Madden 15: Release Date, Top Player Rankings and Review Roundup

Heading into its sophomore season on next-generation consoles, Madden 15 is like a player who showed promise in his rookie season and threw fans into a frenzy when considering what the future holds.

If the reviews that continue to roll in are any indication, there is no sophomore slump for the sports video game juggernaut.

Generally speaking, Madden and other sports franchises tend to hit a speed bump during the leap to new hardware, but EA Sports has dodged the proverbial bullet by zeroing in on where it matters most—the field itself.

Below, let's take a look at the release info, the all-important player ratings and some excerpts from various reviews to paint a portrait of what this year's iteration of the game has to offer fans.

Madden 15 Info

Release Date: Aug. 26 (North America) and Aug. 29 (Europe)

Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, XBox 360 and XBox One

Madden 15 Top Player Ratings

Top Quarterbacks	Team	Rating
Top Fullbacks	Team	Rating
Top Running Backs	Team	Rating
Top Tight Ends	Team	Rating
Top Wide Receivers	Team	Rating
Top Offensive Linemen	Team	Rating
Top Defensive Ends	Team	Rating
Top Defensive Tackles	Team	Rating
Top Middle Linebackers	Team	Rating
Top Outside Linebackers	Team	Rating
Top Cornerbacks	Team	Rating
Top Free Safeties	Team	Rating
Top Strong Safeties	Team	Rating
Top Kickers and Punters	Team	Rating
Peyton Manning, DEN	Denver Broncos	98
Aaron Rodgers, GB	Green Bay Packers	98
Drew Brees, NO	New Orleans Saints	96
Russell Wilson, SEA	Seattle Seahawks	93
John Kuhn, GB	Green Bay Packers	93
Mike Tolbert, CAR	Carolina Panthers	92
Marcel Reece, OAK	Oakland Raiders	92
Anthony Sherman, KC	Kansas City Chiefs	90
Adrian Peterson, MIN	Minnesota Vikings	98
LeSean McCoy, PHI	Philadelphia Eagles	97
Jamaal Charles, KC	Kansas City Chiefs	97
Matt Forte, CHI	Chicago Bears	95
Jimmy Graham, NO	New Orleans Saints	97
Rob Gronkowski, NE	New England Patriots	96
Vernon Davis, SF	San Francisco 49ers	94
Jason Witten, DAL	Dallas Cowboys	93
Calvin Johnson, DET	Detroit Lions	99
Brandon Marshall, CHI	Chicago Bears	96
Andre Johnson, HOU	Houston Texans	95
A.J. Green, CIN	Cincinnati Bengals	95
Joe Thomas, CLE	Cleveland Browns	98
Evan Mathis, PHI	Philadelphia Eagles	97
Josh Sitton, GB	Green Bay Packers	97
Trent Williams, WAS	San Francisco 49ers	95
J.J. Watt, HOU	Houston Texans	99
Robert Quinn, STL	St. Louis Rams	97
Cameron Wake, MIA	Miami Dolphins	96
Calais Campbell, ARI	Arizona Cardinals	96
Ndamukong Suh, DET	Detroit Lions	97
Geno Atkins, CIN	Cincinnati Bengals	96
Gerald McCoy, TB	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	95
Kyle Williams, BUF	Buffalo Bills	95
Patrick Willis, SF	San Francisco 49ers	96
NaVorro Bowman, SF	San Francisco 49ers	96
Luke Kuechly, CAR	Carolina Panthers	94
Derrick Johnson, KC	Kansas City Chiefs	91
Von Miller, DEN	Denver Broncos	96
Aldon Smith, SF	San Francisco 49ers	96
Justin Houston, KC	Kansas City Chiefs	93
Lavonte David, TB	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	93
Richard Sherman, SEA	Seattle Seahawks	99
Darrelle Revis, NE	New England Patriots	97
Joe Haden, CLE	Cleveland Browns	95
Patrick Peterson, ARI	Arizona Cardinals	93
Jairus Byrd, NO	New Orleans Saints	96
Earl Thomas, SEA	Seattle Seahawks	95
Devin McCourty, NE	New England Patriots	94
Eric Weddle, SD	San Diego Chargers	94
Kam Chancellor, SEA	Seattle Seahawks	93
Troy Polamalu, PIT	Pittsburgh Steelers	93
T.J. Ward, DEN	Denver Broncos	91
Eric Berry, KC	Kansas City Chiefs	90
Brandon Fields, MIA	Miami Dolphins	96
Matt Prater, DEN	Denver Broncos	95
Andy Lee, SF	San Francisco 49ers	95
Robbie Gould, CHI	Chicago Bears	93

