Madden NFL 20 review: Get ready to run

Posted by freemexy on October 5th, 2019

In some ways, Madden NFL 20 is the best entry in the long-running series. The overhauled ratings system makes a clear difference, and Ultimate Team continues to become more accessible thanks to the new streamlined “missions” format. In other ways, Madden NFL 20 takes a step back. The run game, which felt as close to balanced as ever last year, is now bordering on cheat code level efficiency (at least against the CPU). And the new Face of the Franchise career mode is a resounding dud.HUT Coins

Developer EA Tiburon continues to shake up the formula to varying levels of success. Franchise and Ultimate Team continue to be exceedingly deep and rewarding experiences, but EA still hasn’t cracked the code when it comes to creating a compelling career mode.
John Madden once said that “the road to Easy Street goes through the sewer.” Well, in Madden NFL 20, Easy Street is apparently anywhere on the field for a star running back. And unlike a trip through the sewer, my running backs would have pristine jerseys when crossing the goal line for a long touchdown.

The run game, which has traditionally been a bit too strenuous, has burst wide open in Madden NFL 20, swinging the pendulum completely the other way. Even when playing on All-Madden difficulty, my Browns running back tandem of Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb averaged north of 10 yards per carry. I’ve lost track of how many 50-plus yard touchdowns I’ve scored that started with outside pitches.The last time I ran for so many long touchdowns in Madden, I was playing as Madden NFL 2004 cover athlete Michael Vick, who was basically the embodiment of a cheat code. The running game has been an uphill battle in Madden for years, so it’s surprising to see this major turn.

This isn’t a good thing. At first, I was overjoyed to find so many open lanes. I thought I was playing better. But that’s not the case. I can run four tosses to either side of the field in a row and gain significant positive yardage on at least three of them. It doesn’t add up. The same goes for inside runs and scrambling with the QB. Playing as Baker Mayfield, who isn’t particularly speedy, I can scramble out of the pocket and regularly run for 15 to 20 yards — also on All-Madden difficulty.

I mention the difficulty not because I’m an amazing Madden player. In fact, I normally play on Pro or All-Pro difficulty. But after finding far too much success, I bypassed All-Pro and went straight for All-Madden. I noticed no changes in my yards-per-carry average between difficulty levels. I imagine the run game will become more balanced post-launch, but as of now, if you spend a lot of time playing against the CPU, you’re going to run all over them.
The passing game, on the other hand, has much better balance. Unlike the run game, I always had to think about where and when to throw the ball, taking into account the type of pass I needed to throw to get the ball to where only my receiver could haul it in. In this regard, player animations for stars seem more in step with their real-life counterparts. Baker Mayfield’s quick and unique release is on display and Odell Beckham Jr. makes one-handed catches in a manner that is uncanny.fut coins online Buy Now