I HAVE A LONG HISTORY with football videogames and the Madden NFL series. I was hooked on Realsports Football on the Atari 2600 and Tecmo Bowl on the GameBoy. I have lots of great memories of 66-63 games on the Genesis with friends where no one could catch Barry Sanders and you’d never punt on 4th down. On Monday September 10, 2001, I was up until 3AM playtesting for a Madden review, which is why I slept through my alarm the next morning and was woken by a phone call from my father telling me the World Trade Center — where I’d worked for several years — was no longer standing.
In fact, for most of the past 10 years, it’s been a ritual for me to play through an entire franchise season with my beloved Dolphins, sometimes two or three times in a season. No matter how bad they’ve been on the field, they’re always Super Bowl champions on my TV. So I find myself befuddled by how awful I am at Madden 12 online, as I may in fact be the worst player in the world.
My ineptitude extends to every facet of the game. I never have time to throw, I’m lucky if I have a 30% completion rate and can’t go 3 or 4 passes without an interception. My opponents have all the time in the world to throw and have receivers running wide open on every play. Opposing defenders have their backs to the ball and turn into Stretch Armstrong to make magical one-handed interceptions; passes hit my defenders in the hands and they can’t hold on. On the rare occasion I get a fumble return for a TD, my opponents immediately respond with massive kickoff returns or 80 yard runs on the next play. Even with a rare late 6-3 lead, I can’t get off a few simple running plays without fumbling the ball away. Every three or four plays invokes some kind of disaster.
So I can only scratch my head and wonder what I’m doing wrong. Is there a special playbook I need to use? Do I need to put guys in motion to get them open or use audibles on every play? Is there a secret turbo button I’m not using? I don’t know, but it’s making me feel damned old.
Otherwise, Madden 12 is kind of underwhelming. The play-by-play is particularly awful, as Gus Johnson and Cris Collinsworth often seem to broadcasting a different game than the one I’m playing. I’ve got a running back sprinting ahead for 12 yards, and they’re droning on about one of my wide receivers. I overthrow a pass by 10 yards, and they call it a strike. It’s been 20 years. Why does it feel like a first-time effort?
I can’t help but feel that EA’s exclusive NFL license and the lack of competition is a general negative for the franchise. EA likes to trumpet a long list of new features and tweaks they add every year, but the game really needs a complete overhaul. The gameplay should be faster. You should have more control over receivers and running backs and they should have more room to operate. I’d honestly play a non-NFL branded of football if the gameplay was that much better, and I’ve just about reached the point where, unless EA really steps it up, just as I’ve abandoned the NCAA Football franchise for the past several years, I’ll be skipping Madden next year, too.
Yes, I totally agree. It has been two years since the release of the madden game. I have always used my favorite team, the chiefs and play franchise (All pro or All Madden). 99% of the time I have been SB Champions. But with the online gaming, I play as a guest, and I seem to always make mistakes. I even tried using the team with the highest overall rating, I still lost badly. Take my last game for instance: Packers, 2 interceptions, 3 fumbles, and 3/7 completed passes. I don’t know why I keep losing. There needs to be a difficulty level where when we score a touchdown, the other team basically responds with, if not a TD a field goal. Rookie & Pro are too easy for me. And All Pro and All Madden are too easy for me
EA made the biggest mistake ever scrapping the old engine the game ran on using the ps2 and original Xbox. This broke down piece of garbage game back in 2006 that made it’s way to the Xbox 360 was shameful by EA especially after locking down the exclusive license deal with the NFL… I mean it was broken period and they knew it and didn’t care and have done nothing but try to polish up what is broken year after year… I have never purchased a Madden game since because I was offended by there actions and I won’t until the exclusive license ends and competition actually forces them to improve or get out a the sports video game market in football…. Just look what happened to there NBA live series!! Madden would a had the same fate years ago if they didn’t lock down the license and force football fans to buy there broken product… I wish more people would just accept that it’s bad and not purchase it forcing them to truly make the game better but sadly so many just have to have there NFL fix regardless… MAN just put in old school games and update the rosters!! EA used to be my favorite video game company hands down, but now I despise them! I have tons of there old school stuff and still enjoy it, but will NEVER buy this new broken garbage…. One sweet day EA will lose that exclusive BS and the market will push them aside from far superior products….
The difference between pro and all pro is ridiculous. Winning games easy on pro which is frustrating as we all like a bit of competition. But all pro I can’t make any completions and can get nowhere near the QB or make any pass stops on defence. I’m only a casual player but I dread to think what all Madden level is like!!
This game is a joke….I should have returned it when I had the chance.
I’ll see a blitz….send the line to pick it up and audible a tight end as an extra blocker…but they still can’t pick it up. Even when they don’t send a blitz you have less than 3 seconds to get the ball out. Defensive backs seem as though they can leap 6 feet to pick a ball off. Wide receivers can have 20 feet of space yet over the top of linebackers and safetys and it’s not enough. Cornerbacks having their backs turned to the ball when its thrown but all of a sudden being able to turn around…jump and intercept. I’m sick of wasting 60 bucks a shot on this kind of crap.
