Madden NFL 15 Review
Madden NFL 15 Review
BAMM! Improvements to Madden NFL 15 are a big winner. This is the football franchise game and continues to improve in the 2015 version. Much better than Madden 25, Madden NFL 15 has added a new smarter play calling system, defensive camera, different tackles, and next-gen graphics that will knock your helmet off!
Defense has become more involved with choosing tackles and the new view, which is not available for local play but is for online play. A common complaint of the Madden franchise is that playing defense has been more like a necessary evil while waiting to play offense again. That has changed somewhat with Madden NFL 15. Now you can look right at your opponents while charging to make a tackle or break through the line. It does give you more of a sense of control while defending.
The next-gen graphics are much better than previous versions, but still has issues with crowd appearance. Commentary is very repetitive and would benefit greatly by giving the announcers more dialogue. It becomes boring after hearing the same comment over and over in the same game. The feel of a big Sunday Night game is given with the graphics and the familiar sizzle of a real game. Night games under lights, shadows on the field in a sunny afternoon game, or overcast in an open dome stadium are really nice and well done. Physics still have improvements to make but are notably better than previous versions.
The play calling system now gives smarter suggestions. It will make a suggestion based on the context of the play. So it will decide your opponents most used formation in that scenario, combine your most used moves and give you recommendations based on that information. This is all done on the fly and can be modified by you at any time. This will be a welcomed feature for newer players.
Ultimate Team is still included and the reserve deck has been eliminated. This is a fun feature but they are always trying to get you to purchase a card pack to improve your team.
Franchise mode still exists as Connected Franchise but is online. I personally prefer the offline franchise mode as I will play at odd hours and just want to enjoy the game alone many times.
Computer AI is overpowered especially using the higher difficulties like All-Madden. The difficulty slider somewhat helps but does not have a great impact like other versions in previous years. Often times the computer will just penalize you by making you miss wide open passes or not making blocks and this is just frustrating to watch and sit through while the computer QB threads the needle and and makes unbelievable plays. I get the challenge is fun part, but at least make it realistic and not ridiculous.
I have been a fan of Madden for many years now and have been wowed and disappointed by the franchise. Part of this problem is this is the “only show in town” when it comes to football games. That is a disservice to fans and gamers alike. Competition would make this game better, as it does all things when the market demands it. Madden NFL 15 is not perfect but definitely is one of the better Madden releases in quite a while.
We score it a 7 out of 10 stars.