It's finally here, the next gen in gridiron action but missing parts makes it a questionable next gen game.
Graphics:
Beautiful... pure and clean. Peyton Manning looks like Manning, Vick looks like Vick, Brady looks like Brady, Carr looks like Carr, Portis looks like Portis and so on. The crowds and the stadiums look really next gen especially the lightnings and reflections on the helmets and visors. There are more people on the sidelines now and the coaches looks like their real life counterparts especially Denny Green of the Arizona Cards.
Gameplay:
This is where it falters... like the Oakland Raiders in the 2002 Super Bowl. Gameplays and features are missing here that causes the game to be a low replayabilty sports title. Your wondering what is the BIGGEST missing link in this game. I'll tell you, and it's something that you'll miss... BIG TIME. The challenge system is gone... yeap... you can't review plays especially the infamous "Tuck Arm" rule. Your going to need it because about 75% of the time that the refs are gonna call an incomplete pass a fumble especially when you QB arm is moving forward. The other missing feature is the franchise mode... it's gone, you can create a season but it isn't the same as the franchise mode. You can't modify/edit players and you can't create a player... why?
Sounds:
It's great, the sounds of the field is there and it sounds like your in on the action. But the crowd seems out of control all of the time... you can barely hear the announcer because the crowd is going nuts especially if the home team is trailing by 40 pts. The radio announcer replaces the mundane Madden and Micheals to add more emotions into the gameplay... pure and brilliant move ever done by EA. Instead of the regular "Touchdown" you here from Micheals you'll hear the announcer going crazy like "He's at the 30, 20, 10, TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN!". Obviously, you'll enjoy this type of announcing and it's sounds like your listening to pure good ol' fashioned smash mouth football.
AI:
Too good... way too good. Remember making those 80 yard bombs for the past 5 years? Well kiss that one good bye because your going to be making those RARELY! The CB and Safteys had gotten a MAJOR AI overhaul. They are so tough that they are hard to read especially on the offensive side. The offensive AI is tough too, it seems that they can read your defense really well as Peyton Manning could.
Overall:
With all of the missing gameplay and features, it's hard to choose because of the graphics and the sounds. Basically, I like it because of the missing review system... it's back to "old-school" football... my favorite.