So I signed up for one month of EA access last month just so I could get a ten hour trial of Madden 19. This was not a demo, nor was it a beta, it was the full game. After playing those ten hours, my take away is exactly like the title says: another year, another garbage football game from EA sports.
Look, if you want to spend 60 dollars on what is basically the same exact game as last year, then go ahead. Just try to remember that last year, Madden 18 got a one out of five stars on the Xbox store ratings. Those ratings are completely user based, meaning you can leave a rating only if you have an Xbox live account and have played the game. Just think about that. There were thousands of ratings for it and it got one out of five stars. Honestly, whenever I feel a little down, I search up madden 18 in the store on Xbox and read the ratings, they are absolutely hilarious! People just ripping the game for how poorly made it is left and right. And they deserve to be angry and leave a bad review because the game was terrible!
But anyway, why should you not buy it? The obvious answer is that it is basically the same game with updated rosters. Honestly, though, they attempted to make some changes, but it just really is not working. The new engine they run the game on helps a little bit with the physics, but the animations in the game just look absolutely terrible still. You could honestly win off of the whack animations, just pick a team with a really good wide receiver and throw it deep to him constantly. You will see some of the most unrealistic catches ever.
The tackling has gotten even worse looking, hit stick tackles look so ridiculously laughable that I often wonder if the creators of Madden have ever actually watched a real-life football game. If your Quarterback in the game is below an 85 overall then be prepared for him to act like he has never actually thrown a football before in his life. Your QB will literally throw the ball in a twenty-yard radius around your wide receiver. He's a professional quarterback but god forbid he make a decent pass if he isn't higher than 85 overall. I also played multiple online matches, and in the online head to head games, the running game was basically non-existent.
Out of the six games I played, the highest rushing total anyone was 26 yards with Todd Gurley. Which is sad because they hyped up the new feature with the running backs being able to navigate around blocks better, but you just basically never get to use that feature because running the ball is pretty much obsolete. Another infuriating part of the game is the defensive coverages. After all the hype this summer about how they were fixing the defense to play better pass coverages, they absolutely bombed. God forbid someone run an out route, your defensive players will not cover it.
Your best bet against the pass is to either sack your opponent before they can throw the ball or use your defensive player and pray they throw it your way. If you play cover three, your corners will play it like man coverage in this madden. The wide receiver runs inside, your corner will follow and leave any outside route wide open. Some guy almost beat me because of this, he literally ran one play (called play action scissors) every single down, and it was so frustrating to watch my defenders forget that they were professionals, and play like dumb asses.
On the play, your QB fakes the handoff, your tight end runs a corner route, your wide receiver runs a post, and the fullback runs to the flats. In cover three, which is what I was running, it should be an easy stop. Your linebacker runs to the flats for the fullback, your corner stays on his third of the field for the tight end, and the safety picks up the wide receiver. Well, let me tell you how Madden runs it (first let me explain that I was using the Patriots, my safety is all pro-Devin McCourty 92 overall, my corner is all pro-Stephon Gilmore 88 overall, and my linebacker is Donte Hightower 85 overall).
The wide receiver runs the post, and of course, my all-pro cornerback abandons his zone and chases him deep inside, playing the equivalent of a high school corner that has no future past high school in football. Then, my safety, obviously confused because the corner is now in his zone, just stands completely still, no movement at all, allowing the wide receiver to run right past him. My linebacker is now the only man left to defend against the fullback and tight end on the out routes. But instead,( Alabama, Nick Saban coached, now all pro linebacker) Donte Hightower runs with them for a little bit, then just stops, allowing the fullback and the tight end to be wide open. It is a play that never fails because the CPU is so horribly coded that it just glitches every time and leaves them wide open.
All in all, I went into this full game trial fully expecting to buy Madden 19. I thought it was going to be great. I was like, "Yay, first Madden game in years that is going to be good!" I even made plans with people to be the commissioner of an online franchise with 32 total players in it. I messaged my friends and said, "sorry, I am no longer purchasing this game." Madden shouldn't of put this trial out. It is an awful game and will continue to be awful until a legit competitor is allowed to make an NFL game along with EA, who doesn't deserve to dominate the market. When can NCAA football come back?
