Madden 23 released to not the warmest of welcomes, with the majority of the year then spent by EA Sports attempting to right many wrongs. Despite that, Madden 24. And now we wonder if Madden 24 effectively builds on the foundations laid by its predecessor. Let’s find out.
Madden 24 Review: Make or Break For The Franchise
Field Sense
Introduced last year, Field Sense returns introducing new tackling, catching, and throwing animations. On top of devasting hits, FieldSense gives running backs the appearance of unstoppable momentum. Another strength of Field Sense is the interactions between the receiver and defensive back. Players never really know if they’re going to come down with the ball until the play is called dead, for better or for worse. This makes contested catches a true skill by the receiver to catch consistently, but also leads to the game letting a defender knock a ball out of your hand he had no business even touching. Ultimately, it’s a give-and-take, but there is something to be said about the added layer of unpredictability.
Tactical Blocking System
Now, one of the big features receiving a lot of hype was the new AI system for the offensive line. Madden 24 makes them smarter and overall more effective at their jobs. After finishing about my 30th game online where I averaged over 8 yards a carry, I feel they’re a little too good at their job. Hits in the backfield are rare unless a linebacker gets in there, and defensive linemen get put in jail by the linemen. I’m interested in what they’re going to do about this. AS it stands, the AI forces players to make real-life decisions on 3rd downs, rather than in previous games where going for a run on 3rd and 20 was more than a viable option.
Skill Based Passing, Passing, and Pass Rush
Skill Based Passing returns with added tweaks to throws and catching. I love using this, but the game has a habit of forcing inaccurate throws leading to frustration at times.
In the passing game, I remember last year Inaccuracy Under Pressure was a problem early on. In this game, you can set your feet and throw a perfect pass and the game will just decide you’re not going to throw an accurate pass. On top of that, you can throw a perfect pass and the receiver simply drops it. Again, there is something to be said for a layer of unpredictability on the field, but I feel there is some fine-tuning to be down with stats overtaking skill at the game.
Now despite the dropped passes and inaccurate throws, don’t get it twisted. If your opponent isn’t blitzing you can sit in the pocket and dice them up. As the pass rush has situational effectiveness. This means it’s the best pass rush ever on 4th and 1 or 3rd down, but otherwise, they’re doing nothing. Now to be fair, the Bosa’s, Garrett’s, and Donald’s of the world are the ones getting sacks, but not nearly the amount of pressures guys of their caliber should be generating.
Man & Zone Defense
Man defense was considered OP last year. However, in Madden 24, it’s more appropriately balanced with defenders having a fighting chance in contested situations if they’re close enough, but can get diced up consistently on wide-open slants, drags, post corners, and digs.
On the contrary, zone defense is hurting with the changes to the pass rush. Cover 2 fails to cover short when you want it and Cover 3 gets in burned deep game. Defense oftentimes feels like a set of sitting ducks against well-timed post routes.
Running Game
Now stopping the run, the defense once again has situational effectiveness. If you need 1 yard, the defense line is going to make that 1 yard the hardest thing ever. If you need 10 yards, they’ll give up 50. It’s the weirdest thing. With how effective the blocking is on top of people just in general not knowing how to stop the run, the runners are going to have a good time running the ball this year if no adjustments are made.
User Control
And as far as user-controlling defenders, once again there aren’t any Superman-type interceptions to grab. You have to master your angles to consistently make plays against the passing game which I appreciate. And delivering hit sticks isn’t as reliable as well, as the game doesn’t like to suck the ball carrier into you. You’re going to miss a lot more than you would like if you consistently go to the hit stick.
Franchise: Scouting and Sim Stats
Opening up Franchise Mode, the interface is pretty much the same, but what Madden 24 did improve on is behind-the-scenes stuff like adding more slots for trades and restricting contracts. Mini Games are back and they are now tied into how you improve the players on your team through the different mini-games. Like with most things, you’re going to gravitate toward some and ignore others.
One of the backbones of any sports franchise mode is scouting, and it’s pretty much the same as last year. The game tells what areas to scout on the map, and throughout the season you will uncover more about specific positions and players. I will say, I do miss the days of just finding out if this player has any A categories with my points and calling it a day.