I thought all of the problems i’ve been having with Madden 12 were just me im glad i ran across this blog. I’ve been playing Madden since 98 and I have become pretty good at playing at all pro or all madden skill level. Yeah i lose a few games everyonce in awhile but nothing like i do on Madden 12. This is my first time to play Madden online and it’s like my opponet knows what im doing on every play both on defense and offense. I think im 7-8 online and 3 of those games i won were because my opponet quit and the other 4 wins were like i was playing someone that is playing the game for the first time. I want to know how the other games i’ve played and lost why it seems like they’re players are way faster than mine and im lucky to get the ball off on a deep pass before im getting sacked or throwing an interception. Are people using cheats or are they just that good because they play 24/7. I don’t mind losing a few games online i know it’s going to be harder playing an actual person than playing the cpu but to be getting blown out like i do doesnt make since. Have i gotten that bad?
And the commentating is horrbile. I dont know how many times i’ve heard Chris say 2nd and 7 when i havent gained a yard. It sucks because i was excited about Madden 12 and now it’s hard for me to even want to play. I don’t know just wanted to throw my 2 cents in also
I bought this game yesterday and returned it today. madden 11 wasnt awful but this madden 12 is easily the worst sports games ive ever plaed.EA you dropped the ball,so to speak.I can call an audible everytime with deep pass and hit my A reciever and pick up 10 yards every single time never fail. and interception is way too hard you never should have combined swat and intercept. this fail doesnt surprise me look at tiger woods masters game. I couldnt type all the things wrong with that pice of garbage. almost makes me want to stop buying EA titles
I play Madden 12 online on Wii and improved my ranking from around 2500 to around 300. As soon as I reached level 2 I can’t get a win and my ranking dropped to 3000! I don’t know who the computer is matching me up against, but these guys must play 24/7. I should just play unranked opponents and have fun, but I guess my stupid ego gets in the way. It’s very frustrating! Any suggestions?
Madden 12 is the first series I have purchased since 2k5 lol. I started playing many other games that I had more interest for. I played through a franchise to freshen up on the skills before going online. Once online I destroyed the first game I played. It wasnt even competition. The second not so much, the other players team was faster, and apparently much better at defense than I was. I know Im going to win and lose some. But this has happened every game since my first. I’ve tried different teams, audibles, everything. Maybe its time to retire madden in my book.
I thought it was just me lol. I’m 34 yrs old & have been playing Madden religiously since Madden ‘ 92. I’ve evolved as the game play has with the new systems over the years, but I’m at the end of my rope now. What happened to needing skill to be good at the game? I can remember Genesis days, where pressing the “C” button to catch was crucial. lol. Over the years, things like the cpu auto catching….I understand had to be implemented to make the game easier for some, but now this game is nothing but animation fest. There is no game play imo. It’s just a race to see which animation can trigger first….the defensive back going for the pick/swat or the wide receiver trying to pull one in. Perhaps EA does need to lose the exclusive rights to NFL games & some healthy competition is needed. What’s up with forcing us to use the analog stick to move our players, after years of the directional pad working just fine? Why not put a choice in the control options? I knew something was up when in Madden 2008 they changed up the switch player button from “X” to “O” after how many years? It took a year or two to train my self to hit “O” now instead of “X”, but go figure on that one too. They gave us an option for like 2 years & that was it.
I think it is hilarious i found this article. I feel very similar to you. I’ve purchased a madden game for I don’t know how long. (Also love 2k5 btw). The last two years, I had no problem wining 50%-75% of my games. This year I am at 50% but only it seems because half the time I get folks that are playing their first game, and quit halfway through after three 4th down converts fail. I usally lose the games when folks don’t quit…
Anyway, I currently am feeling this issue is due to a combination of two things. A) an over all busted game, and B) the internet. Now, before I say the next statement, just know I am not referring to every one. But, I think that most folks that have played madden in the past, were not very, umm, tech savvy. I don’t think internet guides were used that often. So, it was easy for a casual player to win, or at least go .500.
What I think is happening is more and more madden players now look online for ways to win. That’s not bad right? Well… Here is where A) comes in, I feel that madden is busted, and in some ways has always been. Now that more and more madden players going online and find cheese ways to win, we honest players suffer.
I am all for learning how to better play the game, but when I keep getting cheesed with tricks that are darned near unavoidable, the game starts to become not worth playing…
I am on the same boat as you guys are. I play Madden 11 all madden and win almost every time with my steelers. but on madden 12, i cant even win on all pro. i did an experiment and won on pro 63-0, then i played the same teams afterwards on all pro and lost 42-7. why!? i just dont understand how this game can be so bad where theres no difficulty level that works at all for me.
I feel the same exact way. I’ve been playing Madden since 2000 and it has gone so downhill. I miss 2k5 because I feel like that’s the only normal football game. Madden 12 just has so many things wrong with it that they will never fix, just like every year….