Football is perhaps the most popular among all the sports in America right now. It is among the most-watched programs every year which makes the NFL’s flagship video game, the Madden NFL franchise, one of the most anticipated sports games every year. But in recent years, the series has gone stale in the eyes of players. With it being most apparent in the newest entry, Madden 21.
There are a variety of issues fans have with the series, problems with the roster being one of those issues. There is only so much fans can take and EA Sports needs to realize this. These are 10 things that would massively improve the franchise in the eyes of players and critics alike.
10 Get Rid Of The Exclusivity Deal
To get an obvious one out of the way, but EA really needs to get rid of its exclusivity deal with the NFL right now. Since EA Sports has the exclusive rights to making officially licensed NFL games, there is no competition for Madden right now.
This means EA and the NFL feel that there is no rush to make any major improvements to the series since the developers do not have to worry about falling behind against competitors. This has led to seemingly the same game getting copy/pasted with only the rosters and overalls being the biggest difference. Competition could help motivate the developers more and to improve the overall player experience of the game.
9 More Dynamic Commentary
The commentary in the game is pretty good when compared to how it used to be. However, there are still some improvements that need to be made. The biggest one is to make the commentary more dynamic by having the commentators react more realistically to what is going on.
In NBA 2k for instance, when a big play like a slam dunk happens, the commentators will stop talking about what they were before to talk about the dunk. Something like that would happen in real life and adds a layer of realism to the experience. Madden should do something like this in the future for game-changing plays.
8 John Madden Should Play A Role Of Some Kind
It can be easy to forget but the Madden series is actually named after a person. That person being NFL Hall of Fame coach John Madden. He used to do commentary in the earlier Madden games but has been absent from more recent entries. His latest appearance was in Madden 18 where he talks about Tom Brady in the game’s start-up screen.
It would be really cool to see him involved in the career mode as like a mentor of some sort. Not only would it establish the “origin” of the game, but it adds more character, too. Seeing him as a coach in Ultimate Team would also be a nice homage to the man’s legacy.
7 Simpler Attribute System
The attribute system can be a bit hard to understand. This is in terms of how exactly one can increase their player’s attributes. Plus it only gives the player a few options in terms of what attributes they can invest in.
A tutorial explaining how exactly it works would be helpful. If that does not work, then just use the traditional bars method that most sports games use. Basically, fans want a more tailored tutorial or something simpler instead.
6 More Customization Options
Madden 21 improved a bit of the customization options for the player’s created character but there are still options from older Madden games missing. Options such as create a stadium, team, and even fans are all missing from the latest entry.
Ultimate Team oddly lacks the option to create a team stadium and team which takes away from the feeling that the player’s team is truly their own. Create-a-fan is not as needed but football games are expensive enough as is to attend. It would be nice for a player to see themselves as a fan watching the action on the field in a cutscene like the old days.
5 Historic Teams
Madden’s Ultimate Team gives the player access to some of the best players to ever wear shoulder pads in the game. But as of right now, Ultimate Team remains the only avenue in which someone can use these players.
Nostalgia can be a powerful source of appeal for every industry including video games. Historic teams could provide that nostalgia to attract older players. It would be cool to see how the ratings of the best Chicago Bears players, current and historic, in Ultimate Team would do in an exhibition game against each other.
4 Add A Hub To Interact W/ Others
The biggest addition to Madden 21 is the yard which lets players use their created character in a variety of locales like an army base. They can take on others in an arcade-like game style. The yard seems like the perfect place for a hub to interact and meet other players.
Currently, the only way to meet other players is to play with or against them in online matches. The hub could act like NBA 2k’s neighborhood with activities to participate in with others and for players to represent their favorite team. That interactivity would go a long way in creating a bigger community for Madden.
3 Better Presentation
In NBA 2k, the presentation feels pretty close to reality with having game interviews take place before, during, and after the game. Not to mention to see the way players and fans react to the action taking place during the game.
Madden, on the other hand, lacks these sorts of things. With all the money being made, the developers could very easily take the time and effort to gives fans these small, but powerful features. Having more realistic player and fan reactions and including interviews could really help with player immersion.
2 Improve Upon Franchise Mode
Franchise mode has long been the staple feature of the series. But not too much has been added to the mode in terms of what a player can do with it. It does have the appeal of letting people play as one of the best players on the best teams. However, it is missing something big.
That something is interactivity with those around players in the mode. This is somewhat present in the game and in the face of the franchise mode. But it does not make the most of it. Social media is in the game, too, so why not be able to use it in some capacity? Players could also call a teammate or coach up to hang out with them to improve chemistry. Small changes like this would really help with both immersion and to stave off boredom.
1 Massive Gameplay Overhaul
The base gameplay of the series, while pretty good, has remained basically the same for the past several years with nothing of note being added to the gameplay. This does not help with the sports game stereotype that every newly released game is essentially a cut and paste of the previous year’s game.
Have more dynamic animations for the player would be a start to innovating on gameplay. Making realistic reactions to moments rather than just casually walking away would be one more step. All of this would at least help the game feel different without compromising on what makes the game so great to begin with.
