On Aug. 28, EA Sports released this year’s Madden and boasted about many new features that made this year’s game “the greatest ever.” I laughed as I read reviewers online criticize and complain about how this year’s release was a disappointment. THIS HAPPENS EVERY YEAR! This is the Madden trend that has plagued football fans across the nation for at least a decade. Madden will always disappoint its fans but will nevertheless continue to stay loyal to the franchise.
This year’s Madden emphasizes the new Infinity Physics engine that the developers incorporated into its gameplay. In a recent preview, the EA representative raved that, “No hit will ever look the same!” WELL, FINALLY. It seems that EA has finally decided to answer the angry messages from its fans that the hits and tackles in previous installments were filled with glitches and bugs. I can’t have enough instances of how my middle linebacker sacked a quarterback but still managed to lose yards because the QB falls forward instead of back. The Infinity Physics engine was used in a popular iPhone game, “Backbreaker.” Most people do not know that an actual console “Backbreaker” game was released. I own a copy of this game and the physics engine makes this game worth my money in gold. Overall, the engine is definitely an upgrade for Madden 13.
However, this just solidifies my claim about a consistent trend in every Madden installment. I would not be surprised if the EA developers have a list of new ideas that date up to Madden 32. They take one idea off this list and make it the central marketing aspect of their new game. They also take out a few of the successful game modes that fans love and bring it back after a few years to make people buy their product.
This year’s Madden got rid of the Franchise Mode and Fantasy Draft and replaced it with the new Connected Careers Mode. You are probably wondering to yourself, why would the EA developers take out their most successful game modes without warning their fans? It’s because they know that fans will buy the product regardless of what game modes are in the game, because they want to play with the Infinity Physics Engine and with the brand new depth charts for the upcoming season! This tactic is repeated year after year. Don’t
Be excited when EA announces that they will return the Franchise mode to Madden 14 or 15. We all saw it coming.
The point I am trying to make is that it is useless to get “Mad about Madden.” The game is still fun regardless of what game modes they include or exclude. What may disappoint you in this year’s Madden was only done so that you would end up buying next year’s product. This year’s disappointment will be next year’s excitement.
