A staple in the gaming space, this year brings a shiny new Madden with Madden NFL 25. Does this latest iteration warrant another trip to the gridiron?
Madden NFL 25 Review
Starting out, players can take on some training and practice matches, or can alternatively jump into the classic Franchise mode or Superstar mode. There’s also the Ultimate Team, where you can buy packs and make your own team.
While these modes might be limited, I think we can all agree that we are all here to play some football.
In Superstar mode, you can pick from a few key positions and enter the NFL as a Rookie in the draft. I choose QB, but you can be a receiver, running back, linebacker, or cornerback as well.
After assigning your stats and running the NFL Combine, you enter the draft and wait to see where you land. As a QB, I figured I had a few choices, and I was hoping for Minnesota, so I could rely on the insane stats of Justin Jefferson.
Do you want to know who is right after Minnesota? The New York Jets.
Apparently, just like in real life, everyone is sick of Aaron Rodgers, and the Jets dropped him. I admittedly almost re-rolled my character, but I decided to play through the preseason.
I’m glad I did because my receivers and tight end were solid. Not only that, but I also managed to make my way to the Division Championship, but lost to the Ravens in my first year. Since you are only playing one position, the amount you can do for the team is limited.
Between games, you can chat with teammates to get minor buffs to things like throwing power, accuracy, catch in traffic, or some helpful blocking. You also don’t get much say in trades or pick-ups in the off-season, so you can really only focus on improving yourself.
Practice between games will give you slight exp boosts, and you can use your skill points to get permanent upgrades from there. It’s a fun mode for sure, but I still prefer Franchise mode.
Franchise mode is the classic. You pick a team and control it entirely for a season, trying to get to the Superbowl. In addition, you are responsible for off season recruiting, scouting, and other plans. There is an Owner mode that lets you manage the team differently, but I spent limited time there.
This is also where you can do the fantasy draft, which puts all players into the draft pool and makes everyone start from scratch. It can be fun for a few games, but I think I prefer the Lions now that they are a decent team.
When you pick a team, you can then decide how you want to run it. I’m not sure if this is new or not, but you can now play offense, defense, or the key moments of the game. It’s a good addition, since I am terrible at defense and good at offense.
You do let the AI control things, which is a gamble, but at least you can play the parts of the game you like. The most important thing is that you can control the trades, letting you build the team you want – an Ultimate Team, so to speak.
This year’s Ultimate Team is much like the others; building the best team will cost you. I had never played this mode before, but I had to try it to see how the online play worked. My free packs got me a few decent players, and I went into a match to see if there would be any lag.
There was thankfully no lag; just a monstrous beat down that made me wish the game had a mercy rule. The next two matches were much closer, and I actually won one, and there was still no lag. The servers seem to be rock solid in Madden NFL 25 – a huge plus.
As for the bad, sometimes the AI does dumb things, but that is par for the course.
The catching seems a little odd this year. If a ball bounces off a player, and they are caught up on each other, the ball sort of floats some and gives them a chance to catch it. It’s great when your player catches the ball, but terrible when you get an interception. These are just minor annoyances, but they are noticeable; thankfully, there are no bugs or crashes to speak of.
Always having class while still being humble, Madden NFL 25 continues the series’ grand legacy. MVPs will have a blast, while newcomers can treat this as a good jumping on point.
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Overall – 80%
80%
Official Score
Always having class while still being humble, Madden NFL 25 continues the series’ grand legacy. MVPs will have a blast, while newcomers can treat this as a good jumping on point.