You, the Quarterback get the ball as a play begins, it is the final play in the game, it is the final chance to score a touchdown and secure the victory. Time is against you, as the defense keep closing in, you either make a play now or go down, along with your hopes and dreams of making it to the Superbowl final. You notice that a receiver has broken through the defense and has begun making his way to the red-zone, you’re tired, it was a hell of a game, but you exert all of your energy into this one, last, shot. The ball sails through the air, all goes silent, seconds feel like minutes. The receiver puts his arms out to catch it, this is it, this is the victory! But the ball doesn’t quite make it. And falls short of what could have been a momentous occasion.
NFL 25 is celebrating 25 years of John Madden football games, being 1988 in which John Madden football hits shelves for Commodore 64. However, Madden 25 doesn’t celebrate it’s silver anniversary with much pride, other than a few nostalgic screens for past games on the loading screens. It’s true form is Madden 13 with an updated roster, slightly better physics and owner mode. Which is essentially manager mode. For a very obvious reason. This rubbed me up the wrong way. Let me give you a quick history lesson.
For years, fans of the series were complaining that each game was just an updated roster. Eventually they spoke with their wallets, and that same year, Madden 13 was in every sense of the word revolutionized. A fluid tackling system, nearly lag-free multi-player and small touches like individual celebrations for players. Now a year later, and it’s the same game. Really?!?
Don’t get me wrong, the actual game is brilliant but it’s very hard for me to make a case for this game when it seems to just piggyback off it’s predecessors.
I’ll start with the presentation, while it does look identical to a live-football game, this has its own pitfalls. It’s all well and good paying attention to small details like sponsors and crowd chanting, it falls apart when after 30 minutes gameplay, the commentators repeat themselves. I hope you like the first four seconds of Guns and Rose’s “Welcome to the Jungle”, because you will hear it at least 12 times in a fifteen minute game. Normally in a sports game, the commentary makes it. Try playing Fifa with no commentary, it feels, empty, the commentators play a vital role in the enjoyment and add a personality to the game. In NFL 25, it’s quite the opposite, I had to turn it off, it came to the point where I could predict their EXACT words.
Some aspects of the presentation are original, like the fake Twitter feed in career mode, however, it’s evident this was a lazy after touch, as there’s about 20 tweets that get repeated over and over. Mentioning the celebrations once again, while some are unique, each player only has one. So you’ll see a lot of air guitars…
In terms of actual gameplay, it’s strong but it’s very inaccessible and most of the time you could be forgiven for believing you were playing a JRPG, with menus upon menus to wade through before finding basic controls. If you’re a newcomer to the franchise, you’re going to have a miserable time trying to find out what the hell it is you’re supposed to do. You’ll spend the first 10 games diving when your supposed to duke or throwing the ball into the crowd before you know the basic catch and pass techniques but I’m sure digital sportsfan Billy will appreciate that digital pig skin you’ve tossed into the crowd seven times…
Still, the tackles are visceral, the passes and catches are glorious and duking past a linebacker and sprinting to the touchdown are incredibly satisfying. It’s a pity there’s so much trial and error before this point. However it is an enjoyable experience to be had, especially with friends, but if you’re in any way curious about trying Madden, try 13. And for those all ready acquainted with the series, it’s one to miss.
[easyreview title=”The Arcade Verdict” cat1title=”Presentation” cat1detail=”Hit and miss… mostly miss” cat1rating=”5″ cat2title=”Music” cat2detail=”Looped five seconds of big tracks gets annoying…fast!” cat2rating=” 4″ cat3title=”Gameplay” cat3detail=”Ignoring the menus upon menus, it’s enjoyable if you know what you’re doing!” cat3rating=”8″ cat4title=”Multiplayer” cat4detail=”Local co-op is fun and online works too just as long as you take defeat well!” cat4rating=”8″ cat5title=”Other Features” cat5detail= “Career and Ultimate team are literally the exact same. Which is good. Owner mode is essentially manager mode, but less defined.” cat5rating=”7″ overall=”true”]
