Nerds That Geek Game Review: 'Madden 17'

​Written by John Edward Betancourt

August is a special time for football fans everywhere. After all, preseason football is in full swing, the regular season draws near and a grand tradition arrives near the end of the month, the annual release of Madden, and that magical time is upon us once again and there is good reason to be excited about Madden 17. 

Granted, some folks will no doubt roll their eyes at that notion since the game is sometimes referred to as nothing more than a sixty dollar roster update, and hey it's understandable that some fans outright lament the release of this game due to the fact that some years have been shockingly bad or a minor improvement on the year before, but I mean what I say because this year's release has managed to make some pretty impressive strides to provide the fans with an immersive and entertaining football experience.

Of course it all starts with the graphics and the game most certainly delivers in that category. Everywhere you look in Madden 17, great care has been put into replicating the stadiums and the players that inhabit them. It truly seems that the graphics engine is taking full advantage of what next gen consoles have to offer and every play is a downright feast for the eyes. But after the glamor and glitz wears off, the good news is, there's plenty more gameplay wise to keep you happy. A revamped running game makes pounding the rock all the more fun and some major enhancements were put in place on the defensive side of the ball as well, allowing for greater control of defensive backs to ensure no one picks you apart in the passing game. 

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But, the real highlights for me, were the enhancements to Franchise Mode this go round. Now you'll find greater emphasis on game planning and the tendencies of your opponents. Now you can properly prepare for what the opposing team is going to throw at you from both sides of the ball in drills that you can either sim or play and to top it off, the game has finally added a practice squad, something fans have requested for several years now. Plus, you now have even more control over how your franchise experience goes. If you want to get through a matchup that doesn't excite you quickly, there's Madden Moments which allows you to play in crunch time. Or, if you're a fan of only scoring points, or sacking quarterbacks, you can also control just the offense or the defense during a game as well.

However, while all of these additions make for a fantastic experience, none of it matters without one important thing...the presentation of it all and Madden 17 has completely revamped all of that for the better. Everything has been given a grand overhaul to give you a more authentic broadcast experience, including changing out the commentators. Gone are the CBS duo of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, they are instead replaced with Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis and this is one hell of an improvement, simply because with new commentators, comes a new commentary experience. The folks at EA Sports have finally created a dynamic system that removes the canned and simple responses from the booth team, instead allowing for commentary that actually reacts to what's happening on the field with accuracy and their responses finally feel natural. 

In the end, this is one incredible addition to the Madden lineup. It didn't take long for me to find myself hooked and immersed in the world of digital football once again, and the changes made to the gameplay and franchise mode this year are easily accessible and well...addicting to say the least. I simply can't get enough of this game and found myself powering through several weeks of franchise mode in one sitting and I have a feeling I'm not alone since this is clearly one of the strongest releases of Madden in recent years.

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