EA Sports Madden NFL ’12 TSO Review

EA Sports Madden NFL ’12 - TSO Review

Madden is back for another season with the release of Madden 12 this past August 30th. Some eager sports fans were able to get it a few days early on Friday Aug, 26th with EA Sports new Season Pass feature. Madden 12 feels like a nicely improved product over 11′s version. Several game modes received some attention while others are left largely untouched. This review will not cover Ultimate Team and Be a Superstar modes, as they are largely untouched from last year with just a few tweaks. Superstar mode has been fined tuned some, and Ultimate Team now allows for card trading.

Presentation

Instantly recognizable when you first load up Madden 12 and start playing around in game are the updated graphics and overall presentation. The developers have implemented a new lighting system that looks great. Player models have a better polish and some all new animations are nice additions that assist in getting the gamer immersed in the football experience. Overall, this is the best looking football game to date.

The sound and commentating are on par with previous versions. There isn’t much of a noticeable difference in the commentator lines from last version. However there are some irritating glitches with players names being incorrectly called at times.

Gameplay

Even with the nice visuals, a football simulation game is largely judged on how it plays on the field. For the most part, Madden 12 has improved and solid gameplay. As mentioned above, new animations on offense and defense really add to the overall experience on the field. The overall difficulty also feels a bit tougher this year, mostly due to the improved AI which will be discussed below. The custom playbook feature, as also seen in NCAA 12, is present in Madden 12. Users can go in and completely customize offensive and defensive playbooks down to each formation and play. It is a great tool for those who love to customize their Madden gaming experience.

EA seems to have put a big focus into the on the field AI this year, which is welcome. As also seen in NCAA 12, Madden has an all new and improved zone defense system which is a vast improvement over previous installments. The defensive AI is improved overall and defenses read and react more realistically to offensive plays. Player tendencies play a big role as well. Gone are the days where Michael Vick tries to play like Peyton Manning. Scrambling QBs will run move in the pocket, whereas pocket passers will sit back and try to pick your DBs apart in the air. This really adds another dynamic into the game and helps develop another strategic layer. Teams should play more like their real life counterparts. Similarly, there is also a player role functionality that sees a return from last gen Madden. Certain players get labeled with roles such as ‘Future Star’, ‘Franchise QB’, and ‘Defensive Playmaker.’ There are also negative connotations such as ‘Underachiever’ and ‘Fumble Prone’. These roles have an effect on the players on field performance in certain situations and is a nice touch.

Dynamic Player Progression is also new in this version. This means that a players rating will go up and down during a game, or for a few weeks in franchise mode with hot or cold streaks, depending on their recent on field performance. Throw a few interceptions with your QB? His ratings will drop a bit. If your wide receiver makes some big 3rd down catches, you should expect a little bump in ability and he will go on a hot streak with his buffed confidence. However, if he starts dropping some big catches or TD passes, watch that confidence drop along with the passes. This is a welcome feature as well and helps capture momentum swings and fluctuating confidence levels that are seen on Sundays.

There are however some aspects of the game that feel a bit off to me. As a simulation football game fan, I feel the game plays a bit too arcade like out of the box. Offline, you can slow the game speed down which is great, but unfortunately this cannot be done for Online Franchise and Ranked Games. The players also feel like they move a bit on ice and can change direction too well. There will be times when you have a big hole when running and suddenly a linebacker comes across the field and out of nowhere to make the tackle. These instances just don’t feel natural.

Game Modes

As I am writing for an online community, I would typically want to focus my review only on the portions of the game that relate to online play. However, I don’t feel like I could give Madden 12 justice in a review if I left out the improved Franchise mode. Madden 12′s Franchise mode is hands down the best it has been in this generation. After having been largely untouched in recent iterations, EA finally put a focus on this mode and revamped it and added a bunch of new features. Teams now have expanded rosters. Rookie ratings are unknown at first and are slowly unlocked through preseason play. As you go along each week, you have to make cuts to your roster to eventually get down to 53 players. Other great additions to the Franchise mode are an upgraded draft scouting system and improved free agency bidding. The dynamic player progression and player roles also add to the Franchise experience. If you have avoided this feature in the past, now is the time to give it another try.

Online

New in Madden 12 is the introduction of Madden Communities. The goal of these communities are to group like minded gamers together for online games. If you are in a community, instead of going into the main lobbies and taking your chance with some random cheesy player or quitter, you can get a quick game in with a legitimate and hopefully sim style gamer. It is a novel idea from EA, though its success or failure will depend on how well players utilize this feature.

Fans of the Online Franchise mode will have some new additions to look forward to but will largely be disappointed. The Online Franchise as it stands is a far cry from the fully featured offline Franchise mode. In game, there are no changes to the Online Franchise. You cannot make any slider tweaks, no custom playbooks, no gameplay speed changes, no new rookie scouting system, no importing of NCAA draft classes, and no player editing capabilities. This disappointment aside, EA did throw the Online Franchise gamers a bone with the partnership with My League Manager (MLM). Commissioners can connect their Online Franchise with this website and get access to a bunch of outside features. MLM has direct access to the EA servers and can pull in a ton of information from the Online Franchises. MLM will simulate real NFL salaries for players, allow draft pick trading, offer real time drafts on the website, and users will be able to participate in live free agency bidding. This year’s Online Franchise looks to be bittersweet for users of the feature. We have some improvements we have been clamoring for, but it still lacks some fundamental features that are almost necessary to fully enjoy the mode. Here is hoping that this feature receives some attention in Madden 13.

Conclusion

Unless the only mode you enjoy is Online Franchise, Madden 12 should not disappoint. Even for those who only play Online Franchise, that mode is better overall from last year with the implementation of My League Manager. Madden 12 looks fantastic and has improved on the field through improved zone defense and AI tweaks. Dynamic Player Progression, player tendencies, and player roles add some RPG like elements to the game that most will appreciate. There are some personal dislikes with the speed and feel of the game out of the box, but at least in offline play, this can be changed through the game settings and sliders. The game has a bit too much of an arcade feel sometimes for my liking but is still solid. The offline Franchise Mode is the best in years and is a must play for fans of the feature. Overall there will be some who are disappointed for various reasons, but Madden 12 will be a crowd-pleaser for the majority of football gaming fans.

Scores (out of 10)

Presentation - 9

Gameplay - 8.5

Game Modes - 9.5

Online Play - 7

Overall - 8.5