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Madden NFL '16 |OT| It's Madden Season

T

The Albatross

Member
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Madden NFL '15 was the best Madden release in 10 years. While certainly not without its flaws, it was the first iteration of Madden to garner critical and fan acclaim, and re-establish the series on the right track. EA hopes to build on the progress from 2014/2015 with improvements to Connected Cafeer Mode, Madden Ultimate Team, a new fantasy draft style mini-season called Draft Champions, and other enhancements to gameplay and presentation.

It's Madden Season! (new insane Madden ad)

General Information

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(This was supposed to go live when Madden went live on EA Access on Thursday, but it was release early on Wednesday Night)

New Features & Modes

  • Be the Playmaker advanced controls: Enhancements to handoff system, quarterback locomotion, quarterback AI, passing mechanics, catching mechanics including 3 new types of catches -- RAC, Aggressive, and Possession. An all new multiplayer catch system where catches are affected by the actions of the receiver and defender.
  • Go Beyond the Broadcast with Enhanced Presentation, including the new wire cam, contextual updates, and dramatic replays.
  • Defensive improvements, similar to changes that the offense received, plus enhance gang tackling.
  • Draft Champions Mode, Video Sneak peak, a new mode for Madden that is supposed to be played as "a tournament in a night," where you have a quick fantasy draft to create a team and compete head to head or against the AI in 4 consecutive games. If you win all 4 games, you're the Draft Champion, and if you lose you can redraft and go up against new opponents.
  • Overhall of Connected Franchise, many new enhancements for fans of this mode, including overhauls to scouting, progression, the draft, practice, personnel, and more.
  • AI improvements and penalties
  • Other miscellaneous improvements to graphics, lighting, as well as new NFL rules like pushing the PAT back to the 15-yard-line.

Media



Videos


Gifs (High Quality)

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New pass catch prompts
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Geno Smith confirmed.
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Draft Champions Draft mode
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Connected Franchise Ingame Goals Prompt
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Reactions & Reviews

Gaf Reactions
illmatic22 said:
I give the trial 4 jacked Geno jaws out of 5 jacked Geno jaws.
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Gaming Press Reviews
  • Polygon: 9/10
    MADDEN 16'S HARD-EARNED SUCCESSES FEEL THAT MUCH MORE SATISFYING
    Of course, it could also be said that Madden NFL 16 is prodding the player to use all the components of the defense, instead of leaning on a crutch. Past editions of Madden have introduced new features only to retreat from them the next year. But Madden NFL 16 has taken unused and long-forsaken parts of the series' gameplay and given them meaning, delivering a truly consistent, understandable and enjoyable game after a decade in the wilderness. Madden NFL 16 is noticeably more challenging, but successes that feel earned are much more satisfying.
    Click to expand...
  • EGM: 9/10
    New gameplay mechanics and the new Draft Champions mode mean Madden NFL 16 finally delivers a complete football experience that both casual and hardcore fans should be able to enjoy right from the start.
    Click to expand...
  • Game Informer: 8.75/10
    Changing Madden's modes isn't the priority this year, but you shouldn't skip this year's game. After years of fitful progress, Madden 16 finally puts its gameplay pieces together and delivers a truly dynamic on-the-field experience.
    Click to expand...
  • Gaming Age: 80/100
    I’d definitely say the good outweighs the bad with Madden NFL 16 however, thanks in large part to the excellent addition of the Draft Champions mode, and the overall positive changes made to passing and receiving. Again, this isn’t too far removed from Madden ‘15, but I think you could argue that’s not necessarily a bad thing either. Ideally the U.I. could be cleaned up a bit, it’s still sluggish, but that seems to be par for the course with most EA Sports titles nowadays. And of course the online side being a bit iffy is a considerable negative, but hopefully that’s something that can be patched. So whether you’re a yearly consumer of Madden, or you’ve taken a bit of a break from the series in recent years, I think Madden NFL 16 will whet your appetite leading into the NFL season.
    Click to expand...
  • Sports Gamers Online: 78/100
    The core mechanics of Madden NFL 16 are undoubtedly improved over its predecessors, but is it the best game in the series? Mechanically? yes. But functionally? Not exactly. The gameplay in its current state is slightly less balanced than last year’s version; the offense possesses far too great an advantage over the defense. Likewise, the passing game is too strong in comparison to the running game. That being said, Madden 16’s improved receiver/defensive back interactions elevate the gameplay to new levels of immersion, and the multitude of refinements to the core gameplay engines ultimately yield a more realistic, more dynamic experience. Madden continues to head in the right direction, and it won’t be too long before Madden is back on top of the sports gaming kingdom. Just where it should be.
    Click to expand...
  • Sporting News (PastaPadre): 3.5 Stars out of 5, Video review
    Would love to grab a quote from this review, but it's presented as a web slideshow which makes it too cumbersome to copy/paste text from
    Click to expand...


