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. These are the kinds of decisions players want to make in franchise mode. The chance to add more XP is there while the risk of having a player injury is the downside. You have to choose whether to rest players or to allow them to go all-out in practice. The coordinators’ abilities can be felt across the roster, and there is now more relevancy to the weekly preparation portion of the experience. Teams now have offensive and defensive coordinators with skill trees. It feels good to see layers added to franchise mode. The quarterbacks play a lot more like themselves as it pertains to pocket tendencies, which gives you the feeling of playing against different offensive leaders. It’s not impossible to get a sack, but it’s not nearly as simple as it has been–especially on All-Pro difficulty or higher. Rather than sitting in the pocket as helpless targets for any pass rusher that gets penetration, they will now move and get rid of the ball in earnest when they are under pressure. There are more multiple-player animations that make the action smoother and easier on the eye.įrom a gameplay standpoint, this one is pretty big.ĬPU-controlled quarterbacks are infinitely smarter than they have ever been. However, developers have worked to limit the amount of unnatural tackling and collision animations. We’d see collisions happen that were rather unexplained and would generate a weird on-field sequence that left you asking “what was that?”Īs long as the gameplay leans on animations over physics, those instances won’t ever go away entirely. One of the biggest immersion breakers in recent Madden games has been the lack of appropriate tackling animations. This leads to more satisfying results in these situations and in the passing game overall.įewer Unnatural Tackle and Collision Elements - MODERATE 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. They aren’t completely gone from Madden 22, but there are fewer instances of them especially in 50/50 balls.

The 2-man animations have become a major negative point in Madden gameplay. There’s also enhanced audio related to fan noise that also augments the scoring and major defensive moments.įewer Random Result Animation Results - MAJOR When things aren’t swung in your favor, there are on-screen effects that make you feel the anxiousness of the moment (a wobbly screen and scrambled play art), it is all a nice touch. The momentum meter, which also is what triggers your team’s M-Factor, serves as a game-long heartbeat for the current contest.

While I’d like to see a little more variety, or perhaps even the ability to customize your M-Factor according to the roster, this is still an excellent addition overall.Īs it pertains to in-game presentation, from an excitement and immersion standpoint, Madden 22 does a good job of making you feel the magnitude of a given moment. M-Factors are like X-Factors for entire teams while playing at home, and each team has unique ones based on their location and franchise.įor example, the Chicago Bears’ M-Factor is called “Bear Down.” It makes the away team’s kicking meter move faster than normal to simulate the swirling winds in the Windy City.

Madden nfl 21 ps5 review