Madden NFL has had a loyal following of fans for the last 30 years, and each game comes with its unexpected treats for them to nibble during gameplay. However, Madden NFL 18 has arrived with a whole bunch of additions that took fans by surprise. It now has a Full Story mode and a new engine that allows for better graphics to be used. This is a highly marked difference from games released in the past.
Publisher Information
- Publisher: EA Sports
- Platform(s): PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- Release date: August 25th, 2017
Game Characters
During the development of Madden NFL 17, players were asked to vote for the cover model, but this time, the developers decided to select Tom Brady. The trailers for the game always feature Madden in some of his games.
The main character in the game is Devin Wade, a great player who hails from a small town in Texas. Another supporting character is Colt Cruise.
What makes Madden NFL 18 stand out from the rest?
In past editions, the game is similar to a game of chess. Players play the roles of master and coach, and players are just pieces to be moved around to make scores. Football in the real world mainly follows the same lines, but there are other aspects, which have been addressed in this new game.
Madden NFL 18 addresses issues related to the personal lives of the players and how these affect their playing abilities. It also discusses the high stakes investors take when investing in the teams.
Devin Wade had to quit college following a tragedy in the family. The game NFL Combine feature lets you go through his attempt at getting back into the NFL and how he managed to impress scouts and coaches.
The Longshot Mode
This is the section that allows you to go deep into the personal side of the NFL. It has a telltale style of gameplay, which allows you to make decisions that will affect you and the people around, as well as the scouts’ perception of you.
This part of the game makes small decisions have enormous consequences, taking you deep into the narrative. You may be faced with the choice of taking the celebrity player, Colt Cruise as a partner or simply go it alone.
Taking him along may affect how scouts and friends think about you since they believe that he relies too much on you, Devin Wade.
The Longshot mode shows how Wade managed to move from obscurity into Football stardom. This event is not brought out in intimate iterations of his life but through a series of events that may evoke mixed feelings in players.
These sequences and their short games do not delve deep into the challenges that Wade and Cruse went through to get back into the NFL. However, there are scenes of camaraderie and introspection that lend credence to the relevance of this mode in the overall gameplay.
This first attempt at personalising the game creates a foundation that can be developed in future editions of the game.
Madden Ultimate Team Mode
This is the deepest mode of Madden NFL 18 and has been updated to make it more attractive to players. You are supposed to build the ultimate team, by selecting from playing cards. You also get the chance to buy powerful cards for real cash.
You get cards for Wade, Cruise and other characters found in the Longshot mode. This means that the MUT team will be focused on the performance in the Longshot mode. After forming your team, you take part in 30 challenges that follow the same lines like other past iterations of the game – with the one exception that all team members will be from the Longshot Mode.
The MUT mode has a multiplayer ability, which allows you to play with friends and challenge others. Madden 18 has reintroduced online cooperation which will make it more enjoyable. The feature was discontinued in 2013, after the release of Madden 25.
The Multi-player mode allows a person to play offensive captain and the other the defensive leader, and yet another plays the role of the team coach.
Pitch Design
The game is the first to use the Frostbite engine and allows for the use of photorealistic graphics in the game. The minute details of the stadium are visible, and you can see every detail of a player, including tattoos and wrinkles on the jerseys.
The eyes of Madden characters are almost lifelike, and other aspects of stadium design, such as shadows, are authentic, and they are realistically shown on players. Running from shadow to light will reflect on the player as well.
Although the Frostbite engine performs very well in the stadium setting, it does poorly in environments outside the stadium this is evident in the Longshot mode.
