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Never has a Madden game produced as much controversy as last Madden 13. The backlash was immediate when the game arrived without the coveted franchise mode. EA did the best they could to fix it after the game was released but the big question now is what the franchise mode will look like in Madden 25.

I can tell you that I was one of those angry old-school Madden players that looked on with confusion as I tried to find the franchise mode last year. Yes I saw Connected Careers but that couldn’t be the franchise mode right? Nope it was and it missed some of my favorite elements about the game. It would appear after looking at some early reports regarding this year’s game is that the mode is back with some returning elements.

One of the biggest points of contention for me was the inability to import NCAA draft classes into my franchise mode. The reason the franchise mode appealed to me was that I could play with realistic players well past the end of that current season. Last year’s game took away that option and I quickly found myself bored with the mode after the second season. That won’t happen in Madden 25.

EA will bring back the NCAA draft class import to Madden 25. This is great news and a real bright spot early on as the hype begins for Maddenoliday 25. It also creates a little incentive to go out and get the NCAA game first. I passed on NCAA last year after import classes were abandoned.

Franchise careers as it is called has also brought back one of my other favorite features to the game. Players will now have the ability to control all 32 teams during a season. That was a big omission last year and another reason I grew tired quickly of the connected careers mode. I always enjoyed jumping into a big whether my true franchise team was involved or not. Removing that option made no sense to me and I am glad it’s back.

EA is off to a great start but there are still plenty of questions that need to be answered about the updated franchise careers mode. Is the fantasy draft back? Last year EA added the draft but only to online careers mode play. Quite frankly I didn’t care whether it was on or offline but plenty of players did, I was just happy it was back. I haven’t seen anything confirmed one way or the other on this mode.

Another big problem I had with last year’s game was the use of legends. The only way to play one of the legends like Barry Sanders, Jerry Rice, Lawrence Taylor, or Michael Irvin was to play them in superstar mode. Superstar mode is probably one of the most ridiculous features I have ever seen in a Madden game. Why can’t I have access to these legends in the franchise mode? I understand that the addition of legends would really blow up the mode, so why not offer it as an option when setting up your league?

The owners mode appears to have a ton of activity and options for players that desire to have a hands on approach to running their entire franchise. Again this is a mode that I never had time for. I really don’t care how much I charge for hot dogs or parking. I am playing Madden to win games! However, you are in luck if you are into that kind of activity.

Quite honestly I am still on the fence about whether I am going to buy Madden. I grew tired of last year’s game faster than any other Madden game and I have been playing since year one. The playbooks rarely change year to year and the game play has grown stale to me. The returning elements to the franchise mode certainly has me interested, but they still have some work to do before I place my annual pre-order.

Order Madden 25 on Amazon.com