There is no doubt that anyone playing Madden NFL 15 is already a fan of football
Madden NFL 15 is an excellent return to form for the series. Yes, it’s still plagued by legacy issues, but the leaps taken on defense, coupled with the spiffy new graphics and excellent gameplay, make this an essential purchase for longstanding fans and a great starting point for players looking to jump on board.
It’s hard to overstate just how valuable it is to have something in Madden NFL 15 that actually explains the difference between a Dime and a Nickel package, or how choosing a certain defensive formation affects movement on the field after the snap. There’s a basic assumption that anyone playing
Madden NFL 15 is already a fan of football - you’re not getting lessons on what a first down or an extra point is - but the closer look is illuminating if you’re the sort of player that tends to lean on Coach Suggestions when calling plays.
It’s still not completely perfect. The drills connected to each tutorial are meant to let players test out concepts and strategies that have just been demonstrated, but football is a very fast-moving sport with a lot of movement once the ball is snapped. In the tutorials and the drills both, all of the action is still at the mercy of the game’s AI. A newcomer might follow every direction perfectly, yet fail to complete a drill. It’s more an issue of signage than anything else; Skills Trainer appears to be a tutorial, and it is in many ways, but there’s also a scored challenge-mode element.
By contrast, Madden NFL 15 focuses on defensive aspects on this side of the ball. Starting with the defensive line, a number of moves have been added for rushers to attack the backfield more. When near the line of scrimmage, try timing your rush to the snap. Using RT or R2 at the exact time the ball is hiked, will give the rusher a better opportunity to correctly engage a blocker. Once engaged, using X and A (Xbox) or square and X (PlayStation) will use pass rush moves to shake the opponent and open lanes to get to the QB or running back. And when finishing plays, it’s a must to wrap your opponent up or destroy him with a hard-hitting tackle. Square up and either hit conservatively or aggressively. Taking a more passive approach yields in almost sure tackles every time. But taking the risk to attack tough can result in immediate stops and some fumbles or injuries. This new tackling system can give certain defenders the upper hand. As far as on-the-field action goes, we’re getting closer and closer to having realistic football. In previous years, defensive players weren’t exactly known for being brilliant, but this year they at least seem aware of the fact that they’re on the field. They’ll make dives for balls out of reach, react to curl routes, and try to get in the way of the offense. It’s going to take more time to really see how well this has been implemented as players spend more hours trying to beat the system, but right off the bat it’s hard to find real complaints.
The same can be said for Madden NFL 15 Ultimate Team, which has received a few tweaks in the name of making the mode more navigable, and not much else. It's still a mode I like a lot more in theory than in practice, as the progression of it still leans a little too heavily on inspiring the urge to pay for additional player card packs, versus just playing through the mode's offline and online challenges to earn coins. The skills challenge mode has been fleshed out with some additional trainers for specific game situations, and a surprisingly fun gauntlet mode that ramps up the ridiculousness of the regular training mini-games. Online play hasn't seen any significant changes, though most of the games I played did seem a bit laggier/more stuttery than in last year's game. As always, your mileage may vary, but this of Madden NFL 15 was a bit more pronounced than what I've typically experienced in other EA Sports games.
My point is this: How convinced are we that the people at EA Sports even like football? They’ve been comfortable shoving out this sort of blithering averageness for years now. They like money, sure, but where’s the passion? Where’s the accountability? The teams that craft the NHL, NBA and MLB franchises all clearly bleed for those sports. Can we say anything close to that for the people behind Madden? Shouldn’t that make you angry? Let Madden NFL 15 be the moment where we finally realize that we deserve something more.
