EA Sports really seems to be making a concerted effort to listen to the community and make changes to Madden NFL 16. Two problems areas from previous seasons — wide receivers in the passing game and Connected Franchise mode — have already been addressed with outlined changes. Granted, judgment will be passed when we see it all in action, but the changes sound positive.
Still, there are many things that could use some TLC in Madden. After Madden 15 released, I wrote an article that contained eight features we wanted to see in Madden 16. The changes to Connected Franchise addresses some of those. I also posted my Hot Take on the changes that were revealed on May 28th, which you can check out here. But moving forward, here are nine things we want to see improved or added.
Relocation
Relocation as it stands right now is horrendous. The options for stadiums, team names, logos, uniforms, colors — it’s all bad. People who play Madden Connected Franchise mode that want to relocate their team, want to have full control. We have ideas for the color schemes and uniforms for the team. An improvement would be having about 50 blank logos that we can color how we want, apply styles and colors to uniforms as we want, and generally just let us be in control. Also, the stadiums are just terrible. Once upon a time on last-gen, Madden gave us control.
Create-a-Play
Players have desperately wanted the ability to create their own plays. Everyone thinks they’re an offensive genius, drawing up plays and weird formations to give them an edge over the opponent. Kind of like what Bill Belichick did against the Ravens in the playoffs last year.
Sliders That Work
For once — just once — I’d like Madden to ship as a game that doesn’t have to be tinkered with in the slider department. Out of the box, my Connected Franchise had each player trying to set the sack records somewhere around 87 sacks. Red Bryant of the Jacksonville Jaguars should not have around 90 sacks. Opposing quarterbacks (and I’m not talking starters, I’m talking 2nd and 3rd string QBs) should not complete 97 percent of their passes, going 21-22 for 113 yards. WTF is that?
Offensive and Defensive Coordinators
While I am looking forward to changes in how players gain confidence and XP, it looks like it’s just slightly different that how it was in Madden 15. Coaches are what help develop players, and for a long time now, Madden has been absent of offensive and defensive coordinators — the guys that are responsible for a big part of the long-term and short-term success. Coordinators are very important, and it would also provide the opportunity to groom your next head coach and keep morale up if you can keep the same guys around.
Shore Up the Tackling Physics
There’s far too many instances of a player getting tackles, but the animation and physics get wonky, and all of a sudden the ball carrier is crowd surfing across 11 defenders, only to then land on his feet and run for a touchdown. Come on… that’s ridiculous. I’m also tired of seeing someone fly up 30 feet into the air after getting lightly touched.
Finances
I know EA Sports is changing finances for small market teams, but Madden 15 was basically unplayable in Owner mode due to revenue generation. The way they calculate how much revenue comes in is terrible, and it needs fixing badly. We’ll see if EA’s changes are just what the doctor ordered.
Defensive Assignments
Players like Darrelle Revis and Richard Sherman do things like cover one receiver all game, or play one side of the field all game. In Madden 15, there’s no defensive assignments. You can’t make your best corner stay on their best receiver no matter what, so it takes a lot of defensive strategy out of the game. Also, if I want a WR or TE double-teamed every play, I should be able to set that.
Penalties
I see maybe, at most, one or two penalties a season — and they’re always false starts against me. There’s no pass interference or defensive holding whatsoever. While penalties might annoy some Madden players, they’re part of the game. And it’s a part of the game that’s completely absent right now. I never see a corner get called for pass interference on my receiver, even if they run into them during the route.
Challenges
When watching how challenges play out, I’m convinced that the refs in the Madden are the replacement refs from the 2012 season. There’s no other explanation for the horrendous calls.
What are some changes that you need to see from Madden 16 to convince you to buy it?
