The newest edition of Madden NFL is set to drop on 8/2 with all the bells and whistles that Madden fans have come to expect. Everything is beautifully rendered, consistent game play, player accurate celebrations etc. As always EA has worked to move the needle with their tweaks to the game and new features.
The newest twist to the Madden Franchise is the introduction of the Superstar and Zone abilities, basically football superpowers, to the best of the best players in the game. The top 50 players in the game will have access to special Zone abilities that give them the status of actual game changers on the field. A few examples that we saw at EA Play were:
- Tier-1 Superstar Abilities
- Escape Artist– Increases speed and agility when scrambling
- Red Zone Deadeye– Perfect passing accuracy in the red zone
- Tier-2 Zone Abilities
- Bazooka– Increased passing distance up to 80 yards
- Fearmonger– Increase pass rush pressure
The list of players will change with updates and with franchise mode but will not exceed the 50 player cap limit.
This new feature also has the side effect of creating two new player rankings “Superstar” and “Superstar X-Factor”. The former having access to the more mundane superpowers while the latter are the 50 player tier that has access to the Zone abilities. It appears that they will also be changing how draft evaluation will work as you will be able to see that a draft pick has Superstar and Superstar X-Factor rating but will not know what that particular football superpower will be until the middle of the first season.
Madden has also taken steps to update its playbook to more accurately reflect the current state of the NFL with the introduction of the RPO and trick plays (220 new ones in fact). There is also the promise of midseason playbook updates as the actual NFL changes and adjusts to the game.
Finally, EA also appears to be leveraging their “Face of The Franchise: QB1” mode to bring back more of its NCAA connection by allowing you to drop directly into the College Football Playoff, similar to how they did with Longshot, by taking over as QB1 one of the following schools:
- Texas
- Oregon
- Florida
- LSU
- Clemson
- Miami
- USCS
- Oklahoma
- Florida State
- Texas Tech
Your performance in the playoff will impact your draft stock and ultimately your career as you level to try and win Superbowls.
All in all this appears to be yet another solid installment in the Madden franchise and will undoubtedly be scooped up Madden loyalists and really anyone that wants to play NFL or really any kind of football game as Madden has cornered the market.
Please be sure to check out all our E3 coverage as we will update you if and when we find out anything new.
What do you think? Sound off in the comments and let us know your thoughts!
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