I personally have been playing Madden since the Sega Genesis days. I have seen the game evolve and improve over time, giving me a unique perspective many people don’t have that grew up with only on Nex Gen Systems. While the game has visually improved, the mechanics and skill of the game have diminished. The fun factor that made the game exciting to play is gone.

Back in the day, everyone could had the potential of winning in a head to head game on madden. Routes were great, players actually played to their stats and movement was fluid. Sure animations looked a little funky, but that was because systems back then did not have the ability to create the fluid animations we see today.

In today’s game, the game is almost automated on all levels. Forcing a style of play EA Sports deems acceptable. Running QB’s were essentially nerfed to oblivion, Speed Receivers are useless in deep routes, and the CPU rarely ever makes a mistake in your favor.

Don’t get me wrong, the game has improved in other levels such as blocking on the o-line, but these few improvements are seriously negated by many of the major issues found in the game. It makes you wonder how some of the games even got out of the QA process.

I honestly turned on Arcade Mode only in madden as it has felt the most “sim” for me. All the other settings in the game are ridiculous. Not sure if others feel the same way as me, but the arcade mode actually feels the most “sim” of all the modes, because it allows players to live up to their expectations. I also turn all the auto assists off and drop the CPU capabilities to a more realistic level. This level of modification was never required in previous years making the entire game more balanced.

Also, QB’s in the game are way to accurate for the CPU. So many games such as QB’s in the 70’s overall rating will have an 80%+ in completion percentage. You are in the settings more then in the game, constantly trying to adjust the game to be “realistic”. Players should not have to modify these settings constantly to get a realistic gaming experience, they should already be baked into the game.

The game has visually improved over the years, but the mechanics are so extremely heavily animated and pre-determined it makes the game very boring. Nothing in the game is authentic anymore in regards to what is happening. It lost the flare that the NFL has where at any moment you can have a big breakout game.

It EA has turned this game into another farming game for money through card packs while the rest of the game was neglected in favor of it. Even the new storyline was watered down for the second year which was a huge disappointment. Just deeply saddened how bad the game has gotten from its original inception.

One last thing that may just be from original players from Madden is missing John Madden’s “Boom” commentary. I feel EA has still yet to truly replace John Madden in the game when it comes to the great commentary in the game.