Nerds That Geek Game Review: 'Madden 19'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

There was a time, where football and gaming fans everywhere dropped everything this time of year to line up for hours on end to get their hands on a brand-new copy of Madden. They would chat up the potential changes in the line, discuss their favorite teams and really, just come together over the fact that their favorite game was back on the shelves and the time had arrived to lose one’s self in a digital world of football to handle their fix in between preseason and regular games.
 
Of course, the times have changed. These days, one can simply hit a button on their console at home and enjoy the game in a short while without having to ever leave the house, but the magic and anticipation still remains. Because whether you’re a fan of it or not, Madden, truly is a gaming phenomenon and I know that I sat on my couch with baited breath as I waited for my download of this year’s edition of the game to finish and let me go ahead and say it now, Madden 19 was completely and utterly worth the wait.
 
Because once again, the folks at EA have worked hard to put quite an immersive football experience together and while I normally like to get a review for a game up as quickly as possible, the vast amount of changes that came to this year’s iteration of the game warranted some in depth play through before I sat down to type this out and I’m glad I went that route because now I feel as though I have a wonderful handle on this game and every wonder that it just so happens to offer. 

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Now, the first thing I noticed about this game that impressed me is that visually, they actually found a way to improve upon last year’s graphics and presentation and this newly enhanced version of the game only enriches the experience further. Because the new introduction graphics look and feel like a T.V. broadcast of the game, replicating some of that game day feel and my goodness, everything simply looks amazing in this game. The uniforms, the players and the stadiums simply pop thanks to the Frostbite graphics engine and the wonder of this game doesn’t end there.
 
Because the folks behind the scenes also added some serious tweaks to Franchise Mode that are an absolute delight. Case in point, the new XP system. Gone are the days where you simply focus on a particular trait for a player to improve them, now there are scheme related skill packages available to help them become a better fit on your team and these improve multiple traits all at once, allowing for your players to grow quicker and you’re finally allowed to decide who your team captains are on the squad, which while that isn’t overtly impactful to the gameplay, it’s the little things that matter when it comes to the overall experience. 
 
Speaking of the gameplay however, it’s an utter delight. The new run game and physics systems bring back a challenge to Madden since you now need patience when you’re pounding the rock and how the players make contact on offense and defense can change the course of a drive or the game for that matter as well and really, when all is said and done, it’s clear that Madden 19 is all about having fun and it delivers in spades when it comes to that and all of these improvements have made this version of the game tough to put down because this one, resurrects the good ol’ days, since quality gameplay and the experience are king once again.

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