While I was out in Los Angeles for E3 2011, the first interview that I conducted was with the Executive Producer of Madden NFL 12, Phil Frazier. After having just a couple minutes to speak with Phil on what EA Sports would be introducing for the first time to the Madden franchise and actually checking out the game for myself, I was impressed by the improved presentation and lighting implemented into this year’s iteration of the franchise. Here we are almost three months later and after owning the final version of Madden NFL 12, I now have a well developed assessment of Madden’s latest offering. Read more to see if EA Sports has justified another $60 purchase with Madden NFL 12.
Despite the NFL-lockout discussions during the off-season, EA Sports remained focused and strived to develop this year’s Madden to the best of their abilities. The first improvement that will grab your eye once you power on Madden NFL 12 for the first time, is the enhanced presentation. It is clear that improving the presentation of the Madden franchise each year is one of EA Sports’ main focuses and Madden NFL 12 is clearly no exception. With all 32 NFL teams now possessing their very own run outs featuring their mascot and cheerleaders along with over 500 new dynamic broadcast cameras, the Madden experience has reached a whole new level of simulation.
On-Field Authenticity has also received a noticeable upgrade featuring new equipment, the addition of helmet stickers, improved ball physics, and the impressive player degradation system. For the first time in the Madden NFL franchise, weather will play a huge role in how your players appear while on the field. If you happen to be playing during a heavy storm, expect to see your running back trashed by the end of the game and expect to see portions of the field torn representing an authentic NFL experience that was previously nonexistent in the franchise. Each NFL player also possesses their very own personality in Madden NFL 12 so if you happen to be playing as the New England Patriots, do not be surprised to see Chad Ochocinco play in a cockier manner than your general NFL wide receiver. All of this adds to the realism of Madden NFL 12 and unarguably delivers the most authentic football experience to date, but did EA Sports place just as much attention into the gameplay of this year’s offering?
Madden NFL 12 features an all-new collision system that makes timing your hits more rewarding than ever. A player’s momentum when running towards the ball carrier and the size and weight of all participating athletes now plays a large role in the impact of the tackle. If you throw a pick and are left with no choice but to tackle the ball carrier with your quarterback, you can expect the tackle to come off as weak, but if you have a receiver who just caught a pass and your in control of Troy Polamalu, running at the ball carrier at full force and utilizing the hit stick with the correct timing will deliver a hit that would have likely been replayed on ESPN’s highlights. EA Sports has also included over 100 new tackle animations, 40 of which are gang tackles, to make the player feel as if they are not playing the previous iteration of Madden with updated rosters.
The AI has been deeply improved this year offering a more challenging and rewarding gameplay experience than Madden’s previous iterations. Credited to the new Dynamic Player Performance enhancement, a player’s performance will have a great impact on the behavior of the player on the field. For example, Troy Polamalu will become more aggressive when the Pittsburgh Steelers are losing in a tough battle. There are a total of 18 new traits across all positions in Madden NFL 12 ranging from consistency/confidence to a quarterback’s ability to sense pressure. Recognizing your key player’s traits and working to improve their performance is essential in Madden NFL 12, especially when playing on All-Pro or All-Madden.
Dynamic Player Performance is heavily implemented into the revitalized franchise mode of Madden NFL 12. From week-to-week, every player’s skill ratings will vary based upon the traits associated with the new Dynamic Player Performance mechanic. When key players become inconsistent, you can expect the overall rating of the player to drop substantially impacting the performance of the player on the field. Becoming consistent and playing well will result in their skill level going up, further improving their performance on the field.
EA Sports has also provided players with more control of your team throughout the franchise mode with added scouting sessions, expanded rosters, and free agent bidding wars. These additions add to the Madden experience and allow players to feel the pressure of a NFL Team Owner, coach, and player all during one franchise offering an experience that is unreachable on any other football title to date.
Franchise mode now provides player-specific roles such as “Shutdown Corner” and “QB of the Future” which may have an in-game impact such as the “Shutdown Corner” role impacting not only the player/s who posses this role, but the quarterback on the opposing team. These roles can be earned or lost and not only influence the performance of a team or player, but how teams draft rookies. For example, a team that contains a "QB of the Future" will not draft a quarterback early in the draft.
Visually, Madden NFL 11 has been improved vastly in a few categories. Enhanced lighting mechanics will be the first improvement you will likely notice as EA Sports has further improved upon last year’s offering providing more realistic shadows and a more realistic visual experience while playing in all forms of weather. As mentioned previously, the new and improved player animations also add to the overall feel of Madden NFL 12 and truly make this year’s offering feel like more than a $60 roster update. Enhanced rendering and development of the 3D grass with this year’s release has also added a whole new element of realism to Madden this year as pivots in the grass are sent flying off a player’s cleats and snow accumulation on the field develops throughout the game. All of this combined with better looking stadiums and environments sets itself apart from any other Madden visually offering the most visually amazing football experience in gaming today.
When it comes to online gameplay, Madden NFL 12 is more of the same when comparing to last year’s iteration, but what EA Sports has included for the very first time in the franchise are online communities. With the online communities, players will have the ability to join or create a community with anywhere from 2 to 2,000 players and play against each other with unique rules and specific leaderboards. This is EA’s response to avoiding experiences with cheaters and quitters that can often get on your last nerve. EA Sports has allowed players to join up to five different communities allowing for varying gameplay experiences when playing users around the nation. This is something every Madden fan should welcome to the franchise as it opens up more opportunities for your online gameplay experience and adds a whole new level of community to the Madden experience.
Although Madden NFL 12 introduces football fans to a much improved experience from previous iterations, there are a few repetitive mishaps that seem to add up and cause frustration at times. Most notable for me personally is the slight hiccups throughout the presentation clips featured throughout the gameplay. Now do not get me wrong and perceive this as what was experienced on the PS3 early in its lifetime, but throughout playing, I have noticed slight hiccups in the fluidity of the presentation aspect of Madden which may be frustrating to many adopters of this year’s title. The in-game commentary this year is also something to frown upon as the lines are often stale and repetitive and sometimes completely inaccurate.
Overall, Madden NFL 11 is a noticeable improvement from last year’s title and has made simulation football more realistic than ever. With the addition of Dynamic Player Performance, enhanced presentation, and the new online communities, no football fan should miss out on the best football title to this date. There are just a couple things I wish EA Sports could have ironed out for this year’s release.
Final Score: 8.5/10
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