The Madden series of football games is now in its 23rd year of being; that’s right, since 1988 at least one Madden’s NFL game has been released every year. Ya, I was shocked too.

Though not a popular game to play over here in South Africa, EA’s Madden 12 is an interesting and worthwhile game to get into if you are looking for something different, or are a fan of full-contact sports.

The first thing you notice on start-up is the presentation. EA Tiburon went all out to give it that ‘TV broadcast’ feel with loads of player photos and stats emblazoned on big shiny pieces of steel swooshing about the screen and framing the on-field action. It really got me pumped-up to do some sacking. (That  means tackling in NFL speak, you teabagger.)

All-American bro-down!

Gameplay basically consists of  two styles of play: offence and defence.

When you are on offence you have 4 attempts to advance the ball 10 yards. You can do this by choosing between hundreds of different plays that are taken from the play books of real NFL teams. There is some degree of strategy involved here, and it’s quite fun trying to outsmart the CPU or human opponent.

Each ball reciever has their own running path and is assigned a button – which is always displayed above them. Once your quarterback has the ball, you have to spot the player with the best chance of receiving the pass as the defence scramble around them trying to block their path or get to your quarterback. All you have to do is press the assigned button to send the ball sailing, before your quarterback gets nailed.

It’s a simple enough mechanic, but it can get frustrating when your passes are continuously blocked – especially against the better teams. It all comes down to timing but you can always turn the quarterback into a glory boy and try run every play, which actually works sometimes!

Things can get tricky when controlling a ball carrier though. EA have done away with a sprint button, so you rely heavily on evasive maneuvers and your player’s stats. There are a myriad of moves you can do when faced with an oncoming tackle, choosing the right one within a second before getting traumatised and remembering the button combination is no easy feat and will take some time to master.

When you are on defence you have to stop the other team advancing the ball by almost any means necessary. The tackles can be brutal (hence the players’ Halo armour) and there are few rules when it comes to taking down a ball carrier. Completing a flying high tackle is hugely satisfying. Especially if that one wide reciever has been pestering you all game long.

Playing on defence is simpler than offence, but not as exciting. You choose a player closest to the ball carrier and take him down by either running into him, or hitting the tackle button. Simple.

Ideally you want to get through the opponent’s defensive line and tackle the quarterback before he passes the ball. Here you use the right analog stick to shove the guys out of your way; this works well when you have chosen a massively powerful team member.

If the quarterback has made a pass, you can quickly select a player further up field and get him into position to attempt a pass deflect or make a quick tackle.

Spit ‘n polish

Physics play a big part in the game and all players’ size and weight is accounted for; so forget about trying to hand off a 120kg line-backer with your 90kg quarterback. I would also like to add that I saw no clipping in all the games I played – those are solid objects smashing into each other and they react and behave accordingly.

The animations are some of the finest I have seen in an NFL game. In my opinion this is what adds the most realism to a sports game. The players run, wrestle, jump and sidestep in a very real manner, adding to that ‘OMG it looks like ESPN’ feel. That is, if you’ve seen ESPN.

Graphics are highly polished – this much is expected from an EA Sports title. Everything is represented well, from the stadium reflections on the players’ helmets right down to the blades of grass on the field. I’m not at all familiar with NFL players but judging from the in-game player photos the graphical likenesses are more or less on the mark. The crowds look a bit like cardboard cut-outs though; except for when your touchdown scorer jumps into the crowd for a good ol’ bro-down after catching an epic long-haul pass.

The crowds go off when good plays are made and even break into song when the mood grabs them. You can also hear the players on field banter between plays and the grunts and moans when exerting themselves.

The commentary goes well with the TV presentation style – I was blown away to say the least. It seemed like I had commentators watching my games. There is the odd moment where they are speaking about something that hasn’t actually happened or they are a bit delayed. Like when the scorer is doing his touch-down happy dance and the commentator randomly shouts ‘touch down!’

Good for some lol’s though!

A game for the ages

There are a host of different game modes to play in – from practice sessions to mini games and the ubiquitous “be a pro” mode. All modes are there to help you gear up for the big time: Franchise Mode. This is what the game wants you to play. In franchise mode you choose a team or create your own and keep them at the top of the logs for 3 decades. You have to be an NFL nut to do this, and actually have to know a thing or two about football.

One of the biggest surprises (!spoiler alert!) is President Obama’s appearance when congratulating the winning team of the Superbowl. I wont lie, at this point I was feeling quite emotional and attached to my team. The South African Kroks made me proud!

In order to access online play you will have to register the game with a code that can only be used once.

You will have no problem in finding multiplayer match-ups, though. Online there were over 41 000 players dealing each other touch-downs and sacks (seriously why call it a sack?) and the game will pit you against players of equal level, or as close as can be. I experienced little-to-no lag in my games, and very little douchery from my human opponents as well. So, well done, jocks!

Match results

Although it is a good sports game across the board, I still find it hard to recommend it to my fellow South African gamers because of our affinity for rugby. The stop-start nature of American Football will leave many of you rather frustrated when all you want to do is run the ball and get slapped some ‘good game slaps’. (You know, that pat on the backside after doing something awesome.)

For those of you who want a different sports game, have a slight interest in NFL or if you have just watched The Waterboy – you will find enjoyment in this game.

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