The 2022 NFL season is almost around the corner. With that comes another edition of EA Sports' yearly franchise, Madden. This edition of the game is a special one, as it's the first being released since the passing of the great John Madden, the legendary head coach whom the franchise has been named after.

RELATED: 12 Highest Rated Players In Madden NFL 23, Ranked

This year's title serves to honor the former Raiders legend and his contribution to football. Madden NFL 23 appears to be a modest improvement over recent games in the franchise, as they've improved in several key areas. However, not everything has been fixed in comparison to last year's title.

10 Isn't Better: Commentary

It's true that when it comes to sports games, one of the hardest things to do is improve commentary. The main reason is that there are only so many lines of dialogue that can be used for in-game situations. Once again breaking down the action in the title is Charles Davis and Brandon Gaudin.

The commentary in Madden NFL 23 is once again bland, and boring. While it's not any worse than last year's game, it's far from being improved in any facet.

9 Is Better: Presentation

Madden's presentation has been stuck in the mud for a couple of years now. Once one of the series' best trademarks, the game has looked virtually the same every year since the eighth-generation consoles were released.

The good news is, that the presentation looks a lot better in Madden NFL 23. From the scoreboard to the way that graphics will show up pre and post-game, the franchise has done a fair bit to make it look like an actual NFL broadcast.

8 Isn't Better: Microtransactions

If you're someone who's been put off of Madden and specifically Ultimate Team due to microtransactions, sadly, you'll once again be put off this year. While the mode itself has had some little tweaks, they've not done anything to fix microtransactions.

This was to be expected, but it's still frustrating. At its core, Ultimate Team and other online modes are great. However, due to the pay-to-win aspects, they're frustrating to play unless you're willing to grind for a long time, or pay money.

7 Is Better: Passing Mechanics

Madden's gameplay has been virtually the same for a while now. However, they've decided to take a big leap in terms of changing the passing in the game. Specifically, players have a lot more control in terms of how the ball moves in Madden 23.

RELATED: 10 Fantasy Football NFL Quarterbacks You Should Draft For 2022

In previous titles, you press a button, and the ball moves. Now, players can help guide the ball, and it helps fix a lot of previous issues by allowing that. For example, defensive backs jumping 17 feet in the air to doesn't happen as often, mostly due to players being aware of where the ball has to be placed to avoid that. It's a lot more fun to pass in this title.

6 Isn't Better: Same Cutscenes

While the EA Sports development team may have made up ground in areas like passing, they've clearly not cared as much about improving smaller things like cutscenes. For example, when you score a touchdown and jump into the crowd, it's literally the same as Madden 22.

That's just one example, but there are tons of reused cutscenes throughout the title. It's such an easy issue that likely could've been improved upon, but instead, they've decided to reuse a lot from last year's game.

5 Is Better: Defensive Line Play

One of Madden's biggest issues for a long time is that defense is kind of a chore, and it doesn't feel important when you have a superstar on defense. While it's awesome to sling the ball around as Patrick Mahomes, it's generally boring to be Aaron Donald.

In Madden NFL 23, that's not as much the case. While some defensive players don't feel like they have as much impact, linemen feel awesome to use. The battle on the line, especially on defense, is awesome to play. For the first time, players like Donald, or Chris Jones, feel impactful.

4 Isn't Better: Player Models

In a similar way that cutscenes have been reused, a lot of player models are the exact same as well. We'd be remiss to not mention that a lot of the big stars do look great, and many players look so improved. But that's not the case for everyone.

RELATED: 10 Madden NFL 23 Player Ratings That EA Got Wrong

If you're below 80 overall, your player model will look incredibly mediocre and generic. It's understandable that EA Sports might not have the time to flesh out every player, but some efforts are just terrible.

3 Is Better: John Madden

One of the best features of Madden NFL 23 is the inclusion of the late great John Madden. While he's not doing commentary like how he used to, his presence is felt all through the title and has many tributes to him.

The inclusion of the Raiders legend is one of the best things about the game honestly. John Madden hasn't been seen in a title for a long time, and it's nice to see him get the treatment he deserves in this title.

2 Isn't Better: Franchise Mode

Madden has been a game that is geared toward online play for a long, long time now. Despite fans clamoring for a better franchise mode that has more to do, or new elements, they've been ignored for years. The bad news is, that's still the case in 2022.

In Madden NFL 23, the franchise mode isn't bad, that's not the problem. Franchise mode hasn't been bad, it's just generic and hasn't been improved at all. For a game to completely ignore one of its best modes for so long is mind-boggling.

1 Is Better: Smoother Gameplay

On the whole Madden NFL 23 seems to have improved dramatically when it comes to fluidity. The passing feels fresh for the first time in a while, the tackling seems improved, line play seems important, and most importantly, the game feels fun.

Madden NFL 23 is not a perfect game by any means, far from it. But for the first time in a long time, the franchise seems to have direction and a bright future.