Yardbarker
x

Madden 17 is more than just a roster update

Every year the refrain is the same. Gamers everywhere deride sports games for being the same every year minus a few gameplay tweaks and roster updates. And though, on the surface, Madden 17 looks a lot like its predecessor, if you peek under the hood, a lot has changed.

An All-New Commentary Team

In terms of the presentation of the games, it won't take long for Madden fans to notice that something has changed. This year, EA Sports has ousted the commentary duo of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms for a team made up of newcomers to the series. Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis may not have had experience calling live NFL games, but the dry and uninspired commentary from Nantz and Simms in past Madden games have proven this kind of experience isn't really a prerequisite for quality. Davis and Gaudin are being bred by EA Sports into not just football commentators, but Madden commentators, able to focus their efforts on the specific intricacies of commentating on a simulation in a way that on air talent like Simms and Nantz simply could not. In addition, EA is bringing Davis and Gaudin into the booth weekly to record new voice lines that change based on real-world NFL results. It promises to really bring players in.

Ball Carrier Tweaks

One of the smaller changes to the game that promises to have a big impact on the higher levels of play is the way EA Sports is updating ball carrier mechanics. Madden 17 will feature a tiered system for the moves that ball carriers can pull off depending on their real-world skills. This means that you can expect plays to proceed much more like they do in the NFL. You won't see Rob Gronkowski trying to spin a defender out of his shoes, nor will you see Matt Forte trying to run headlong into defenders and truck them out of the way. The idea is to have the skill set of the ball carrier in the game match the athlete's skill set in real life, which then makes the player consider the best move for the situation. depending not just on the move's effectiveness, but how well the ball carrier can perform the move (and whether or not he can perform it in the first place).

Fixing Defense

Every single Madden game has featured broken plays that completely take advantage of... well, let's be kind and say -lacking- defensive AI. EA Sports is trying their best to fix that here by rebuilding the defensive AI using real-world up-to-date NFL strategies. They've also promised that zone coverages have been fixed, and that each defender has a gap assignment on run plays so that players are rarely out of position.

Icing The Kicker

Regardless of the fact that studies show that icing the kicker has no effect on whether or not a field goal is made, icing is part of the NFL, so it's only fitting that you can do so in Madden too. That's not the only change to the kicking game either-- a new kick meter has been added to up the challenge of punt and field goal attempts, and kick blocking has been completely overhauled to weed out exploits and give players more control over whether or not a kick is actually blocked.

Ball Physics

This is the big one.

Up until now, the football existed outside Madden's vaunted Ignite physics engine, which is why you sometimes saw the ball clipping through a defender's arm or body while a catch was being made. Now, the actual football has been completely integrated into the physics system, so the spin, position, and angle of the ball will directly affect whether or not a catch is made.

In addition, this means that if a defender has his hands up, there's a chance for passes to be batted down organically, meaning that catches in traffic will be a whole lot more difficult, and therefore, realistic. This applies to other aspects of the game too: tipped passes, throwing out of a sack, fumbles caused by collisions, onside kicks, and fumble recovery are all massively affected by the new, dynamic ball physics, and assuming they work, the game we play in the comfort of our own homes will look a lot more like the game that is played out there on the gridiron.

We can't stop gamers from claiming that yearly sports games are drops in an endless abyss of re-skins and roster updates, but we can at least give you proof to the contrary. Madden 17 comes out on August 23, so stay tuned for our review in the coming weeks!

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.