Madden 22 (PS4)

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The deep passes into single-coverage no longer feel like as much of a crap shoot, and more like a battle of positioning and timing. This leads to more satisfying results in these situations and in the passing game overall. While there are some things I don’t care for in franchise mode and still some glaring omissions, we see some real growth in franchise for the first time in more than a decade.

I’m beginning to believe this is an issue we’re just going to have to live with forever. It’s not game-breaking, but man is it annoying. The weekly goals and such for players and teams continue to provide some sub-plots and challenges, but they aren’t intrusive into the overall experience. After years of justifiable clamouring from fans, EA finally makes transformative changes to franchise mode this year. For instance, you’re now – finally! – able to hire and upgrade coaching staffs across four positions: Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, and Player Personnel. Each position has its own RPG-like skill tree which enables you to improve coaches in a similar vein to individual players.I feel like we’re still waiting on the sort of visual leap that will make us say, “wow, this looks so much better than the PS4 and Xbox One X versions.” Scouting will be updated... later: Scouting has been another sore point for franchise mode, and fans will be happy to know that it's finally being overhauled in Madden 22. It's just not happening right away. Graddy says the team considered pushing the update to Madden 23, but ultimately decided to make it part of a live update. "We've been treating the whole game and certainly not just franchise like a live service," Graddy says. "So we said, well, let's continue to work on it and get it out, you know, close to the NFL season in that September timeframe. So the fans can have it this year." When it does arrive, it will feature elements like a dynamic draft board that changes throughout the year The campaign is simplistic, giving you goals to complete in each match, and some matches will come with preset modifiers such as higher team fatigue. Scouting will be a big addition, but it isn’t scheduled to be active until September, which doesn’t do much for users who buy the game on Day 1. The Yard introduces a campaign mode: Fans of Madden’s co-op mode will find a new campaign mode featuring unique stages, challenges, and bosses. The mode is divided into four chapters, each featuring a unique venue with its own house rules. The Yard is Madden’s “other half” – a surprisingly fully-featured co-op mode that dispenses with any hint of realism in favor of pure arcade silliness. If it’s to your taste, there are plenty of enjoyable hours to be had with The Yard.

Yes, I included the improvements in franchise mode as a part of my “good” section, and I called it a “MAJOR” positive. I meant that, but it doesn’t mean the mode is where it needs to be overall. Madden NFL 22 once again includes a large number of updates and tweaks, some of which aren’t always obvious at first glance. Pretty much every mode has received an update of some sort, even if it’s only an update for the existing mechanics. Here are some of the highlights:When choosing a custom coach, there is one less option this year. Instead, you are presented with Staff Builder, which has an eye for talent, or Team Builder, which has a secret remedy. Not really sure what either of those perks are as no other additional information is given. GameSpot gave the game 7.0/10, writing: "When everything's working as intended, Madden 22 marks a recent high point for the series. The gameplay doesn't move the needle much mechanically, but changes to the AI make for a more interesting and varied challenge, while Gameday Atmosphere and Momentum bring every team's fans to life to palpable effect. With Franchise making the moments between these games more engaging, it's relatively easy to sink hours into building a team to challenge for the Super Bowl. It's just unfortunate that this comes with the caveat that technical problems might prove to be the biggest obstacle standing in your way." [11]