Madden NFL 25
Published by: EA Sports
Genre: Sports
Release Date: August 27, 2013
MSRP: $59.99
Rating: E for Everyone
Available On: Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4
It’s that time again, sports (game) fans: Time for the yearly release of one of gaming’s most venerable, popular, and successful franchises. Yes, it’s Madden time. This year’s edition, titled Madden 25 thanks to the 25-year anniversary of the franchise occurring in 2013, promises to revolutionize the way you play Madden, the way you think about football, and the way you interact with sports games. But can it possibly live up to its own hype?
Like other Maddens before it, Madden 25 is packed to the gills with updates, small and large. A new feature has been added to Ultimate Team mode in the form of Team Chemistry, which affects how your players perform on the field depending on how they get along with one another (yes, really). You’ll have to balance offensive and defensive styles to find players that don’t just fill your stats shortcomings, but personality needs as well.There’s also the all-new Head-to-Head Season mode, in which you’ll play the same person in a 10-game season, earning a path to the playoffs against other talented contenders
The running game has seen a massive overhaul, with way better run blocking than you’ve ever seen from AI players. In this version of Madden, players actually block for a reason. Man alignment has been tweaked, balls get batted out of the air, interceptions have smoother transitions, new players have end zone celebrations and the defense can do a better job of reading the line instead of just reacting as normal.
In other words, Madden 25 brings a host of small changes that total up into something much larger than the sum of its parts. It’s the basic Madden formula: Make iterative adjustments to certain parts of the game and watch as those changes create incredible new moments. It’s not rocket science and there’s no major innovation here that will shake up the franchise, but every small tweak is a step forward instead of a step back. The Madden team has made very few, if any, mistakes with Madden 25.
It’s important to note that Madden 25 will also launch on the Xbox One and PS4 in November. The next-gen version of the game will contain all of the same features as the current-gen version, but with slightly polished graphics, better commentary and a number of small, less noticeable changes. Players of the current-gen version certainly won’t be getting shortchanged; nearly all of the differences between the two versions of Madden 25 are aesthetic.
Overall, Madden 25 is just about exactly what you expect it to be. It’s the latest Madden, for better or for worse. It brings tons of small tweaks that will likely only be noticed by fans, and a couple of new features that help make it worth purchasing even if you already have last year’s version on your shelf. And if you’re looking for a sports game for that PS4 or Xbox One you’ve already pre-ordered, Madden 25 is going to be the best option available for some time to come. In short, Madden fans will love it, football fans will love it, and that’s all that really matters when you’re talking Madden.
