PlayStation 3
Released in 2016 by EA Sports
Grade: A
This game rocks!
Where it falls in the series
This is the last Madden of the PS3 run, which started with Madden 07. Year after year, gamers complained that each game was a shameless, lazy roster update with no real improvements. If you ask me, the series mostly got better as it went along, although the progress was slow. In retrospect, Madden 16 and Madden 17 are both fantastic games.
The 2014 edition (stupidly titled Madden NFL 25 to commemorate its 25th anniversary), was the first on PS4, so I’m clearly an unhip video gamer playing Madden 17 on an “outdated” console.
Praises
It looks and feels like NFL football. Everything you can expect in a football video game is here and fine-tuned.
When I was playing this during the 2016 season, I remember how remarkably similar the teams played to their real-life counterparts. They run unique systems, favoring star players, exploiting opponents’ weaknesses, all that good stuff.
The pace and control rides a fine line. It’s fast and exciting like real football, with tight enough response to make you feel in control. Ballcarriers make sharp cuts and run with a realistic feeling of momentum.
Quarterbacking is a real joy and challenge. Dancing in the pocket is depicted well, and the familiar passing controls are spot on. There are some advanced controls for precise pass location, but beginners will be fine with the familiar “hold for a bullet, tap for a rainbow” passing control.
On defense, the “ballhawking” command makes it easy to defend passes if you’re in good position. The old complaint, “I was right there and he didn’t swat the pass, someone kill me” isn’t an issue here.
The playcalling and strategy options are expansive. Aside from large, easy-to-manage playbooks, every little adjustment you can think of is available. The audibles and hot routes give you plenty of control before the snap. You can also emphasize forcing fumbles, protecting the first down marker, breaking long runs, getting out of bounds, and more, each with its benefits and drawbacks.
The graphics are beautiful to my un-PS4-trained eyes. The sound is solid, although I quickly turned off commentary like usual.
There are plenty of practice modes to help you learn new strategies and hone your skills.
Gripes
The animations occasionally glitch. Receivers magically flash forward short distances to make catches. Ballcarriers are brought down without a proper tackle animation happening.
A real nitpick that goes back to Madden’s PS2 glory days, the plays can sometimes feel overly mechanical. For example, a receiver on a short slant against a zone defense can almost always catch the pass if it’s timed right. Just a bit more unpredictability would make the gameplay feel more organic.
The menus aren’t great, like they’re trying too hard to do something different. Luckily, this affects just the pre-game experience, and once the game starts, the menus are pretty logically organized.
The CPU still makes boneheaded decisions in crunch time, even after all these years. I know this doesn’t affect most gamers, who primarily play online, but when the CPU Patriots let me steal a victory by letting the clock run out when they could have easily called timeout and kicked a field goal, I was like, “Come on, EA. You’re better than that.”