This Is the Most Excited I've Been for A New Madden in Almost A Decade

Don't get me wrong, I know all too well about EA dashing and waylaying hopes and dreams - LOL!  However, at least now, all these defensive changes have me hoping that the game really is a chess match instead of a track meet.  I am so tired of folks just scoring every play, running the same formations with the same trick adjustments that virtually guarantee a score, successfully converting on fourth down at a high rate, and defense just being on the field for decorative or obligatory purposes.

I like all of the new defensive tools, strategies, adjustments, and lineups they talk about coming this year.  I also like the way they have reorganized the pre-play adjustments to make them easier to access.  Finally, I really like the custom adjustments.

I hope both for playing against the CPU and for human vs. human games, the game becomes more thoughtful, difficult, and a strategic chess match and thus more fun to watch.  Like real football, it shouldn't be that defenses are just powerless against plays even if they know it's coming.  Like if I know this person is going to run a certain type of play and I put in the right defensive call, it should be a great chance to stop it.  Then, if either of us gets it wrong, we should suffer the consequences.

I hope it pans out.  I know developers - especially EA - have promised better this or that in the past, then 2 weeks after launch online folks figured out all the exploits and we are right back to cheese vs. cheese.  However, hope springs eternal :-)  Plus, with 60fps on the Switch 2, this game can be a classic.

Trust me, I know it's not perfect and I am not saying that it will be.  However, it does seem like it could be awesome.

Also, I really hope there are no microtransactions in offline mode.  I just want to play the game in peace in my franchise and superstar modes.

Who else is excited about this year's game?