EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL 27

Created a player and noticed after my first game it was gone. Tried again, same thing. Tried 3 characters at the same time and all 3 were gone after the first game. Basically they released a broke ass game and didn't fix the issues in the last update. Bravo EA! Way to treat your customers. This game is dead in the water until they fix the bugs. Which they should have done before selling us this game in the first place. No I do not recommend.

[h1]This game got [u]a lot[/u] better[/h1] So, brief context: I'm an overseas NFL football fan, been following the season for 4 years now. And in my opinion there's no better addition to an NFL (international?) gamepass than a current copy of Madden football; started following the franchise since Madden '22 and I usually have a great time even though I am well aware that Madden is far from perfect. [h2]Presentation[/h2] The presentation is very convincing, as is usually the case. From having various NFL team members citing the iconic line "[i]EA sports... It's in the [u]game[/u]![/i]" to doing away with a repeating animation for a loading screen and instead having that replaced with a moving flag. Speaking of those loading screens... they worked on those as well. Going back to the main menu after you played a game mode has become [u]a lot[/u] faster than before. As before the menu is now shown vertically on the left and I think it makes the whole thing look more professional. Personally I also really enjoy this season's "blue theme". The menu icons don't dynamically move around based on what you played, but always show game modes in a specific order: [list] [*] Ultimate Team => Collect (player) cards and try to build your perfect team. Take on challenges, play against the CPU or your friends and earn rewards. This is my favorite game mode btw, and if you feel the same then don't forget about the companion app for your smartphone; this allows you to keep track while on the road (I got some of my best auction deals while checking out UT in public transport). [*] Franchise => Think you can do better than the current coach of your favorite team? Then this is for you! ;) [*] Superstar => Now is your time to shine and try to become an NFL star yourself. They even added extra positions within the team that you can work towards; the day that you could only become a quarterback are far behind us. In specific: Tight End, Edge Rusher and Free Safety are all new positions. [*] Online H2H => Play matches online with your friends or against total strangers. [*] Quick play => Want to "explore" an upcoming game on the NFL calendar? This could be a good place to start. [*] Training camp => I know some Madden players consider this the "newbie corner" but honestly... you're only limiting your gaming experiences with that attitude. Because this can easily be [i]the[/i] perfect way to get a better feel for the game. You should at the very least check out the Skills Trainer because it will show you [i]exactly[/i] what is new in Madden '27, and even give you the option to test these out for yourself. [/list] In addition I'd also like to mention the graphics improvements. Better yet: while you may notice some delays when you play on a "not so great" gaming PC it's still very well noticeable that you don't need to have a monster gaming setup in order to enjoy a nice game of Madden. And even though EA officially recommends the use of an SSD... I can tell you that this isn't a strong requirement either. Which I really think is admirable, also considering all the new features and player behavior that got added. Finally... several team entrances have been enhanced to make them look more special. And I think it really works, from extra fireworks to more inclusion of mascottes. Not to mention the music, stadium music and the stadium announcer (this is one of my favorite current features tbh...). [h2]Control[/h2] For all the years that I've been playing Madden I know that we always had a lot of customization options to fully tune the game(s) to our liking. Do you think the CPU quarterback isn't difficult enough? Then maybe increase its accuracy. Do you think you're getting intercepted too much? Then maybe tone that option down a bit. This applies to both the CPU as well as your own player skills by the way. But EA added something new in '27: "Custom Adjustments", it's part of the creation center and it allows you to do just that by adjusting the general behavior of the game. Better yet: you can even set up different profiles so that you can switch back and forth to experiment and find out what works best for you. From the way blitzes are shown to the way RPO should be handled. From specific defensive techniques to getting more control over your linebackers. Though honestly... I'd suggest not applying any changes right from the start, not before you became familiar with some of the new game mechanics. [b]Timed catching[/b] This is a bit of a love/hate for me right now. As soon as your QB passes the ball then you can decide on how you're going to catch it: [i]aggressive[/i], [i]possessive[/i] and of course [i]Run After Catch[/i] ("RAC"). In '27 they introduced a timing mechanic, so now you not only need to press the right key for the type of catch, but you [i]also[/i] need to try and time this. Don't worry: you can customize this behavior and even turn it off completely if you want to (for both offensive & defensive plays individually). I don't like using it while playing defense, but I do have to admit that you can get some nice advantages when trying to make an "impossible" catch. But it definitely takes getting used to (which is also why I very much enjoy the training center!). [h3]Coach mode is kinda special (and weird!)[/h3] Ever had the urge to fire up your favorite football game, only to end up realizing that you're actually not really in the mood to play a football game? ;) Well, then you could consider activating coach mode; you'll find this in the general settings. What it does is move you away from controlling your team directly, and instead place you on the sideline from where you get to "coach" them. Think of this as a super-sim mode, but instead of running it fully automatic you now still get to provide input on which playbook entry you want your team to use. After that they'll perform the play on their own. It takes getting used to, it's definitely not perfect I think, but can be fun to play with every once in a while. [h2]It's not perfect though...[/h2] As you probably know this game uses its own launcher through use of the EA app. And it shows. Earlier this week I tried to fire up the game, only to be greeted with an error: "Update failed!", and that was that. Eventually the app's interface showed up, which I closed, and then tried again. I also had an issue once where the app seem to have crashed after which the game refused to recognize my controller. Even so, I could always recover from this by restarting the game, no problem. This is hardly comparable to what happened 2 years ago with Madden '25. Another personal con for me... is the fact that Kate Scott is still part of the commentary team, together with Brock Huard. No personal offense intended (!), but I simply don't think she has the right voice to be commenting on a football game; she's too much present for my liking. The reason I mention this is because you can't disable certain commentators while playing UT challenges. So I usually end up either skipping the challenge for now, or opening the audio settings to turn of commentary completely (which I dislike doing). [h2][i]Summing up...[/i][/h2] All in all I think that Madden '27 is a solid addition to the franchise. And I just love how the "core Madden community" (as I like to call it) are already fully active within game modes such as Ultimate Team; I already managed to grab some fun stuff from the auction hub. Can't wait for the full community to show up! If you're new to the game then I think it's a no brainer; [i]especially[/i] once the discounts start coming during the Holiday season. This game is seriously good, can definitely recommend!

ehh

add back 2v2.

I mostly play MUT, but the first thing I noticed was increased graphics and audio. It actually lets my 144hz 4k monitor run at that. Lots of small graphic details new. New audio cues take a little getting used to. Overall it is the game I expected with better graphics and audio. I have been enjoying MUT so far, you have to keep in mind all of the player max ratings cap out lower at the start of season 1.

Never have I felt the need to post a review on any game (good or bad), but the atrocity they gave to the public this year is unacceptable. The amount of bugs and glitches are inexcusable. Franchise mode has been borderline unplayable. Superstar single player mode might possibly be the worst game mode in a sports game in all of history. The play calls that you are limited to choosing are all terrible, your CPU teammates are worse than a newborn baby picking up a controller, and it makes the "grind" of the mode completely unenjoyable. I have been a yearly Madden purchaser and I think this year will be the final year of that pattern. If you would like to waste $70 of your money I would highly recommend playing the lottery instead of buying this game. Losing the lottery would be more fun than whatever this is. It's embarrassing that this is the product of a $50+ billion franchise.

Franchise mode keeps freezing on transition screens for player training. No fix yet.