By Ryan Burnett, Staff Writer
Another NFL season has come and gone, and that can only mean one thing; a new installment in the Madden series to play. On the cover this year is Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Last year he went off, throwing for over 4,000 yards with 35 touchdowns. Allen led his team all the way to the AFC divisional round of the playoffs.
For the first time ever, fans are featured on the Madden NFL cover. Fittingly, it happens to be one of the most famous fanbases in the NFL. Bills fans, or “Bills Mafia” are notorious for doing crazy things while tailgating, such as jumping on folding tables to hype themselves up before the games.
Although being on the cover of Madden is a great honor, it comes with a price: the Madden cover curse. The Madden cover curse is when the cover athlete performs badly or gets injured. For example, Steelers wide receiver Antoino Brown was on the cover of Madden 19, and ever since then his career has derailed. He went from being one of the best wide receivers in the league, to not playing since 2021.
When it comes to the game, new improvements have been made to the field sense to make the game more realistic. This includes better tackling, celebrations, and on the field player animations. EA Sports, the creator of Madden has “all new character technology [that] transforms the way players look and move with realistically redesigned player models for smoother animations.”
In past maddens such as Madden 20, players felt disconnected from the game and waiting more. The player likeness was not nearly as good. However EA Sports managed to listen to the feedback and turn Madden into the game it is today. Players feel as if they are watching a real football game instead of a video game.
The best gamemode in Madden, Ultimate Team, has gotten some great improvements, including a remake of the overall menus. The new menus are more slimmed down and easier to navigate for new players. Another new edition to this Madden is mini game mode. This mode allows the player to improve their skills while making it more fun and rewarding. Junior Max Deiuliis explains, “there has not been a lot of big changes, but it would still be a fun game to play.”
If I were you, Madden 24 is a must buy because it seems as though this is the best Madden that has been released in a while. Players are also excited to hop on and play Madden 24 until their hands fall off.
People over the years have claimed that the game at times is not accurate. This year they have stepped it up by adding more realistic player movements and sideline players instead of random 3d player models.
Finally, more accurate face scans were added to make the looks of the players more realistic. This is to make it seem less like a video game and more like a real football game.
With some many new additions there is only one thing left to do, buy the game.