel robotic as a result. EA Sports claims that branching animations make the game less predictable overall, and you can now hammer certain buttons to break through tackles or drag DTs a few extra yards. Still, the ability to throw to a receiver’s back shoulder or chest plate is rewarding, and it makes those tough two-minute drills all the more rewarding to round out.įIELDSense has less of an impact, however. Effectively, you need to move the analogue stick to orchestrate the throw as your QB animates, but an untidy splurge of on-screen meters and crosshairs can overwhelm – especially when you’ve got a kaiju-sized pass rusher up in your grill. Unfortunately, the visual representation of this feature can get a bit messy. This, naturally, reduces the probability of the ball being batted away – or, worse, an INT. Ball placement is not just a co-commentator’s catchphrase, but a real phenomenon in the NFL: the best quarterbacks not only find their receivers, but also place the ball in positions only their teammates can catch it. The precision passing – which is introduced immediately upon starting the game – also makes sense. The ability to more precisely hit the hole means nimbly navigating between blockers feels more gratifying than ever, and we love how the thunderous thud of your running back’s cleats reverberate through the DualSense as you sprint towards the endzone. Well, yes – there’s no doubt that the ground game takes another Jonathan Taylor-sized stride forward, and to be fair it was already starting from a pretty good place. That ambition comes in the form of a few buzzwords this year, including the distinctly marketing-led FIELDSense and precision passing – but does it make a difference? The rest, of course, is history – and the Madden NFL franchise has been striving for realism ever since. The story goes that John Madden refused to sign off on EA Sports’ original football sim until it put 22 players on the field.
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