The big off-season news, for fans of polygonal professional football: EA Sports is now the only company offering any. Which is pretty bad, really, since competition improves products and so forth. Luckily, being the last men standing hasn't kept the Madden NFL developers from forging ahead with the game's evolution.
Somewhat, anyway. Aside from the inevitable new rosters, the only real gameplay change for this edition is the "QB Vision Control" and "QB Precision Placement" system. QB Vision passing mode gives your quarterback a visible field of view during passing plays, the width of which is based on his skill and experience. This cone of vision must be directed toward the intended receiver with the right analog stick before the pass is thrown with the corresponding button. It's a cool idea. It also changes the button-presses required for a pass from the previous one to a maximum of six, if you count manipulating the stick. In most games, you have a little more than one second to throw. Cool idea or not, it's probably a good thing that QB Vision can be turned off. Not everyone's going to be able to use it. Far easier, and far more useful, is QB Precision, which allows you to float a pass exactly where you want it in relation to the receiver with one simple control-stick press. It's simple, it's transparent, and it works.