Madden NFL 12 beginners guide

Another year brings us another dose of what can arguably be called the biggest sports game in North America. Madden 12 is a game that you can play any number of ways. Given such wide options, and the unique nature of each game you play in Madden 12, we've structured this guide in an very simple way. Three sections will talk about what you need to know to play this game, starting with General tips for the newer or casual players, and ending with a quick look through the achievements for those dedicated to sinking in the time.

General Tips

Practice will make all kinds of perfect. If you are new to the Madden experience this game will appear to be daunting at first glance. This will be doubly so if you aren't too familiar with the game of Football itself. However as with any game, real or virtual, practice is the key to success. Try exhibition matches first. Try online play with your friends who can help you to learn the plays, teams, players, and anything else you need to know to feel comfortable diving in deeper.

Read the manual. No not the 2 page one that came in the case but the digital one inside the game. At any time you can pause the game and read through it. If this is your first Madden then we can’t stress this enough as it has a breakdown of the controls that will be incredibly useful to you. The different stages of play within the game have their own unique controls and knowing what each button does and when can make or break the game for you.

Pick the Green Bay Packers. We know lots of people will be loyal to their favorite team and want to play with them. However if you are new, or looking to practice your skills picking the Packers will give you the slight edge you may need until you are comfortable with lower rated teams. The rating we speak of can be seen in the image below. The 92 rating on the Packers is the highest in game. This means that in the universe of the Madden 12 game, they are the best team. Playing as them will give you the edge, a handicap, that will help you out as you learn the game.

Run the ball. Throwing looks nice, and it is great to do a 50 yard throw and run it in for a touchdown but it doesn't always yield results. Throwing is risky for many reasons, the biggest being the chance for the opponents to get an interception. Running the ball although not as pretty can get you those 2 yards you need to get to a new down.

When playing Franchise Mode keep an eye on your money. You can find it under team income, and team expenses. Obviously a good team needs to keep the income higher than the expenses. In the beginning your biggest concern will be with signing new players. If you get carried away you can bankrupt your team very quickly. Keep an eye on their salaries and your other expenses so that you can keep your team’s income reasonably high.

Game Types

They're a few different modes within Madden 12 that you should check out. Each one has its own unique play style. In the section below we will go over each mode and the basic things found within.

Exhibition – This one is pretty simple. Pick two teams. Pick the basic details of time, weather, and stadium and kick off the ball and have some fun. There are two things of note in this mode. The first is the general ease and quickness of playing it. If you just pick this game up, this is where we suggest you start. You can learn a lot about the teams, the different plays you can call, and the basics of control and how to play as your characters. Exhibition is also the game mode to look out for if you want to mop up some of the easier achievements. One such as the San Diego Chargers Award, where you must hold the opponents to 67 yards of total offense, can easily be done here along with many others.

Superbowl XLVI – This is similar to an Exhibition game but with the added flair of a Superbowl game. Other than that it can be used for the same achievement hunting and practice play.

Online Modes – These are all fairly straight forward and don't require much explanation. Keep in mind that you can't earn achievements when you play Online Team Play (OTP as the game calls it) or co-op.

Ultimate Team – This game mode is a unique one to be sure. Here you have something similar to Franchise Mode however, your player trading and other team related stuff is done through the use of cards. The game does a good job of explaining everything but there are a few things worth keeping an eye on as you play. Each card will have a contract number. This represents how many games they can compete in. Obviously it is in your interest to get cards with high numbers on them so that you don't have a big game about to be played and you find out your star QB can’t compete. 

You can also buy card packs using Madden Coins. Madden coins will be acquired over time playing games or you can buy them using Microsoft Points. I would just suggest playing the game, as using points to gain coins can get expensive quickly. When you can take advantage of trading cards and auctioning cards this can be lead to great cards quickly, if you play your hand right. For the most part these processes are fairly straight forward. Trading between friends can be a quick way to success as you can all work together sharing and purchasing cards to get the ideal teams.

The other thing to keep in mind during the card trading is how the cards will affect your team rating and chemistry. Your team rating as I mentioned earlier is Madden’s way of gauging roughly how good your team is. This is definitely something you should seek to increase. Your chemistry will boost your players in various areas so it’s good to have it as high as possible. When you go to purchase or trade for cards it will be indicated at the top of the screen if it has a positive or negative effect on chemistry and team rating. The screenshot below shows off a screen where you can see these various things.

A few tips to raising chemistry are:

1. Have players be from the same team. If you have 2 or 3 Ravens players this will boost your chemistry more than if you have 3 players all from different teams.

2. Have your players in the positions they normally play.

3. If your team is mostly made out of Packers make sure to use the Packers coach and Packers stadium as this will boost chemistry as well.

Franchise Mode – This is the mode where you go if you are a die-hard Madden fan. Inside Franchise Mode you will find in depth team management that the hardcore Madden fans will love. If you are playing this mode than we’re going to assume that you know what you are doing. However, if you jumped in head first hoping to make heads or tails of everything let us give you a few pointers. As we stated above, keep an eye on your finances. It doesn't take much to get crazy with the spending and come up short when bills need to be paid. Also, if you pick a team with a lower rating don't be discouraged if you’re losing at first. 

The longer you play franchise mode the better your team will become. Your players will get better and you have the option to trade for new people, as well as buy free agents. You will also be expected to cut players once in a while. Cut the players that have a poor overall rating or a poor potential. The rating is under the OVR column. This is your player’s rating, his “how good is he” stat. The potential is how much he will increase over time. An A rating will ensure that player develops into a strong power house. Having a C rating obviously is not so good and this player will never be quite as good as an A. 

Achievements

Madden 12 has quite a few achievements and they aren't all too easy. Fortunately, they aren't ridiculously hard either. Most of them can be set up so that your chances of getting them are very high. We will not go over every achievement as they are fairly self-explanatory but I will talk about some ways to boost your chances.

The first thing you can do is play with a good team. Either use a custom team you have built that is a powerhouse or use the Packers as they are the best rated team in the game. The next step is of course to set the opponent team to a low rated team. Something in the low 70's is best. Since most achievements require you to dominate the other team in a specific area this will greatly increase your chances of success.

Next, when you’re in the game you can change the game options in your favor. By setting speed lower your opponents will have a much harder time catching you. If you are looking for a passing achievement then set your skills to max so that it is nearly impossible for your guys to miss a throw or fumble. This isn't the fairest way to play the game, but it is certainly the most efficient for getting achievements.

Most achievements are tied to a certain player for a reason. If you are looking to get the Tom Brady Award then it makes sense to use Tom Brady. The achievements that are named like this are done so because that player has accomplished that feat during his career, so it makes sense to use him in game as he will already be good at doing that very thing.

Make sure you pay extra attention to the requirements. Some are very specific, calling for certain players to complete the task. Ones that require punt returns must have punts and not kick offs or you simply will not get the achievement. Also, keep in mind that you can not get most achievements in OTP (Online Team Play) or Co-op.

Finally all the achievements must be completed within one game. They do not accumulate over time. If an achievement says to receive 225 yards with one player, it must happen all within one game. The easiest thing to do is set the clock to max so you have the most time possible to gain yards. Also, again it helps to mess with the game options to give yourself the best possible edge.