In Franchise, each year I like to see how the base simulation stats stack up against the real-life NFL. this year, I did so by comparing average per-game stats to cancel out guys who got hurt. What I found in one simulation was that 25 players averaged over 200 passing yards a game in Madden, and only 22 did that in real life. It’s close and that’s good. Six guys in real life had a QB rating over 100, and 11 reached that mark in Madden. Ten QBs averaged over 8 yards per attempt in Madden. In real life, that number was 3. Despite the yards per game being around the same, Madden QBs on a whole average way more yards per attempt and were better overall judging from the QB ratings.
For the backs, 15 guys averaged over 70 yards a game in real life, and only 9 hit that number in Madden. So Madden leaned into more of a committee approach. In Madden, 4 receivers went over 80 yards a game, while 7 reached that mark in real life (with 2 going over 100 yards per game). So this tells me more Madden receivers are getting a piece of the pie in the passing game, as opposed to real life.
Taking on the Computer
When playing the computer in Franchise mode, I noticed quite a few injuries in the very first game. In 1 game against the Patriots, I had 6 guys get injured with Jason Kelce going out twice (which is obviously way too many).
However, I wanted to see what the computer would do if I played specific coverages all game. First game versus the Pats, I used Cover 1 and the computer went very pass-happy because of it and diced me up with all well-placed short stuff. Mac Jones would make a few uh oh throws (one being an interception) and a few where were you throwing that passes to nobody. How he quarterbacked that game I could see Jones’s decision-making trait (which is conservative) all over the passes he made. AI defenders also did react faster and got in the backfield easier from repeated use of the same run play by me. Although they didn’t adjust their actual defense to better defend it interestingly enough. One thing I didn’t like was because I was in Cover 1 all game, the opponent barely ran. Even when the game was coming to an end, you would think they wanted to run the clock, but nope, the computer felt it was more beneficial to still pass.
Superstar Mode
Now we have given a makeover to Face of the Franchise, aiming for a more on-the-field heavy mode, with a dash of Ocho Cinco, as opposed to the story-driven mode it had been. You are able to choose between 5 positions (the QB, RB, WR Linebacker, and Corner to begin your career) and build your name up from before the Draft through your journey into an NFL superstar (and I will say going through the Combine is pretty good). Although they really drop the ball on the off-the-field stuff you’re asked to do, being merely text prompts.
Superstar Showdown
Now Superstar Showdown goes hand and hand with Superstar Mode, just like Face of the Franchise and The Yard was before it. This better version of the Yard, lets you progress your player, through 3 vs. 3 and 6 vs. 6 matchups in these eye-catching tron legacy outfits where you can get your NFL Street on. I’m not a fan of the straight superstar mode, but the aesthetic Showdown decided to go with will probably make me reply it on a boring August night next year.
Crossplay
Another big announcement for Madden 24, was crossplay, meaning PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X and S players can all play against each other now. Of course, for those who wish to avoid crossplay, you can turn the option off.
Presentation
When booting up a game of Madden 24, the pregame intro is a bit different from 23. You will notice their opting more for Sunday Night Football on NBC look. While nothing groundbreaking, it’s an improvement. It’s frustrating that Madden really hasn’t blown the top off of what it really can do with its pregame, halftime, and post-game shows. They also changed the scoreboard again, which I will say I do like, and it is definitely better than last year. Additionally, refs have been added back into the game. The menus are slightly changed from last year, and there is a worrying lag when cycling in the ultimate team and franchise that I hope gets fixed. Another strength of Madden 24 from a presentation aspect is displaying the emotion players have after each down, especially after making big plays.
Madden NFL 23 Review Verdict
Madden 24, upon the foundation that was laid last year. Some balancing may be needed with the run game, kick-off return, blocking, as well as pass rush effectiveness and throwing accuracy, depending on who you ask. Overall the gameplay, although it definitely leans offensive, offers an enjoyable experience for the gamer. Franchise Mode continues to make minor tweaks to help their longevity and the facelift to “The Yard” and “Face of the Franchise” is a solid first attempt at getting people to play those modes more instead of staring at their avatar the rest of the year like years past. As of right now, Madden is fun and that’s all you really want from a video game at the end of the day. So with that, I give Madden 24 an 7 out of 10.
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