Back On The Virtual Field In Madden NFL 18

If there is a reliable constant in the video game market, then this is EA Sports. Year after year, the economically most important sports are provided with new digital counterparts. One of the core series in the program is certainly Madden NFL, which is one of the most successful games in the US year after year. In Germany, the series has a niche existence due to lack of popularity of the sport and without any regional adjustment. We took a closer look at this year's Madden NFL 18 offshoot and tell you whether the football game has evolved properly with a new engine.

In recent years, the Madden NFL series has stagnated more and more, the last few offshoots have not been able to shine in spite of anniversaries and generation changes just with fresh wind. My expectations were accordingly low, in Madden NFL 18, just in a year, in which for the first time the new engine Frostbite is used, to be able to count on playful significant changes. But far from it, Madden NFL 18 differs so clearly from its predecessor, as has probably not Madden title for at least five years.

Switching to the new engine, curiously enough even announced in the intro video, although significant for very few players, has resulted in the visualization of the player models and stadiums being significantly more realistic. However, you have to put it into perspective when it comes to animations, because these are sometimes terribly wooden and awkward, especially outside of actual game situations. Meanwhile, a lot of development studios are significantly ahead of the EA teams. Nonetheless, Madden NFL is finally realizing the full transition to the current generation of consoles in its 2018 season.

But much more decisive is of course the playful side and a lot has happened here. Probably the most significant difference from the previous year's versions is the fact that Madden NFL 18 is no longer aimed exclusively at friends of realistic simulations, but gives the player right at the beginning the choice of whether he would rather play Madden NFL 18 as a simulation game or as an arcade game. The simulation setting immediately follows in the footsteps of the previous year's title and demands methodical action from the player - as usual on a level that should be accessible to hard-core fans of the sport in the higher difficulty levels without much training. In return, the arcade mode promises a higher game speed, less complexity and a gentler game entry. In fact, Madden NFL 18 is much more fixed in arcade mode and allows much more spectacular action early on. The arcade mode is a very welcome addition, especially as Madden is now the only football game series and this option takes into account both typical sports game orientations.

Also new is the story mode, in which one accompanies a young player as he progresses from an outsider to a pro. The story is told in full cutscene with full English speech output and takes up quite a bit of space in the game. Occasional quick dialogue options, not unlike the Telltale games, make it possible to interact with the conversations, but it seems that the impact on the story is rather small. In addition, there are a number of quick time events in which the player must quickly press the displayed buttons to perform mostly with dynamic camera staged special football actions. Finally, of course, as usual, you just play football, where the course of the story presupposes a positive outcome of the games and in case of failure does not tell another story, but lets the player repeat the situation. The proportion of the actual history count is unfortunately out of proportion to the content of the story, which is quite uninteresting overall, but binds the player for several hours of non-moderately interactive scenes. Nonetheless, this mode is a welcome addition to single player mode.

In addition to the new features Madden NFL 18 offers a lot of familiar fare, with the classic direct game mode, online multiplayer mode and career mode, as well as the full line-up of officially licensed teams and players from the American Football League. In terms of authenticity and atmosphere, the team has not lumped as usual and brings the experience of a football broadcast on the game consoles.

Madden NFL 18 is also a successful successor of the previous year's title without too drastic changes on the part of pure simulation gameplay, as well as a title with a certain independence. Arcade play style and story mode bring a breath of fresh air and the new engine makes for a more coherent presentation. Overall, Madden NFL 18 is the most complete successor of the series for several years and justifies the purchase even if the predecessor knows as a football fan. However, players who do not like football as a TV show will not be a fan of the new Madden version.