It’s time, once again, for Madden. At this point in its 25+ years of history, EA’s football simulator has probably been played by everyone who has even a basic interest of the digital gridiron. So is Madden 17 worth picking up?

Artistic Achievement

We’re a few years into the next-gen console cycle so that impressive leap of graphical fidelity we saw at the hardware changeover isn’t as obvious, but the little touches, like uniform cloth, animations and the field itself look better than ever. The game looks damn good, and it plays smooth. Sweat glistens, helmets get scuffed, and everything meets expectations.

Innovation

As we discussed with the devs earlier this year, Franchise Mode is what got the most love off the field. However, despite the new influx of decisions to make with your practice squad and injured players, it’s mostly the same, if not worse than previous years. Madden 17 doubles down on the new interface which is supposedly “simplified” but seems far more difficult to navigate than the old “spreadsheet.” They have simplified and filtered down the information given to players, that’s a true statement, but what’s also true is the fact that I have to dig through menus and know where and how to look for a stat if I want to draft/sign/scout a player, thus it’s more complicated (to me). All in all, it feels like an inch forward, an inch back in the much-hyped changes/additions to Franchise Mode.

Giving owners/coaches in Franchise Mode the choice to bring an injured player back a week early certainly adds drama to the story being developed around your team. I personally drafted oft-injured Le’Veon Bell and Rob Gronkowski, who of course got injured during the season. I made the call to bring them back early and we made it to the playoffs due to their heroics. It was definitely cool.

Play The Moment, which is an enhanced version of SuperSim in which the CPU determines when you should play (on 3rd downs, clutch drives etc) is a breath of fresh air. At first, I wanted to only SuperSim when I felt it was necessary but getting through Franchise games faster actually led to me playing more games instead of outright simming them. It’s a great addition to the game, and one that I can’t ever imagine not having going forward.

The big gameplay change is based on the improved running game. Running and blocking is the best it has ever been. It’s chaotic on the line, and players are flying all over the place. Momentum makes more of a difference than ever and defenders desperate to make the tackle sometimes overcompensate (realistically). It’s a delight.