Madden NFL 25 Reviews: EA Releases Newest Game In Honor Of Franchise's 25th Anniversary

Electronic Arts (EA) releases "Madden NFL 25" in honor of game franchise's 25th anniversary on Tuesday.

If you ask any sports fan out there about the Madden game franchise, they will tell you "it's not fake, it's football." The Madden NFL series is one of the most detailed sport simulation games out there, and players feel they are in control at all times.

Even if a player becomes frustrated with the game's controls (which they inevitably will), they most certainly are always impressed by the graphics. You can see the sweat dripping off of players, adding an even more realistic feel to the game.

But what do reviewers have to say about the newest Madden installment? Well, if you enjoyed the ones before, you'll love Madden NFL 25.

What USA Today had to say about the controls:

For the 25th anniversary edition of the video game, running backs benefit greatly. There's a new Precision Modifier that unlocks variations on moves such as spins, jukes, stiff-arms or other tricks to evade defenders. Pressing and holding the left trigger while performing one of these moves will unleash a special - often faster - version, and can sometimes get strung together with other moves. So, for example, a speedy wide receiver could quickly go from a juke to the right followed by a spin to shake off mutliple defenders, or a truck move to lunge toward the first down marker.

IGN's take on the game:

All of the modes from last year's game return, with some new tweaks that add another fun layer on top. Like in Madden NFL 13, each of 31 online players can decide if they want to play as a coach or as a single player (created, real, or legendary) in Connected Franchise. But now Franchise lets you play in Owner Mode, putting you in control of an entire team's staff, finances, and stadium.

For the most part this is just a lot of metagame menus on top of Coach Mode, and deciding the price of hot dogs and jerseys isn't the kind of thing that's going to be long-term fun for most. But there is some cool stuff in here, most notably the ability to move teams to new cities. I was pleasantly surprised that when I decided to move my St. Louis Rams I was encouraged to pick Los Angeles, and when I did the mode's faux-Twitter stream mentioned the return of LA's prodigal sons. Owner Mode is a novelty to some extent, but it's a well done novelty, and adds a new way to play the already expansive Connected Franchise.

What do you think about "Madden NFL 25?" Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.