It’s a shameful pun, and I’m quite embarrassed to use it. It has to be said, though, with no exception. The best way to describe “Madden 12″ is that it’s…maddening.

There have been many installments (it’s older than me, at least), but it’s undeniably one of the flagship sports franchises today. It’s been a few years since I’ve picked up a copy of Madden,” and as a result, I was blown away at first by 12’s presentation. But you see how I wrote “at first”? Yeah, that’s important.

The game launches with a fairly exciting video that apes music from “Inception” and shows off many of 2010’s best NFL plays, the segues into a fairly-easy-to-use menu system. The camera angles are nice, the graphics look great with only a few hiccups, and the controls are easy to pick up and play.

However, the game quickly stutters and spurts after this impressive start. The decline starts slowly; for starters, the commentary is unbelievably bad, unless you like Gus Johnson screaming non-sequiturs a full 10 seconds after a play has ended. Here and there, glitches start to pop up. The game apparently reserves the right to audible your play without letting you know, leading to many embarrassing sacks and massive losses of yardage. Players decide to forget their characteristics, when running routes and locations. Eventually, it becomes evident that despite some fresh polish and a few brand-new features, this is the same Madden it’s been since at least 2006.

In both multiplayer and Superstar mode (where I led my custom-made star quarterback Durp McHurr through his rookie year on the Oakland Raiders), many problems became apparent. The game is incredibly unbalanced. Vick’s Eagles and Rodgers’ Packers cannot lose, at least in my experience. Passing is a crapshoot, while receivers will routinely catch the uncatchable, just as often cornerbacks fly out of nowhere to tip passes—but never intercept them. Running backs either glitch their way past the offensive line to tear up defenses or forget that they get paid to run forward, looking stunned like a deer in headlights. Defense is a laughable idea that didn’t seem to exist in half of the 42-35 shootouts I played. And perhaps most hilariously, the injury bug bites often; I’ve played four games with my favorite team, the Patriots, and receiver Deion Branch didn’t make it to halftime in any of them before breaking a bone or getting a concussion.

I don’t want you to think I’m ragging on the game. It’s still the same basic, flawed Madden game it’s always been, but there’s a good reason why that game’s still on shelves: it’s fun, plain and simple. Unless you love spending money recklessly, there’s no real reason to buy “Madden 12” if you can find a roster update for “11,” or even “10.” In football terms, “Madden 12” is like the Cowboys; it’s popular, and with a good setup year after year, but it can never impress, and always seems to disappoint.