GAF Community Links

Update 8-22-2015:

The Albatross said:
Can confirm that the frame rate issue on Xbox one can be resolved by clearing the system cache.

What I did was turn off the system (long press on power button), unplug the power supply from the wall, wait a couple seconds and tap Xbox power button (sounds crazy but do this), plug it back in, boot up.

Joined a game in Arizona again and Madden runs basically the same as last year, which is very good. I'm gonna put this in the op.
Click to expand...
 
B

Branson

Member
First Madden I'm getting since 2k5. Sort of a throw back to 2001 for me with madden, metal gear, and playing GTA all in the same year.

Plus it was only $50 from Amazon Prime.
 
D

darkside31337

Tomodachi wa Mahou
Best price for the game is by far at Best Buy if you're a GC member. $48 and you get a $10 GC in the process so its basically $38 for a day 1 purchase. And they are taking copies of Madden 15 for $30 trade in credit too.

Although at this point its too late to order it and get same day shipping so you'd have to pick it up in store. Still the best value if you're a member (and I think its been totally worth it).

Didn't really care for last years game as much as other folks did. Still going to check this out day 1 because why not.
 
T

The Albatross

Member
Something that clicked with me in last year's game is that All Madden, with tweaked sliders, was super playable and really good... Gave a great challenge and played mostly realistically. It's the only Madden engine game I ever played All Madden and also with 15minute quarters + fast clock... And it was really great. Sure, had some issues and money plays, but for the first time in ages I was playing a challenging, realistic Madden game that was still tons of fun.

Downloading on EA Access now.
 
T

The Albatross

Member
DLing now but have a ways to go. People are tweeting that the intro is supposedly awesome. Will try to capture some videos in addition to what's in the op.
 
P

piratepwnsninja

Member
What are the online season modes available? Some of my co-workers want to do one, but I'm having difficulty finding all the different possibilities for these. Can you draft? Do Ultimate Team? Any info from people that have done/played in one of these before would be great.
 
T

Teriyaki

Member
That goal for Bortles in the OP seems really difficult in real life. Will be interesting to see how this is used in-game.
 
Bumblebeetuna

Bumblebeetuna

Member
Would anyone on PS4 be interested in a general manager type simulation only online franchise? Where we control everything with the teams but don't play any games? Would be fun with a bunch of people.
 
R

Redd

Member
They bring back online co-op in this version? Some of us like to play with our friends instead of always against each other.
 
U

User 479360

Banned
When I buy Madden, I find that I play it for a day or two then lose interest, because I'm just not a big fan of the sport. It's fun from time to time, though.

I'll pass, but man those visuals are nice.
 
K

Karish

Member
So many people downloading w EA Access but little to no interest in Xbox one league? So weird. I would love a league
 
B

Bsigg12

Member
I'm actually surprised by how the game looks. The first few trailers and gameplay things online didn't do anything for me but in person, it's better than expected. The uh opening video thing is a bit much.
 
D

Dubz

Member
If I buy this can I go past the ten hour mark on ea access or do I have to wait for official release?
 
T

The Albatross

Member
Yaari said:
Is this Madden Draft thing a MUT mode? Can it be played online? I like the idea of draft.
Click to expand...

It's not MUT, it's a separate mode, and it can be played online or offline against AI. The idea is that you draft a team for one night for a quick tournament.

I'd imagine they will put some MUT stuff into it though or it'll directly affect MUT... the opportunity is there for them.
 
S

Smokey

Member
Game feels different. Although that could be because I played tons of hours on PS4 w/ M15 and I'm having to re adjust to the Xbox pad.

Time to dive into MUT da gawd
 
T

The Albatross

Member
Played the intro, the training, and a single game, Miami @ NE.

