Madden NFL 17

While Madden 17 isn’t a huge leap for the franchise, it does a fantastic job of continuing to move it forward. With stellar graphics, vibrant commentary and intuitive gameplay it is certainly amongst the finest games in the series and, at this point, it’s difficult to see where the next dramatic improvement for Madden can come from.

Fans that may have fallen off in recent years will find plenty to come back to with this iteration. There is so much improvement it is impossible to list it all here without sounding like a press release.

New features may need a little more balancing to be effective online, but overall, Madden NFL 17 is the most polished and enjoyable Madden yet, magnificently avoiding a potential regression after the successes of the year prior.

After three years of improvement, and two of them improving without having to fix major shortcomings, it feels like the Madden NFL franchise has returned to the glory days of a dozen years ago.

Madden NFL 17 mostly avoids gimmicks in favor of addressing long-running areas of deficiency in the series. The developers stuck with the progress they made in recent years — aspects hardcore football fans appreciate like penalties and accuracy mattering for quarterbacks — while adding an element of unpredictability that makes the game feel much more like the actual sport.

Madden 17 is probably the best American football game ever made. It does not feature a lot of innovation compared to previous games, but the ones that it has are perfect.

Overall, Madden NFL ’17 is a breath of fresh air. The new running features give life to a stagnant aspect of the field, forcing players to play a more balanced style of game and highlighting game schemes many have forgotten about. EA has done a whole lot with the little they have.

While it may not provide the same seismic shifts as last year's iteration did, Madden NFL 17 continues to to evolve and innovate, even as the series' approaches its 30th anniversary.

The audience in Australia isn’t that large though, purely because we’re not as exposed to the sport, but Madden 17 is definitely a solid place to start if you’re considering jumping in on one of the oldest and most respected sports franchises in gaming history.

Madden 17 is still an improvement, and represents the best in sports sim gaming today.

A good improvement on the previous games, mainly thanks to one of the best Franchise modes ever and a solid gameplay. We were pleased to see refereeing was substantially improved, too.

Madden 17 is a great Football game with deep and solid mechanics. It maintains a good balance between offense and defense systems, dozens of tactic options and powerful graphics.

After last year's successful instance, Madden NFL 17 bring additional value to the franchise. You won't find any particular new element inside it, but you'll definitely enjoy the overall football experience, even if you are a seasoned player or a novice.

This episode is not a huge step forward, but still there is progression, and football fans will enjoy all the new features in Madden NFL 17.

Madden NFL 17 refines the gameplay and the structure of his predecessor. It's a rich chapter, that can finally say goodbye to chronic flaws of the series.

The best Madden game to date, but not a revolutionary one.

Considering last years’ improvements this years’ focus on the ground game feels underwhelming – but definitely delivers a welcome layer of new choices at the players’ disposal. The new commentary moves it into regions held by NBA2K up to now, but even though there are some improvements in the franchise, the mode selection in general isn’t that much different than in Madden NFL 16.

Madden NFL 17 is not a revolutionary iteration of the series, but it polishes the finer details of an already well-rounded experience instead. In other words, Madden NFL 17 is like the New England Patriots: they deliver year in and year out but that isn't precisely fresh or surprising.

Madden 17's virtues outweigh its flaws. Its gameplay, and its perfect technical side prevail over the lack of play modes and the disappearance of certain classic options.

Refinement brings excitement, for newcomers and pros alike. Madden NFL 17 has the stride and the force - it's just a few minor quibbles that stop it becoming legendary.

If EA Tiburon's goal with Madden 17 was to build upon the solid foundation set by the last two iterations, the studio mostly succeeded by fine tuning its production values on and off the field while also focusing on its strengths in its Ultimate Team and Franchise.

Madden NFL 17 doesn’t move the series forward in any significant ways, but it provides one of the most polished NFL football video game experiences to date.

New running features makes this the most balanced and enjoyable Madden yet, but a few awkward sights and sounds will remind you that it’s just a game.

Madden 17 scores in many ways, and there’s more to like than there is to hate, but we can’t ignore the flags on the field. Gameplay, presentation and customization have taken strides, but there’s still work to do.

I cannot help but feel an overwhelming sense of disappointment with Madden NFL 17. With no new modes, visuals that look largely the same, a less than stellar soundtrack and a game that plays nearly identical to last year’s game, Madden NFL 17 feels more like an expansion or upgrade than anything else.

It's icky at times, but Madden 17 is definitely a step up. If you skipped a year, now is probably the time to come back around.

No surprises here. If you're in the market for an NFL game in 2016, look no further. [Nov 2016, p.79]

Madden NFL 17 is a quality Madden game. It does a lot of things right, and fixes most of the major shortcomings of previous editions. If you’ve lapsed in the series or just want to know if you should grab this year’s game, go forward knowing that you will get a lot of mileage from it. It’s good. At the same time, however, it is still absolutely a Madden game, and in the 12th year of EA’s exclusivity deal with the NFL it’s hard not to pine for a little competition. Sunrise, sunset.