It's not quite perfect, but football fans won't want to miss this one.
Madden NFL 25's extras will keep you busy. The Connected Franchise alone has amazing depth to it, with a new Owner's mode where you can manage everything from team tweaks to how much popcorn sells for at the concession stand. If you prefer, you can play as a coach or player instead, increasing their skills through a nice XP system to make them better all around.
If competition is your thing, you can hop online and take on players, and also see how others' playbooks compare to yours through the unique Madden Share. Some playbooks are better than others, but it's nice to have the option to gander through however you wish.
And, of course, Madden Ultimate Team is back for more. It's fun building up your ideal deck and trading cards with other players, though some will get into it more than others. It depends on your taste, really.
While the fundamentals of Madden remain mostly intact, there's enough changes here to make the 25th anniversary edition worth a recommendation. Sure, there's still some stuff to be ironed out before the game's jump to next-gen, but we still have a quality game of football here, with extras galore and the type of gameplay that will have people passing and running to the end zone like maniacs. Which is the way football should be, after all.
Here's to another 25 years.
Score: 8.5 / 10
