Madden 25 - Review

I entered Madden 25 with a lot of unknowns. As my first real play of a Madden game since 2007 there was a lot I did not know, but thankfully the game made things so easy.

Madden can be split into 4 different modes. Play Now, Player Career, Coach Career and Owner Career with each mode offering something different, so depending on your play style you can experience something different from your friends.

Play Now is just as it sounds, you pick your team, tweak the game settings and jump in and play. This is probably the most useful for people who want to show Madden off to their mates. The career modes take you through the length of a career of each of the respective fields, and it's here that the game offers lots of variety. Playing as the Owner means that you are responsible for almost all facets of the off field NFL experience. How much to charge for a hotdog or shirt at the stadium. Do you charge less, and get more people in, or are you better off to get more people paying more? As the Owner those are some of the choices you have to make. But thankfully that also means you’re not stuck watching the games play out.

Each game can be played with you taking the lead of play calls, just as you would in the play now experience and this makes Owner mode seem more filling that if you start a Player Career. As a new player joining a NFL team you are usually stuck on the sidelines, depending on the type of career you choose. I had watched the entire game played out as a Sim from the kick off to the final play, this can be quite frustrating when you just want to get in and play, but as a new player to your selected team that is to be expected.

The game is not flawed for this, in fact it probably represents the most accurate version of how things would play out if you are doing this in real life. Of course you can get around this, by selecting to play as a real life player and this does allow you the chance to play more during the games. 

Playing on Xbox One also has a cool feature in that when you score a touchdown, the machine records that play and allows you to share that moment with a friend.

The Madden series has always had a level of presentation that is truly impressive, but with Madden 25 I feel that they have taken it to a whole new level. Having each game opened by Jim and Phil sets up the atmosphere for those seeking the TV presentation. And each part of the game is just as impressive, with various companies sponsoring different parts of what is shown such as the player line up, the MVP and such. If there was a way to put the camera in TV mode you could just let the game play and you could believe that you are watching a real game.

Each of the players have the right look as their real life counterparts, coaches and stadiums are also included as well. Seeing the hits that come from players smashing into each other is something that I never tired of. The transitions from game to replays is also done well, again proving that the overall presentation of the game is something to see.

Sadly it's not all roses, there are a few hiccups in the presentation, players with long hair tend to have to disappear into their shoulders, the animations for the players at the coin toss are the same no matter which teams are playing and there are some weird leg physics going on from time to time, with legs bending in directions that are not possible.

Madden 25 for Xbox One is a great game, showcasing just how much detail is put into the games each year. While not perfect, it's as close to a real game as most people outside of the USA will get. And as a starting point the new consoles, it makes me want to see what they can do next year.

The Score

9.0

Review code provided by Electronic Arts

The Pros

+Presentation detail across the board is great

+The player and venue details have been elevated beyond what they have been before

The Cons

-There are some minor graphical issues you will see

-Siming entire matches sucks the fun out of it