In my opinion, Madden 12 is the best game released by EA Sports to this day. 

What I Like:

The presentation is much improved this year. In my opinion the personalities are much better than last year, like every team has their own customized introduction i.e. Seattle is led out by a hawk. Also the mascots are integrated into the game. When a player scores the mascot sometimes runs out and gives him a chest bump. Also every team has different cameramen. Some like to record the run out from mid-field, some like to from the bench, etc. This makes the game seem VERY more realistic in my opinion. There is a great attention to detail in uniforms and helmets which increases the value of the presentation. The grass stains and degradation of the uniforms make it feel like a real game. The game has amazing graphics with all the new cameras put into the game. All the stadiums look awesome in all types of weather because they make the jerseys reflect what weather it is and the crowd, and the feel of the game. The online gameplay is fantastic. There is never any lag but that really depends on your internet.  It is easy to get into a game, and it is very easy to play hours and hours on end because of the fun of playing against someone real! There is a leaderboard and it tells you your win/loss record, friends' win/loss record, stats, etc... Also, they have different commentary for the online gameplay which is better suited to the game. The playbooks are way deeper than last years and it feels like there is a perfect play for every situation. The playbooks are well suited to each team's strengths. They are very easy to navigate through. They are categorized into pass, run, special teams, etc. Also they are sorted in to formation categories. Also before the game, you can choose any team's playbook or do a pass heavy, run heavy, balanced, run n gun, west coast, etc. The fake fgs are hard to convert but fun to try and trick your opponent. Franchise mode is much improved from last year; it is possible to play multiple seasons without getting bored like last year. The trades are easier to do and managing the team is better. The players faces are very accurate because the colors, shapes and even the faces they make are spot on!

What I Dislike:

The superstar mode is worse than ever in my opinion because it is unrealistic, hard to get what you would like, and frankly just poorly thought out by the game designers. The game would be better off without this pointless mode. The commentary took a downfall from last year, it is boring, and EA struggles to deliver with this feature. Too little options for the commentary same old same old although the online commentary is much better. The CPU in Quick Play mode is clueless, and very easy to trick on any difficulty level. Some plays are just too easy to run and it is not fun when you can score with them almost always. An example of this is the fade route. The defense is lost on this play and you can convert every time. A lot of people overuse it online for this reason. 

Bottom Line:

Overall, this game is good, realistic, and provides for countless hours of fun whether you are playing alone, online or with friends. It is evident that EA has worked to fix the kinks and bugs last year's game had, but there is still work to do. 

Recommended: Yes