Madden NFL 12

If you have any positive feelings toward football whatsoever, odds are high that you?ve played Madden football games. Madden?s been around since 1988, and has over the last 23 years become a favorite among athletes and fans alike. Madden NFL 12 is the latest in the series, and brings with it some notable improvements and tweaks, both to the gameplay itself and to the gaming experience. The game is more realistic than ever, and more accessible to non-obsessives than ever?which has some consequences obsessives might not like. Overall, however, it?s a gorgeous, fun-to-play game that should keep even the most ravenous Madden fans happy, and a clear Editors' Choice pick.

Madden NFL 12 will be available on August 30 for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 for $59.99, the Nintendo Wii for $49.99, the Playstation 2 and PSP for $39.99. A mobile version will be available on the iPad, iPod touch, Android, and feature phones at the same time.?

The Game Presentation
To rehash the basics of Madden, in addition to taking many thousands of words, is essentially pointless?the general gameplay doesn?t change much from year to year, and this year is no exception. The biggest change in Madden NFL 12 isn?t in how you play the game, but how the game looks and feels. Madden 12 is by far the most realistic Madden game, with improved graphics in nearly every aspect of the game. Take, for instance, the introductions to the game: Each team?s unique entrance onto the field has been recreated in Madden 12, so when your team comes onto the field it?s exactly how they do it in real life. Stadiums are more accurate than ever, making the whole experience of the game feel as if you?re watching Monday Night Football, and just happen to be able to control all the players.?

That TV feel extends to the whole game, but particularly to the broadcast booth. Madden games have long had stale, repetitive announcing that made it feel like John Madden only said six things into the microphone, then decided that was enough. When John Madden retired from the NFL broadcaster booth in 2009, he retired from calling Madden games as well;. Gus Johnson and Cris Collinsworth now man the broadcast booth, and they do it extremely well. There?s emotion to match the plays on the field, there are far more calls (in a week of playing the game, I never heard an obvious repeat call), and the calls fit the plays much more than the vague statements Madden games previously tried to apply. Gus Johnson?s famous enthusiasm is infectious even in a video game, and you?ll find friends watching you play will start yelling with Gus as plays unfold.

Personally, my favorite feature of Madden 12 is how much attention is paid to individual players? oddities. Philip Rivers has a bizarre release on his throws, as does Mike Vick, but they?ve always thrown more or less the same as everyone else. Not so in this game: Rivers throws like Rivers, and Vick throws (and runs) like Vick. Players also celebrate accurately, too. For example, you get to see Aaron Rodgers? donning of the Championship Belt when he scores.

I could continue with examples, but the short version of the upgrades here are that they make the game feel more realistic. Grass looks better, and players kicking it up as they run looks better. There is but one exception, and unfortunately it?s a notable one: Every player in the game?s eyes make him look vaguely undead, as if you?ve accidentally bought the zombie version of Madden NFL 12. Eyes are notoriously hard to animate, and EA didn?t do a very good job here.

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