But if the Chiefs show a different formation, I'm ready to change the play to deal with it. But if it's another type of defensive formation, say against a pass, if the Chiefs do show that formation, then I have high confidence that this play is going to work. The first is it tells me to look for that defense - and if it's a blitz, I'm being extra alert. For example, when Madden NFL 15 suggests that I call a particular pass play because the Chiefs use a certain defensive formation in this situation, it does several things. It's the strategic suggestions that are most enlightening. Strategic suggestions come from the real-world tendencies of NFL teams. User suggestions show the player what they've called in the same situation. Community suggestions are drawn from the millions of Madden players in recent years, and what they have called in the situation facing the user. There are three types: strategic, community and user. Most players will take suggested plays, and these will come with data explaining why they were chosen. Knowledgeable, longtime players can still navigate the full playbook manually, though it does require an annoying extra button press to go back to its main directory. The introduction of analytic data, to suggest plays and help you choose and even implement them, makes it the game's most valuable and even overdue improvement. The new play-calling menu - which doesn't make for the sexiest of sales pitches - is a solid example of this. This is the most user-friendly and fun-to-play Madden to date, and that's thanks to new inclusions that help players make more informed choices, both before and during a play, in a sport distinguished by strategy. ![]() This is the most user-friendly and fun-to-play Madden to dateįortunately, the polish and improvements put into Madden NFL 15's solid and enjoyable gameplay may mean the development team will have the luxury of working on other things next year. This is the duo's third year together, and their dialogue - or how the game serves it - absolutely must be upgraded next year, if they're going to stay in the game. "He's looking for extra yards!" was all Nantz said over the entire play, before handing it over to the eternally unimpressed Simms. The best example was when I took Ryan Mathews of the San Diego Chargers 59 yards on a do-or-die screen pass. Playoff games with these two are still called with a disappointing blandness that lacks context, to say nothing of individual plays in one-off games. Unfortunately, the camera work doesn't help the generic commentary of announcers Jim Nantz and Phil Simms. I'd still love to someday see an around-the-league look at scores, like Madden's dear departed sibling NCAA Football. He also backs a studio introduction that is miles better than the head-scratching, no-dialogue beginning to games in Madden NFL 25. In terms of broadcaster commentary, Larry Ridley, a regional sports personality from Florida, supplies the most oomph with a halftime report that, remarkably, sounds like he was really watching the game with specific references to performers and stats. But you'd also be surprised how lifelike Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks seems when the camera isn't lingering on him doing nothing on the sideline for eight seconds. ![]() The models of players and coaches are improved, and look more lifelike thanks to better overall lighting that reduces the over-metallicized look of the helmets seen last year. Visually, the game is the best it's ever looked, and a new approach to the TV-style broadcast really draws out the game's beauty. It is not an enormous leap forward, but Madden NFL 15 does show the most polish, year-over-year, that I have seen in the series since 2004. This year, Madden's best additions aren't big, ambitious game-changing modes, but smaller features that help users make more informed decisions and play more under control. Too many times over the past 10 years, Madden's response to skeptical gamers was to hastily build splashy, marketing-friendly features that either were rolled back or left unimproved in future editions. Ten years later, Madden NFL 15 validates its iterative process as a game that improves rather than repairs or attempts to reinvent itself. With no alternatives on the shelf, skipping a year of a series was now a grave choice for a fan, between picking up something that didn't earn the money or going without that sport for a year. The exclusive license made the annual, iterative nature of sports video gaming a primary topic of criticism. That deal fundamentally altered the relationship between sports gamers and developers.
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