It’s safe to say, there are tons of people who are unhappy with the current state of the Madden franchise, and the lack of options on the market for football gamers.
Hashtags like #FixMaddenFranchise and #NFLDropEA are just some of the initiatives that have risen from the community to show the frustrations many have with Madden’s stagnant gameplay and limited feature set.
We can rant and rave about the NFL dropping EA, but it’s not going to happen. The two behemoths signed a deal to extend their exclusive license to 2026, and because of the revenue EA’s Ultimate Team mode generates, it’s highly unlikely the NFL will be dissatisfied with EA, no matter how much the hardcore fanbase complains.
Because of this situation, virtual football fans are left to hope for EA to improve Madden, for 2K to find a way to break into the picture, or for another company to develop a license-less, but fun-filled American football experience.
I wouldn’t mind all three events, but as it pertains to the last one, there are no strong prospects on the scene.
If there is a publisher and/or developer strongly considering creating a serious alternative to Madden, a title that combines the best of Doug Flutie Maximum Football 2020, NFL Street, Blitz The League, NFL 2K5 and the often-forgotten Backbreaker would be the most attractive and profitable option.
Borrowing From Backbreaker
It may shock you, but the base of this alternative football title would be rooted in duplicating what Euphoria began, but didn’t master with its ambitious, but underdeveloped franchise.
Backbreaker was released touting the most realistic physics engine ever, and quite honestly, they delivered. If you take a look at the tackles, collisions and even blocking from some Backbreaker gameplay, there isn’t much that is more satisfying for virtual football fans.
The big hits were amplified in the mini-game Tackle Alley where the engine was at its best. Backbreaker fell flat because it tried to introduce an unplayable camera angle and character models that had no personality.
It was almost like playing with robots with a slight bit of humanity. If the basis of what Backbreaker was trying to do with gameplay was placed into a more traditional football video game camera view with more human-like player models, we’d have the core of a fun and interesting title.
Unfortunately, that never happened. All of that said, Tackle Alley is still fun to play today, and would definitely be a part of the perfect Madden alternative, and perhaps even a segment of a reimagined Combine.
This, in its entirety is the basis for the simulation-style gameplay, but it can easily be branched it to something more arcade-like, which we know has a massive audience.
Borrowing From NFL 2K5
Some contend NFL 2K5 is a better game today than even Madden 21. I’m not sure about that in totality, but there are some definite areas that 2K delivered in 2004 that EA isn’t offering in 2020.
One of the main things is presentation. NFL 2K5 has the best presentation of any sports video game in history. The halftime show, weekly wrap-up show, commentary, overlays, and the whole package were stellar.
It’s bewildering to me that developers don’t equal or surpass this achievement nearly two decades later, but in the perfect Madden alternative, NFL 2K5’s presentation is a must in every mode.
Borrowing From Doug Flutie Maximum Football 2020
Football fans who long for the days when there were well-developed and deep franchise modes available will appreciate the depth DFMF 2020 offers. It not only gives you an opportunity to create your own NFL-like experience you can also restructure a league to make it like the CFL, USFL, XFL and even college football with 130 teams.
There is full stat tracking for teams, players, and leagues. DFMF 2020 allows users to customize their regular seasons for pro or college with recruiting and/or free agency, trades, etc.
The franchise concepts are topped off by an outstanding customization suite that allows users to completely customize teams, players and leagues.
You might be asking why do we need another Madden alternative if this one is available now and does so much?
Well, it’s because every other aspect of the game not mentioned above is pretty horrible. The visuals, game speed, collision detection, sound, presentation, you name it, it’s all bad.
Borrowing From Blitz the League
One of the issues with carrying a major league’s license are the restrictions that organization places on the use of its brand. There may be real-life situations that fans would appreciate in a game, but might be something the NFL would prefer not to have included.
Whether it’s crushing tackles or player suspensions for unsavory behavior, it happens in real football, but never in Madden.
If a developer is going to create a Madden alternative, it can’t just try to supply everything Madden already delivers, it also needs to go where EA cannot, and that’s sometimes to the darker side of the game.
Blitz the League did this in a major way.
Midway was over-the-top with injuries and performance-enhancing drugs. I’m not suggesting the game needs to go that far, but some edginess would be welcomed by droves of fans, especially in franchise and career modes.
Borrowing From NFL Street
NBA 2K has had massive success with PARK, and there is speculation 2K is looking to go the same route with an NFL game featuring NFL players as early as 2021. EA responded with a mode called The Yard in Madden 21.
Any viable and fully-featured alternative would need some sort of street mode, so why not borrow from the charm of the originator of the concept, which is NFL Street.
Simply allowing for over-the-top action in a variety of different venues, with walls and other obstacles in play would be a hit with the same demographic that loves The Yard and 2K’s PARK.
Now imagine this mode with Backbreaker physics and approach.
Putting it All Together
This concept has openings for collector modes like Ultimate Team, which opens the door to profits on microtransactions, and we know investors should love that idea. However, that aspect of the package wouldn’t have to overlap with purist modes like franchise.
Online competitive is a huge deal, and that requires balanced gameplay. If there is a way to take Backbreaker’s base style and balance it for competitive play, the biggest challenge would be met.
Until a visionary with financial assets or affluent backers create something like this, we’ll have to sit and hope for EA to incrementally improve Madden, or hope for the license to open in 2026.
