Madden NFL 12

Madden NFL 12
Madden NFL 12 cover featuring former Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis.
Developer(s)	EA Tiburon HB Studios - Wii / PSP / PS2[1]
Publisher(s)	EA Sports
Series	Madden NFL
Platform(s)	Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, iOS, Android[2]
Release date(s)	NA August 30, 2011 EU September 2, 2011[3]
Genre(s)	American football simulation
Mode(s)	Single-player Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: E PEGI: 3

Madden NFL 12 is an American football video game based on the National Football League published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It was released on August 30, 2011 in North America and September 2, 2011 in Europe. It was available on August 27, 2011 to EA Sports Season Ticket subscribers for a 3 day trial.

The demo was released on August 9, featuring a game between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.^[4]

New features

EA Sports has revealed 25 new plays added to Madden NFL 12.^[5]

General

• Rookies now have real faces, but they are that only of current NFL players.^[6]
• The Madden Developers team is available in Play Now mode by pressing random team.^[7]
• Various non-NFL players can be found in the free agents.^[8]

Gameplay

• The kickoffs are now at the 35-yard line rather than the 30-yard line, to match the NFL's rule changing.
• Onside kicks can be executed from standard kickoff formations.
• Tuner sets can be downloaded in order for developers to improve gameplay code without the distribution of official patches.
• To support awareness for concussions, players who suffer a concussion during gameplay will no longer be allowed to return to the game.^[9]
• A new collision system uses momentum to produce more authentic tackling and hits with 100 new tackle animations, including 40 gang tackles.
• AI enhancements allow players in zone and man coverage to correctly recognize and react to plays with the capability to break out of assignments when necessary.
• The custom playbooks feature allows the player to modify an existing playbook or create his or her own by selecting plays from 75 playbooks.
• The opening presentation for games includes mascots and cheerleaders for all teams that have them. ^[10]

• Player traits change dynamically throughout a game based on his performance.
• Quarterbacks have distinct throwing motions, making them look much more like their real-life counterparts.

Franchise mode

• During free agency in franchise mode, players bid auction-style against other general managers for free agents.
• Expanded rosters in the preseason allow teams to have 75 players on the roster and need to make roster cuts each week.
• Unlike previous versions of Madden NFL, players can trade for future draft picks.
• There are also hot and cold streaks that will affect player ratings throughout the season.
• When a player is placed on Injured Reserve you may sign a new player without having to cut anyone.

Cover athlete

On March 21, 2011, EA began a bracket style 32-player tournament (with one player per team) for fans to vote and decide who would appear on the cover for the 2012 edition of Madden.^[11] The two players in the final round of the tournament were running back Peyton Hillis of the Cleveland Browns and quarterback Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles. Peyton Hillis was announced as the winner on ESPN's SportsNation.^[12] Peyton Hillis won the vote with 66% to Vick's 34%.

Soundtrack

Source:^[13]

• "6 Foot 7 Foot" – Lil Wayne featuring Cory Gunz
• "All Around The World" – Theophilus London
• "Architects" – Rise Against
• "Award Tour" – A Tribe Called Quest
• "Back For More" – Five Finger Death Punch
• "Boom" – Snoop Dogg featuring T-Pain
• "Bridge Burning" – Foo Fighters
• "Champion" - Chipmunk featuring Chris Brown
• "Colours" – Grouplove
• "Don't Play Me Close" - David Rush
• "Get Up!" - Korn featuring Skrillex
• "Get the — Up" – Yelawolf
• "Ghetto Dreams" – Common featuring Nas
• "I Want It All"/"We Will Rock You" – Queen featuring Armageddon
• "Last Man Standing" – Asher Roth featuring Akon
• "Make Some Noise" – Beastie Boys
• "Mind Your Manners" – Chiddy Bang featuring Icona Pop
• "Money for the Weekend" – Alberta Cross
• "On Ya Mind" – MellowHype
• "Pass Out" – Tinie Tempah
• "That Ain't Classy" – Classified
• "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" – Pete Rock & CL Smooth

In addition, the introduction video uses the song "Mind Heist" by Zack Hemsey.^[14]

Release and reception

The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions received generally favorable reviews upon release, garnering respective average scores of 78/100 and 79/100 on review aggregation site Metacritic.^[15][16]

The iOS version of the game received mixed reviews from critics, with a Metacritic average score of 71.^[17]

Sales

As of October 2011, over 3 million copies of the game have been sold across all platforms.^[18]

Hall of Fame edition

A special "Hall of Fame" cover was also announced, with Madden NFL 2003 cover athlete and 2011 Hall of Fame inductee Marshall Faulk appearing in his St. Louis Rams uniform. One of four autographed Panini trading cards featuring Faulk is included in each copy. Two valuable cards (one for the Xbox 360 and one for the PlayStation 3) are made up of 18 karat gold. In Ultimate Team mode, there is a Platinum Pack featuring thirteen Hall of Famers and former cover athletes.^[19] This version is only available in region 1 formats for sale in the United States.^[20]

See also

• NCAA Football 12

References