Madden 26 preview: Scott Hanson delivers ESPN NFL 2K5 half-time show vibes at long last

Ask any long-standing Gridiron fan what they miss most from the pre-Ultimate Team era, and you'll get an almost universal answer: the ESPN NFL 2K5 Half-Time Show. Fronted by Chris Berman, and featuring match highlights accompanied by his insights and witticisms, it was supplemented in franchise mode by post-game SportsCenter broadcasts with results and touchdowns from around the league. By any standard, let alone that of 2004, it was spectacular. Two decades later, Madden 26 is finally delivering an EA equivalent.

Berman is still active, but these days most fans know Redzone host Scott Hanson as the voice of the NFL. Ingeniously, he's the man bringing these two highly welcome additions to life. Hanson fronts both the in-game half-time show and post-match highlights package, serving up key plays from around the league, with the aim of immersing you in an experience that changes on a weekly basis. That commitment extends to four unique broadcast packages. Sunday afternoon games get a neat minimalist look with modest build up, whereas Monday, Thursday, and Sunday night match-ups go all-in with fireworks, team entrances, and bespoke HUD features and stats overlays. This stuff matters. It's exactly why 2K5 is still so widely revered.

Indeed, during the pre-Ultimate Team era the longevity of sports games often came down to two key ingredients: presentation, and franchise mode. 12 years after the demise of the NCAA series, its successor College Football 25 demonstrated that many fans still prioritize authenticity over collecting digital cards or creating fantasy line-ups. To that end, EA Orlando has honed in on quality of life tweaks, in particular franchise, to such a degree that gameplay production director Clint Oldenburg shows us a laundry list of fresh features and – almost pleading – says "there's no way anyone can say this is the same game that came out last year".

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Principal game designer Josh Looman digs even deeper into the improvements list, with a particular focus on franchise. "This is the soul of Madden, and our biggest update in over a decade," he tells GR+. Feeling like a real head coach is the team's overall MO. You're now given access to one-off, game-specific playsheets that complement your team playbook, tailored to suit an opponent. If your Sunday foe is susceptible to deep passes, your offensive co-ordinator will dial up specific plays designed to beat them over the top. All of this is accessible from a new screen which displays opposition strengths and weaknesses, and enables you to set your 'load out' for the upcoming match – almost like an online shooter. It'll be fascinating to see how this plays out week-to-week in our August Madden 26 review.

It's not just the broadcast packages and weekly playsheets which aim to add to franchise variety. Looman says his team have committed significant resources to 'team need' logic, NFL draft logic, and sim stats – three areas which fans love to hate every year. Weather impacts gameplay hugely now (more on which shortly), so good luck going to Buffalo or Green Bay during the playoffs. And there's a clean Coach Center hub where you can see exactly what abilities you and your co-ordinators have and how to improve upon them, or expand your repertoire – as well as track your approval rating with the media, staff, players, and fans. (Like in real life, some cities are tough to win over.)

"We've got a great team, and we're pushing harder than we've ever pushed before," says Looman. "We're trying to put as much in the game that's meaningful as we can… I think the coach meta game is going to be huge. It's going to change the week-to-week. I love approval rating, we had it years ago [in Madden NFL 05], that and the weekly recap and highlight show are crazy. The broadcast packages… I'm really excited to talk about all of it. Scott Hanson is amazing. This is what we've needed for the longest time."

Winter is coming

None of these franchise enhancements will matter if Madden 26 gameplay doesn't hold up beyond the winter months. Here's where Oldenburg's laundry list comes to the fore, with a specific focus on QB DNA, and explosive locomotion. That last one isn't about planting bombs on trains, Die Hard with a Vengeance style. Rather, it's all about elite speed meaning 'elite'. Burst past the deepest safety and no-one is catching you, while a well-timed cutback leaves linebackers tackling air. Defensive AI has been retooled, with custom zones enabling you to combat custom stems – for a better understanding of how those work, dip into our Madden 25 tips.

QB DNA sounds especially intriguing. Just as the real NFL is quarterback-focussed, so too is the way most gamers play Madden – and EA looks to have done stellar work in this department. It's retooled everything about QB animations, signatures, and player traits, with nine unique ball holds – such as Trevor Lawrence clasping the ball low, with both hands. Kyler Murray scrambles with small, tippy tape steps, Patrick Mahomes darts in last-minute one-handed sidearms, Josh Allen attempts to truck defenders mid-scramble rather than slide to the ground. There are 50 new QB traits in total, all backed by real-life player data. It really does feel so much fun to play as Murray, then Allen, then Lamar Jackson (because who wouldn't?) during our hands-on.

The most enjoyable part of the experience, however, goes beyond QB play. It is, quite simply, weather. One of the most common pieces of feedback EA has received in recent years is that snow and rain should really matter – and hoo boy, they do now. Snow games look so realistic that you can't see the opposite end zone until up close, with players struggling to change direction as they aim to maintain their footing, and even heavy rain can cause running backs or linebackers to slip and slide. Not every casual gamer is going to love this – imagine throwing a pick when your wide receiver slips while making a cut – but for the purists, it's a monumental breakthrough. In a blizzard, with the new Monday Night Football overlays, Madden 26 looks astonishing.

I've specified the visuals in that sentence because only sustained play will tell us whether EA's NFL sim is keeping stride with the little brother series that claimed GR's sports game of the year award for 2024. College Football 26 is the game to beat, but this series is making serious improvements too – with all the noise right now about franchise and presentation, rather than a million new Ultimate Team bells and whistles. This is Madden's most promising summer in years. Let's hope that it can deliver on that abundant first-round-pick potential.

Want some sports action you can play now? Leap into our WWE 2K25 review.