5 More things Madden Needs to Figure out in its 20s

If you missed Part 1, here it is.

Part 2: Controls

There's not a lot wrong with the controls in Madden. In the thirteen years of the DualShock era of controllers, Electronic Arts has been fairly conservative with their button configurations. The most radical, and welcomed change was when EA decided to map sprint to R2 (RT on Xbox) instead of X (A on Xbox). This freed up the user's thumb for stiff arms and spin moves. Madden 2005 introduced the greatest conceivable feature in a sports game: the Hit Stick.

Madden 25 touts a “Run Free” feature that is designed to give the user more control as the ball carrier. It makes running with the ball more like controlling a player in FIFA, which is always a good thing. There are other areas where Madden can improve its controls so let's hit the list.

Dubai, Jimi Hendrix, and late to the Spec Ops: The Line party

Everything I'd like to say in a traditional review of first-time German studio Yager Development's Spec Ops: The Line has been written elsewhere. The game came out last June, so I'm a bit late to the cult-following party. Suffice to say it's one of the best games I've played in years.

If you haven't played The Line yet, the best way to experience it is by not reading anything about it beforehand. So please stop reading this. Just go play it.

If you've already played it, you've likely already read the great analysis by Tom Bissell and the in-depth spoiler-filled interview with the game's designers at Polygon. You've probably also watched the two-part video analysis of the game by the folks at Extra Credits.

So here are just a few things I thought I'd add, things I haven't seen many people talk about or just things I felt particularly strongly about. I'll try to keep it as spoiler-free as possible.

Dubai

Dubai as the setting. Too many military shooters are set in ambiguous Middle Eastern non-countries. Spec Ops: The Line specifically chooses Dubai as its locale, and takes full advantage of its cityscape and geopolitical importance. Dubai is different than any other major Middle Eastern city, a Western-style spectacle of a manufactured metropolis. The city becomes a character of its own in The Line.