Madden 22 (PS4)

Product Information

Franchise mode has had a major facelift in Madden 22. You still choose to be a player, focused on your career, a coach, focused on the field success, or an owner who focuses on financial solvency. Practice has been replaced by weekly strategy planning. This allows you to tailor your focus to stopping certain types of plays on defense, and boosting success with certain offensive plays.

That’s why this one is marked as “minor,” and you should understand: a non-simulation sports feature has to be REALLY good for me to plug it into my regular rotation.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.

It’s a far more intriguing concept than another college-to-pro story, which are beginning to feel redundant. I wasn’t always a fan of the X-Factor concept, but it has grown on me. Therefore, I was hoping to see some new X-Factors added, as I still believe there are some elements in the sport that aren’t represented with the current run of X-Factors. EA CEO Andrew Wilson recently promised "a massive year of innovation" across its sporting line-up, including Madden 22. More in our news story.The O-Line still has moments with bafflingly low awareness. This can leave you scratching your head if you dare replay one of the sequences.

The PS4 and Xbox One versions are also getting updates: While EA's focus has plainly shifted to the PS5 and Xbox Series X, previous-gen consoles will continue to be supported for another year. Graddy confirms that all of the modes should be very similar across all platforms. "So Face of the Franchise is going to be very similar between Gen 4 and Gen. Ultimate Team will be very similar. The Yard and Superstar KO, which we didn't talk about a lot, those that are going to be a fairly similar," Graddy said. "With franchise, staff management will be there, game planning will be there, but some of the other dynamic gameday elements around atmosphere, and obviously the Next-Gen stats gameplay, which is only available on Gen 5, won't be there. But I think our Gen 4 audiences are going to be happy with a lot of the content that they're getting."

Ball Carrier

No matter how much I try to enjoy The Yard, the mode is still missing some of the elements that worked for similar concepts like NFL Street and Blitz. It almost feels like it is fighting for an identity. Face of the Franchise, a single-player story which follows your created players journey from college to NFL stardom, is disappointing. They’ve eliminated the melodramatic narrative structure, which may be for the better, and replaced it with just dumping you into Franchise mode as a player, with a few cut scenes at the beginning. You are introduced to a diverse and inclusive cast of characters, but nothing actually happens with them. Once you reach the NFL, which is very early, there is little to distinguish this mode from just playing franchise. Lastly, there is still no create-a-team option or expansion. All of these things or something comparable are available in other sports video games. Because franchise mode is such an important aspect of the Madden experience, it hurts even more to have those features omitted for another year.

Delaney, Mark (August 22, 2021). "Madden NFL 22 review: "Franchise fans finally have something to get excited for" ". GamesRadar+ . Retrieved August 22, 2021. 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. I’ve heard and been told Next-Gen Stats are playing a role in the way players move on the virtual field in Madden, but if that’s the case, EA could do a better job explaining and demonstrating the impact of this tech.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. 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. You can choose how hard players practice, and how reps are split. That feeds into the all-new fatigue system. Practicing harder yields more results, but the increased fatigue can lead to more injuries. It’s an enjoyable, if shallow balancing act. 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. 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.