Note: All Madden 15 player ratings courtesy of EASports.com

Review Roundup

USA TODAY Sports

It is plain as day from reviews that EA Sports spent its offseason on the hunt for a more balanced approach to gameplay.

Fans will recall that recent iterations of the franchise seemed to overly mimic the sport itself in that the passing game for each team was ridiculously potent no matter who lined up under center. Fans could make the New York Jets' Geno Smith—who completed 55.8 percent of his passes and threw nine more interceptions than touchdowns last year—look like Peyton Manning. 

That does not appear to be the case anymore thanks to a performance improvement on the defensive side of the football. Brett Molina of USA Today elaborates:

"

Defenders not under player control have improved intelligence, regardless of whether they play man-to-man or zone defense. The best defensive players in the NFL shine more brightly—such as Sherman, who is very tough to pass against (unless you have difficulty settings dialed down).

"

Obviously, right? Seattle's Richard Sherman is on the cover of the game, after all.

But the improvements to defense also come via some tweaks on offense. Will Brinson of CBS Sports notes that the Geno Smiths of the world will be just that on the virtual landscape:

"

"Pass inaccuracy" might sound like a bug but it's now a feature: the idea being the less accurate a quarterback is in real life, the less accurate they should be in virtual life. Jake Locker is going to miss on short passes more often than Russell Wilson in real life and that's now reflected in the game, no matter how good a player you might be.

"

To top it all off, the art of the tackle itself is now completely up to those who hold the controller, rather than a bevy of per-rendered animations after directing a virtual player to the ball-carrier—animations that diehard fans surely have down to memory at this point.

Instead, tackling itself is a strategic endeavor, as Alex Rubens of IGN.com illustrates:

"

Fighting your way through the offensive line with the mashing of the face buttons is an exciting charge.

Then, if you manage to break free, you actually get to control how your tackle attempt plays out. It isn’t just about running at players and hitting them. You can choose to tackle high or low, and even modify the intensity of your hit. It’s all contextual and built toward being more realistic. This is increasingly important as the wonky physics system introduced in Madden 13 is still present, though slightly more refined.

"

For those who would put a lot of stock into visuals and the overall presentation package, Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News provides some insight:

"

Combined with several new presentation features, the on-field Madden action is better than ever. Visually, the game takes a massive step forward in 2014, starting with more accurate player faces. A host of players – including Super Bowl MVP Russell Wilson – are stunningly recreated, something that the game highlights by using plenty of close-up camera angles as part of a more TV-like presentation.

"

Gameplay reigns supreme for aficionados of the sport, but casual fans and beyond can also appreciate an accurate recreation of various broadcasts of the real thing.

Thanks to the horsepower afforded by new consoles, EA Sports seems to have made the appropriate upgrades in this department, too.

The Verdict

To paint in broad strokes, the general consensus seems to be that EA Sports has done right by fans, especially when it comes to the on-field action.

More importantly, though, is that Madden 15 provides a nice foundation for future iterations to build on, as Molina muses:

"

However, Madden NFL 15 does lack that one significant feature that sets it apart. Instead, players get a series of smaller improvements to bolster the experience. But it seems EA is better suited to managing the growing pains that come with the shift to new hardware.

"

While some game modes seem to lack in the depth department, it is hard to argue with the approach EA Sports has taken to a new generation. The play itself matches the real thing first and foremost, so everything else can come in time.

Fans in search of a virtual representation that mirrors the real thing will enjoy this year's edition of the game.