The friendly folks at EA Sports were kind enough to invite GameCritics to a closed beta of the hotly anticipated Madden NFL 23. Obviously, I jumped at the chance to spend a few hours with it, as this latest Madden is expected to represent actual forward progress into the current generation of consoles, and not just a cross-generation juke step.
HIGH Masterfully designed characters and unique systems.
LOW The story is full of unrealized potential.
WTF Am I the only person in the world who likes this game?
HIGH Happiness at the press of a button.
LOW Eighth generation hiccups.
WTF Who curated the radio stations?
HIGH Get in, get out — nice and speedy.
LOW Pay-to-display cosmetics with no way to be earned in-game.
WTF Only America needs saving, apparently.
HIGH The on-court presentation is stunning
LOW MyCareer mode is boring. The City is an interminable grind.
WTF Slowdown, clipping and crashing? On the Series X?
HIGH Tailored playstyles via the mix-and-match card system.
LOW Difficulty levels are either too easy or too hard.
WTF Why’d we have to wait more than a decade?
HIGH Tearing down a literal tower of zombies with a flamethrower.
LOW Getting rat-locked.
WTF I freeze when away from a heater for 90 seconds, but zombies in T-shirts are fine?
HIGH The survival systems are fantastic.
LOW Whenever the story mode decides to tell a story.
WTF “Green Hell” as a title.
HIGHThe game still holds up after more than five years.
LOW Is it me or does the game really enjoys popping up loading screens?
WTF Nothing! It’s all good!
HIGH Taking someone out with the ball they threw at me.
LOW Microtransactions in a paid release.
WTF Having a dedicated button for the phrase, “Throw me!”
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