As someone who started their Madden NFL journey with Madden NFL 2002 on PlayStation 2 and has gone on to play each iteration over the past 20 years, I think it's safe to say that fans of the legendary sports franchise are ready for major updates.
While fans receive minor upgrades every year and it's easy to get bogged down in simple roster resets, EA hasn't focused on improving outside of modes where microtransactions have precedence (i.e. Madden Ultimate Team).
Even though Madden 22 continues this new tradition of tiny improvements, the list of updates to the ever-popular Franchise Mode is starting to look significant. The problem is that bugs and glitches continue to plague the franchise.
Madden 22 Review – Running Out Of Line To Win
The Home Advantage and Momentum systems of Exhibition Mode gameplay add strategy to the game on the court this year. While this RPG-esque layer to your daily Madden mode is refreshing (and adds a nifty new bar to the top of the screen), it largely underscores the issues that have been present in Madden for some time.
Screen shaking caused by crowd noise and player skill buffs can now be influenced by gameplay effects, rather than just training skill trees found in previous Madden Franchise modes. Called M-Factors, these effects target realism by focusing on "being on the road", as well as how X-Factor players can turn the tide in a game.
However, it looks like these additions are simply being given a fresh coat of paint and given pride of place in Madden 22, rather than evolving into something substantially new. Coupled with Gameday Atmosphere, giving gameday a more intimate feel, and a next-gen stat update, the additions are welcome but meaningless.
Madden Ultimate Team remains essentially the same, and the emphasis on cosmetics and purchases attached to your profile is a good step forward for players using this ecosystem. For simulation purists, The Yard returns with a single-player campaign that makes the experience more complete.
Face of the Franchise also returns with a more streamlined story, which ironically hurts the mode rather than helping it. It's true that some dialogue sequences were lengthy in previous years, but this year things are truncated so much that the mode simply presents itself as a stat-boosting tool.
Removing life from story mode isn't the right move to make Madden a more complete experience, even if the push for games as a service means a focus on returning buyers to MUT. Resources have undoubtedly been diverted from story and franchise content, much like we've seen with several FPS titles on the market.
EA gave some love to the defensive side of the ball, as players can become linebackers this year, which is a huge plus. Finally being able to enter the fray on the defensive side of the ball is a great addition.
Some of the biggest changes outside of the base game experience come to Franchise Mode. Improved user interface keeps you from scrolling through unnecessary pages; statistics, transaction information and news are easier to reach; and navigation, in general, is more finely tuned.
Also, the inclusion of coordinators in the coaching hire pages makes things more realistic, even if it doesn't really deliver on its own promise. Madden 22 lacks actual coaches outside of the current cast of 32 head coaches, with coordinators filled with randomly generated names and stats.
The skill trees associated with these coordinators are a nice touch, along with the revamped head coach and new player staff skills. The biggest change coming in September is the scouting overhaul which includes hiring a scouting team, though it's a shame this is a feature that isn't ready for launch.
The biggest disappointment in Madden NFL 22 is the return of several bugs found in previous installments and the addition of a few new ones that continue to frustrate.
Madden is still bogged down in multiple Franchise Mode saves over several years, and a new bug is seeing your practice squad count towards your overall roster of 53 players, meaning you're forced to cut your squad too short.
Also, players can disappear when added to other teams' practice squads, like when I tried to catch Ravens rookie fullback Ben Mason (Go Blue!). Game crashes also persist, meaning you'll experience a lot of reloads when trying to simply navigate the menus. While bugs are unfortunately expected with AAA launches these days, it's disappointing to see things get worse rather than better on this side of the ball.
Fortunately, in terms of performance, the game runs smoothly at 120 FPS on the Xbox Series X (in Performance mode), and the visuals are sharper this season.
Madden NFL 22 Review - The Result
Benefits
- Franchise mode is starting to get some love
- The Yard is getting a single-player campaign
- Gameplay improvements are welcome…
The inconvenients
- … But not enough
- Bugs and issues have never been so prevalent
- Most updates are revamped systems from previous iterations
- Pushing even more towards content loaded with micro-transactions
Madden 22 is doing its best to improve with some gameplay updates, The Yard, and Franchise Mode that seem like a step in the right direction.
However, the reworking of old systems and ideas, a continued push towards microtransaction-laden content, and increasingly serious bugs mean this iteration will need more time to really grow as a program.
[Note: EA provided the copy of Madden 22 used for this review.]
