Madden NFL 15

Madden NFL 15 does justice to one of the most well-known sports both in the USA and all over the world. A huge simulator full of options and playable modes that will take you straight to the Super Bowl in the University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale (Arizona).

Madden 15 is easily the most complete release in the series so far, with all of the improvements tying together to create an enjoyable and enthralling game of American Football.

Football games have never been better than Madden 15.

The defensive improvements make playing defense fun for the first time in quite a while. The improved tackling offers more challenge and choice while the guessing of the snap gives you something to work at when pass rushing.

This is the first time since Madden NFL 10 where I've had that a-ha moment where all I want to do is go play Madden, and it's not because of some role-playing device in the career mode, or a nifty collection of throwback uniforms, or the fact there was a military flyover before the Super Bowl...It's because the gameplay is focused to raising my knowledge and skill rather than accommodating or minimizing the lack of it.

I could spend pages talking about all of the refinements to this year’s game, but the bottom line is that this is the best Madden in years.

EA Tiburon did a fantastic job with making the right adjustments for this year’s Madden title. Improved defense and a more balanced offense makes for a fun football experience.

This might be the best all-around Madden game in the last ten years.

The increased emphasis on defensive play, a great new play-calling system, and the return of long-time favorites makes this year’s Madden one of the best in recent memory, even if it could still use work in regards to its stale commentary and longstanding bugs.

There remains room for improvement and I certainly experienced a few let-downs with Madden 15; however, this is hands down the best Madden game to date. And let’s just say the future remains bright for the franchise.

Madden 15’s new additions to defense and attention to detail make it a must have for existing fans, and a great entry point for newcomers. If you have never touched a football game before, it’s a fitting time to begin, with this fresh start from an old franchise.

Ultimate decision time. Madden NFL 15 could be skipped, but you’d really dislike yourself if you missed out on all the good this year’s installment brings. So stop debating, stop delaying, stop procrastinating and get your copy--you’ll be glad you did. See you on the field!

For those who are not familiar with football, it won't be easy to learn the basics, but there's a ton of fun to be had for everyone else.

The new Madden NFL 15 is really the right game for those who really love football. It's a very good game and now it looks really good on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Takes a big step forward for defence, next let's look at sharpening player handling. [November 2014, p72]

Madden 15 gives veteran and rookie players something to take with them, as the overall package reaches a balance point worthy of the annual cost.

Madden NFL 15 is a truly impressive football videogame, and probably the best I’ve ever played.

You can’t find a better American football game. Not because there is not another game, but mainly because this one is pretty damn good. It looks great, sounds great, and plays great.

An engrossing ecosystem. [Nov 2014, p.90]

Whatever your interest in the world of American Football it is here, you can either take a bite from every dish or simply keep ordering your favourite food. And the good news is that it is all tasty, not perfect, but pretty irresistible.

EA delivers a good American Football game with Madden 15. The developer and publisher offer a lot of small changes with the new title, like improved defending and additions to the playcalling, but all together manage to improve the game dramatically.

This year, the changes to the defense and boost in presentation slide it away from “minimal” and feel much more substantial. But unfortunately, I find the player aspect of Connected Franchise to be one of the biggest parts of the whole Madden experience, and it being a husk of its former self is more than a little disappointing.

15 feels like a significant step forward. Not only in terms of mechanics, but in terms of improving players knowledge and skill at the game through finesse and feedback.

It’s Madden season once again, and there is now a reason to celebrate.

Better than last year’s production; it features better cosmetic and aesthetic features, it often feels more streamlined and accessible, and the upgrades on the defensive side of the ball are huge. It’s finally fun to play on defense! Sadly, the game still gets bogged down by a balancing issue, as the defense is simply overpowered.

Madden NFL 15 marks a noticeable improvement for the long-standing franchise.

Even with the infrequent hiccup, unavoidable video segment or occasionally tiresome menu, Madden 15 has taken major strides in defining its place in the series. Hammering QBs after slipping past a blocker is all the more invigorating thanks to a flattering, defense-minded camera.

All of the above changes go a long way to making this year's Madden feel the most consistently satisfying entry in the series in a good long while.

If only I could easily skip pre-game and halftime discussion. That’s my biggest minor gripe here. All of that stuff is skippable, but it doesn’t happen fast enough for my liking.

If it’s been awhile since you picked up a Madden game, you might want to give Madden 15 a look. It’s definitely grown beyond what most people think of Madden NFL games.

Sports games like Madden are often chided for being too iterative, but in this case I hope we're witnessing the first steps in a larger progression. Future Maddens need to support Madden 15's additions so we don't wonder why once-prominent features haven't evolved. The series can't withstand another rebuilding year or worse - an entire console generation thrown away.

A new coat of paint, a ton of actionable analytic data, solid improvement in the trenches, and the extension of two popular modes makes Madden NFL 15 a winner.

New defensive-line play and more defining accuracy with QBs highlight some of the many changes this year’s Madden brings to the table. Unfortunately, not all the other tweaks are nearly as successful.

The feature set remains fundamentally unchanged, but each of the core modes have increased in breadth and decreased in clutter, making it easy to dig into features that might have seemed too dense from a distance. Madden 15 looks sharper than ever, but its biggest achievement is its dedication to improving core systems that have held the series back in the past.

I still want nothing to do with microtransaction-laden Ultimate Team. Connected Careers is still dull in Owner Mode (halfhearted management sim) and filled with unnecessary gimmicks in the rest (don't worry about Confidence, just dump XP direct into player stats and win games).