It's not the 2011 Edition, Right?
I've been really tolerant of Madden games for a long while. However, I think even I am about to join the naysayers. Madden is not quite Tony Hawk, but at this point, the changes are so minimal that I do not get the point of it coming out every year any longer.
I hear, every season, that these changes in AI will make it a different type of game. I haven't noticed it. They make last year's money plays a little less effective, but counters are still insanely effective as are short slant routes. Changes in difficulty level, primarily, involve the cheapness of computer AI. Play it or normal and the AI is fair but fairly inept. Play it on the highest level and every computer AI suddenly develops omniscience --- well, outside of the ones on YOUR team, who eat lead paint by all accounts.
Franchise mode still has some questionable trade logic. Not saying the computer will accept all of your idiotic trade requests...but you can slip several through here and there and improve your team. I didn't really notice many differences here as opposed to 2011, but that could also mean that the changes in that mode are so minor that, on a year-to-year basis, they are not really anything you can appreciate.
Online is the strength of the game. But, that seems to be the case every single year. It is what it is.
Why sports games keep churning out "Be a Star" type game moves is baffling since NONE of them do it well. NBA 2K has an abysmal track record and Madden is one of the few that is nearly as bad. It isn't fun. It doesn't feel like you are becoming a pro. At the start, you have to wonder if you're able to even make it on a JV team, much less an NFL squad (even my Buffalo Bills, who suck worse than a lot of college squads).
There isn't much to recommend Madden. It is the same friggin' game as it was last year. Like Tony Hawk, wait 4 years between playing Madden titles and you will see a great game. Year after year, though, it is a total loss.