Game play thoughts:
  • Intro is typically silly like last year but with a pretty high production value... Getting Antonio Brown, Patrick Peterson, and Ben Rothlisberger to voice parts. It's a good introduction to the game and pretty well done, but of course a lot of it is cheesy... When Peterson and Brown tell each other that they respect each other before the game, you're just like "eeh, okay guys."
  • I had some MAJOR slow down during the cinematic portions of the intro. Like total stuttering, voice out of sync stuff. But... I think this could be my Xbox and that I had just finished watching HBO Go. That used to happen in M'15 during the post game replays if I switched from another app like HBO Go. I'll try it again tomorrow.
  • New passing mechanics are good but might be overkill. THis year, they really introduce a lot more into the total control / playmaker passing. You have the standard stick placement controls, plus modifiers... If you hold LT and throw it, you can throw a low pass. If you hold LB and throw, it's a high pass designed to sail over a linebacker in between coverage. If you double tap the button it's a touch pass. Then you have the standard controls of bullet, lob, and normal. It will take me a long time to actually use these intentionally in a game, and It's not something I'll be able to pull on the fly without a lot of practice.
  • New receiving mechanics are similar. They're good but I'll need a lot more time to practice them before they feel second nature to me. I'm a little concerned about the aggressive WR catch. I made a catch with Brandon Lloyd against Brent Grimes in my exhibition game that should have been batted down but turned into a TD for Lloyd... sure it happens, but hopefully it's not too OP.
  • Defense has definitely been tweaked and movement away from the ball feels very responsive. I was flying around with Donta Hightower for NE.
  • QB accuracy was not automatic from Tannehill. He was something like 4 / 11 by the 4th quarter when he started being more effective. Very pleased with this as I was really sick of the 21 / 23 QB play of Madden '15. Similarly, I missed some passes with Brady, but Tannehill really missed passes way off the mark a few times.
  • Can't really confirm after one game, but CPU playcalling AI still doesn't seem to really match what it should be... I thought Miami would run a lot of no huddle, what with Bill Lazor's fast moving offense, but yeah I didn't see any no huddle from the CPU. Disappointing as this was a feature of NCAA Football '14, yet Madden still can't replicate it outside of the 2minute warning (and yet 50% of NFL teams run a no huddle for large portions of their games). Again, only one game though so who knows, maybe it's there but I doubt it.

PResentation stuff:
  • Biggest improvements are to drive summaries/recaps when the team takes the field. The announcers and camera work do a good job to talk about previous drives... I'm not sure how redundant these will be but I was impressed with them. They commented about a failed 4th down conversion for me when my offense re-took the field, and also commented later about how I Scored a TD, but then my defense gave up a quick TD, and so I'm right back where I was before. Very welcome addition.
  • Graphics look better. Post play animations are improved. Plenty of new tackling responses that I haven't seen and a great new passing animation of Tannehill throwing the ball away while being brought down by a defender. I recorded these, waiting for them to upload.
  • Post play I'd noticed some drops in framerate from 60. Not sure again if these will continue or related to the stuttering I got in the game introduction.
  • Pre-game intro is basically the same as last year.
  • New stadium announcer sounds much better... actually sounded like the Patriots PA voice. Also has a lot more mundane things to say, which I appreciate.
  • Crowd noise seemed similar to last year, not sure if I noticed much that was new.

Misc:
  • Menus are good. Still have the same "LT / RT" menus when you go a second layer down
  • Playcalling seems mostly identical, with some slight changes to the pre-play menus on the field... But the same cascading/accordion play call menu is there which I don't like. There isn't the noticeable stutter when switching formations in the accordion as last year, but it's still not an improvement over the 3 across formation menu from PS2 gen that they abandoned years back for no reason.

WIll add more as I remember.

Hopefully my videos finish uploading and I can gfycat them.

Smokey said:
Game feels different. Although that could be because I played tons of hours on PS4 w/ M15 and I'm having to re adjust to the Xbox pad.

Time to dive into MUT da gawd
Click to expand...

Game definitely has a slightly different feel from M15. I also played M15 on "slow" and my first game was on "normal" so that could contribute. It feels like you have more twitchy control over most players, and there is a greater difference in control when sprinting and not sprinting.

Oh, also I almost returned a punt for a TD in my first game on All Pro... Something that was virtually impossible in M15. Made a few good moves with Edelman for like a 55 yard punt return before being taken down by one last guy trying to get around him.
 
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