Run free with a revamped running game in Madden 25

This might be the Denver Broncos fan in me talking, but I want to start out by saying that there's no way that Arian Foster is knocking Von Miller onto his butt.

Now that that's out of the way, EA Sports has released some of the first details for this year's Madden NFL 25. We already know that retired Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders will be gracing the cover after beating out Adrian Peterson. It's very fitting considering that this year's game will focus on a revamped running game.

Year 2 of the Infinity Engine is polishing up the physics and introducing the Force Impact system, which gives big hits and stiff arms more of a realistic feeling as they connect with their targets. The Infinity Engine 2 will also feature improved run blocking, new post-play logic, user-controlled stumble recovery, and more natural cutting and changes of direction.

Debuting this year is a feature called Run Free. Run Free adds a precision modifier that allows the player to unleash 30 new moves that harness the power, precision and creativity of ball carriers in the NFL. What's really exciting about this feature are combos. For the first time ever, players can execute combos that string together movies like a juke spin or truck spin. It's not known how these combos are executed yet, but that'll come in due time.

Even more, there's new ball carrier avoidance behavior; what this does is allow ball carriers to automatically move around blockers and prevent inadvertent collisions.

Even though the NFL revolves around offense and lots of points, Tiburon isn't ignoring defense. In fact, the revamped physics and precision modifier apply to defensive players, as well. There are new tackle pursuit angles, and the AI on defenders will recover more quickly when a play breaks down. Oh, and there's "heat-seeker tackling."

In the coming months until its launch, EA Sports will release more details about Madden NFL 25 at these times:

• Playbook #3: Connected Franchise Part 1 (to be released 5/6) — Cement your legacy as one of the all-time great NFL players or coaches in the new and improved Connected Franchise.
• Playbook #4: Connected Franchise Part 2 (to be released 5/20) — Take ultimate control of your franchise.
• Playbook #5: Madden Share (to be released 6/24) — The best content from around the Madden NFL universe, right at your fingertips.
• Playbook #6: Madden Ultimate Team (to be released 7/1) — Enjoy new ways to play and build your team in this year's edition of Ultimate Team.
• Playbook #7: All-25 (to be released 7/8) — Your voice. Your choice. Celebrating 25 years of Madden NFL's best of the best.

These features have me really excited for this year's Madden. I feel like the running game, even with moderate improvements, was never executed well in past games. Hopefully these new features and improvements take catch the running game up to the passing game for players that like to battle it out in the trenches and control the clock.

Madden NFL 25 releases on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on August 27.

You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com