The latest instalment of Madden NFL has hit the shelves (or more likely the "store" tab on your console), and the folks at EA Sports have managed to improve upon football's favorite video game.
Madden 18 still keeps the fan favorites Franchise mode and Ultimate Team in tact, allowing users to take control of their favorite club or build their own fantasy roster to compete against friends and strangers.
However, there are some great added elements to this edition of the game. Here are the five best features of Madden 18:
'Longshot' mode
By far, the biggest change to Madden is the addition of its first ever story mode "Longshot".
In this mode, users take control of aspiring NFL quarterback Devin Wade and essentially play out the scenes of "Longshot", the movie. EA Sports went the extra mile to tell the story, bringing in voice actors JR Lemon, Academy Award-winner Mahershala Ali, "Friday Night Lights" actor Scott Porter, and several NFL personalities - including Dan Marino and Chad Johnson.
Playing as Wade, you are judged on intangibles, football IQ, and on-field skills as you pass through a series of off-field predicaments, practice drills, and in-game simulations.
Improved commentary
EA Sports came out with a brilliant new idea to cut down on the frustration of Madden commentary last year by introducing weekly updates of customised play-by-play analysis.
Fox Sports analyst Charles Davis and play-by-play man Brandon Gaudin are back for another season of outstanding commentary that will include regular in-season updates. Understandably, there were a few hiccups as Madden became the first sports game to accommodate the feature in 2016, but now all the wrinkles have been smoothed out and the broadcast chemistry is on point.
Play Now mode
The "Play Now" mode for any sports video game generally has a pretty simple concept: pick the home team, pick the away team, play the game.
While that option still exists in Madden 18, an up-to-date feature has been added to let users play their team's next opponent or any game on the weekly schedule. This feature will be updated from week to week as the season moves on, giving users a quick option to play the most anticipated matchups at each stop of the NFL season.
MUT Squads
Madden Ultimate Team mode has always allowed users to play against friends, but now you can be on the same team.
The MUT Squads lets users team up with two friends in three-on-three online play, combining rosters to create a "squad" and splitting the roles into offensive captain, defensive captain, and head coach. The co-operative game play lets one player control the offense and special teams, one player use the defense, and the third player manage the clock and choose the details of the combined rosters (jerseys, stadiums, playbooks, etc).
Graphics
It has become expected that EA will slightly improve its graphics from year to year, but switching over to the "Frostbite" graphics engine this year has caused very noticeable differences in Madden 18.
Using the same graphics engine as "Battlefield 1" and "Mass Effect: Andromeda", Madden 18's visuals are sharper and more detailed than ever.
With the additional available details, Madden 18 has customised each stadium even further, adding specific half-time shows, introduction festivities, and a handful of signature touchdown celebrations. The effects of weather have also been magnified to ensure a difference is felt between a December game in New England and September scorcher in Miami.
(Photos Courtesy: Madden 18)
