Madden 25 and College Football 25 are EA’s two separate football games published in 2024. For the first time in years, Madden has to compete with another game in the football video game space. After years of resting on its laurels, the Madden team may actually be motivated to drastically improve the franchise that has stagnated for about a decade.
While the games don’t technically overlap in terms of subject, the fact that they are both graphically stunning football games has fans wondering if they should buy one over the other instead of both.
If you want to pursue that option and save a little money, let’s take a closer look at what you’ll be getting with each game. Here are each game’s pros and cons.
Madden 25
Pros
For one, Madden is a tried and true formula that you have undoubtedly put hundreds of hours into in previous years, and it is always a fun time. While the game tinkers with the controls every once and a while, it largely stays consistent, and the layout works really well. It’s been molded and forged through decades of trial and error to be nearly perfect.
Madden also benefits from brand recognition, featuring a litany of sports stars and appealing to NFL addicts everywhere. The fully licensed game allows you to truly play as the best of the best with your favorite teams in your favorite stadiums.
Superstar mode also allows you to follow your dreams of being a pro football player. With more control over the plays in the game and a much-improved story mode, it is slightly better, in my opinion, to CFB 25’s Road to Glory.
Cons
As many people already know, Madden 25 is not that much of an improvement over previous editions. Its game modes and gameplay have gotten tiresome and boring over decades of little to no change. And without a competitor when it comes to fully licensed NFL football gaming, odds are EA won’t be pushing the envelope any time soon.
Madden also has clunky player movements, animations, slower-paced gameplay, and artificially bad defensive systems and logic. This creates an offensively heavy, unbalanced gameplay experience.
Infuriating initial player ratings and an oversimplified player progression system create franchise simulations that don’t match reality. Certain players develop too quickly, while older players regress too quickly; this flaw has been a flaw in the game for years.
Its MUT mode is just there to make money in micro-transactions and doesn’t appeal to gamers like myself, who despise online gaming and pay-to-win schemes.
College Football 25
Pros
After a decade of absence, the game is finally back, and it feels fresh and exciting to delve into the rich and fulfilling world of college football again. 134 unique teams! All with rosters full of real players who are getting paid NIL money, it’s awesome and provides nearly endless replayability.
The atmosphere is so much fuller than Madden’s. The stadiums are more lively, and the mascots, bands, and general vibe surrounding the gameplay are unmatched. You truly feel like you are at a collegiate football game.
The dynasty mode feels more vast and expansive than Franchise mode; more care was put into the details of features like the scouting system and division customization. From a front-office perspective, there is more to do in CFB than in Madden.
The gameplay is faster-paced and slightly more balanced than Madden. The player control feels less clunky and more responsive, it just feel looser and more dynamic than it’s professional counterpart.
Cons
Of course, college football isn’t as globally recognized as the NFL is, and features fewer recognizable players and only appeals to college football fans. More specifically, those who have an attachment to one specific team.
The gameplay isn’t really grounded in any realism either; it feels kind of arcade-y. With a focus on a fast-paced experience with big plays happening constantly, it can get a little exhausting. It’s exciting for sure, but abilities make certain players overpowered and a little too crazy for simulation-focused players like myself.
Coach mode is pretty insufferable too, as the CPU logic/AI is worse than Madden’s (and that’s saying a lot). Defensive players also tend to be more overpowered, catching the ball for an interception often times more consistently than some of my offensive players.
The CUT mode is nearly identical to MUT and is also a money pit for unsuspecting online gamers.
Which Game Should You Buy?
The best way to decide which game to get might be as simple as asking yourself: Which do I prefer more, the NFL or college football? That is the most obvious answer, but let’s say you like both leagues equally, or you simply want the better-functioning football game. My advice is to get College Football 25 if you already own one of the Madden games on current-generation consoles.
The largest con for Madden 25 is that it’s just another expansive roster update and patch. CFB 25, however, is effectively a brand-new game with completely new teams, players, and experiences that most gamers haven’t enjoyed in a long time, if ever. If you already have a version of Madden and can only afford one of these two games, the choice seems like a no-brainer.
If you don’t have Madden on a current-gen system, what are you doing here? Go buy Madden!
Published: Feb 14, 2025 6:32 PM UTC