EA Sports held a live stream yesterday for Madden NFL 25 to explain and show off the improvements to gameplay that have been the marketing focus since E3. It turned out to be a fairly valuable watch with a lot of information relating to the new features, issues the development team attempted to address, and the thinking behind it all. There’s a difference between reading about all the various gameplay-related features and actually having them shown and discussed in a manner that gets across how people will benefit from them while playing.

There are still plenty of deficient aspects even seen on display in the stream, and the “Tackle Cone” would seem to be a gimmick that doesn’t really justify its presence within the context of actual gameplay, but the nice thing is the issues aren’t being hidden and some are even flat out being admitted to. There’s no attempt being made to mislead consumers and instead the effort is to inform of where the game actually has improved and what that means for addressing other areas in the future. It may not be enough to convince those who are skeptical to get on board, but it’s how the process of regaining lost consumer confidence needs to begin. Read more

EA Sports has released another in a series of videos meant to show off improvements and additions to Madden NFL 15. The latest is what they call “Player Sense 2.0” and relates to the intelligence of the players in making decisions and reacting to situations. “Player Sense” was introduced in Madden NFL 25 and though limited in scope it did show some promise.

ZONE/MAN COVERAGE IMPROVEMENTS
Zone Coverage ratings now have a bigger impact on how quickly defenders break on throws. Defenders with higher ratings in Zone Coverage will react much quicker to throws.

Defenses are now smarter when it comes to going for a swat vs. an interception or a tackle. This improved logic will be broken down by player traits.

Improvements have also been made to zone defenders responsible for the flats. Some things to look out for include smarter principles (no more out route abuse!), improved head tracking on all players, increases in press and chuck interactions between DBs and wide receivers, as well as better pursuit and tackling ability.

Man Coverage ratings have also been tweaked to impact how much separation receivers are able to get on cuts in their routes, resulting in improved behavior of the defender.

New to Madden NFL 15 is the addition of disguised defenses, where opposing secondaries will show you one coverage but give another.

REAL AI 2.0
The Madden development team continues to improve the decision-making of computer-controlled players. Thanks to Real AI 2.0, computer quarterbacks understand different passing concepts, and will read defenders before making correct throws. They’ll also audible and call hot routes based on Real AI, and also have improved logic for handling pressure in the pocket.

The computer now makes the same types of decisions that a skilled user would make. One improvement is CPU Fake Snap, which attempts to draw players offside more than in previous versions of Madden NFL.

EA Sports has released another video focusing on one of the new elements being introduced in Madden NFL 15. Tackling has received a lot of attention, going as far as to even add a “Tackle Cone” in order to help those who have struggled with it in the past. Read more