Sports games have always been a welcome addition to the gaming community with many different types of sports available for many fans. Madden NFL is a game series that caters to football fans and its latest installment just came out.
Platform Reviewed: Xbox One
Platforms Available: PS4, Xbox One
Developer: EA Tiburon
Publisher: EA
Release Date: August 25, 2017
Price: $59.99
This review is based on a review copy provided by Electronic Arts.
When it comes to making sports games, it can be rather tricky. It can take a lot of innovation in order to make sure that each installment provides something new, otherwise you’d always be playing the same game with just improved graphics.
Can this newest installment provide a more interesting game for Madden NFL fans? Is it worth your time and money? Does it have anything new to offer to its players?
See this review and decide for yourself!
Diving Into the Game:
For many sports fans alike, Madden NFL 18 is definitely worth the attention.
The gameplay is quite similar to the previous Madden installments with a few improvements, such as being able to precisely decide where you want the quarterback to throw the ball is quite useful in order to have an edge against defenders. However, they’re quite difficult to pull off in practice and you’ll find yourself not using them more often than not unless you’re willing to put time into practicing it.
When it comes to gameplay as an entirety not much has really changed for Madden. However, co-op has been missing from the franchise for so long that it’s great to see it coming back into NFL 18. Unfortunately, co-op is only available in Ultimate Team Squads which sees three player teams go up with each other.
As with each new installment of any game, graphics have made an improvement as movement feels much more realistic when players are colliding against each other.
Playing Madden does make you feel like you are playing a real football game as you do have to do well in each role in order to pull off a win. For new comers, Madden can have a learning curve that takes a while to get used to.
Madden NFL 18 can be difficult for people who aren’t aware of actual football rules but are interested in the game to play with friends or online. Thankfully, the story mode does allow you some practice in order to get used to the game’s mechanics.
Speaking of which, the new highlight of this latest installment is in its story mode, otherwise known as “Longshot,” which places players in the shoes of Wade Devin a quarter back for Mathis, Texas. This mode has never been seen before in the previous Madden installments.
Story mode very much plays out like your average Telltale game. You can select certain actions for Wade to take, but unfortunately, this doesn’t really affect the story in any way. Though it does a good job in making you feel like your choices have impact.
The story Madden is trying to tell certainly feels like an interactive movie, but it has broken segments that transition from one to the next without much context or given time. You’ll see background and supporting characters coming in and out of the screen before they’re fully fleshed out. They don’t seem to have much impact on the story besides giving Wade somebody to talk or vent out his feelings to.
Overall, Longshot is a great experience. Despite the absence of impactful choices, it still manages to make itself an interesting tale to capture your attention. By controlling Wade’s actions you can’t help but feel attached to him as you see him grow into making his dream come true from the ground up.
Final Opinion:
You have to praise EA for adding something new to Madden in order to keep players interested.
Madden NFL 18 is a great game. In comparison to the previous Madden games, this installment has the most improvements in order to maximize the fun for its player audience. If your a fan of football and video gaming, this game is one to put on your to buy list.
