You know what game college professors despise? MADDEN! Every year within the month of August, a new annual installment takes over every college dorm room once classes begin.
Madden NFL 16 is making its move to past and current-gen consoles on August 25, 2015. Longtime followers of the series will allow its newest offering to take over their lives for several reasons – a new gameplay mode, refined elements of known mechanics and the same awesome pigskin action fans cherish. Developer EA Tiburon is ready to keep the ball rolling with another excellent entry in the Madden franchise.
Here’s everything you need to know about EA Sports’ return to the field with Madden NFL 16.
1. This Year’s Cover Athlete Is Odell Beckham Jr.
Unlike past years, Electronic Arts went a different route when it came to selecting its cover athlete for Madden NFL 16. Instead of allowing fans to vote on who they wanted to make the game’s official box art through a tournament bracket, players of Madden NFL Mobile voted through the use of collectible cards. This voting method was also utilized through Madden’s Ultimate Team console mode.
The four finalists came down to New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson, New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. In May of this year, Odell Beckham Jr. ultimately won and took the top honor of being showcased on Madden NFL 16’s box art.
2. The Game’s Newest Feature is Draft Champions
EA Tiburon has produced a new mode for this year’s entry that should instantly be familiar to fantasy football fans. Draft Champions mode allows players to play against human players or the computer with a custom team that’s selected from a huge pool of athletes. You’ll have to assign a coach to your team at the start of the draft and then fill out your squad with players in several key attribute areas.
On your 15th and final draft pick, you’ll get the chance to add one of three NFL legends to your team. It’s up to you to decide if one of your players needs upgrading or if adding more players to your lineup will cover more of your team bases.
The video posted above offers a visual overview of what Draft Champions mode has in store for returning/1st-time players.
Madden NFL 16 will once again feature past game modes and a few touch up’s of remaining mechanics, such as:
– New options for the Playmaker Highlight Reel
– Total Control Passing
– Improvements to the Connected Franchise mode
– The return of Ultimate Team mode & Skills Trainer exercises
– Refined Receiver/Defender control options
The video seen above provides more insight into what’s being done to make Madden NFL 16’s existing content an improvement over Madden NFL 15.
3. The Full Soundtrack Includes Artists Such as The Weeknd & Los
This year’s soundtrack covers a wide range of musical genres. Artists such as Fashawn, The Weeknd, Don Broco and Joywave have tunes featured all over this year’s installment. Here’s the entire listing of songs that will be featured on Madden NFL 16 (the link we’ve included here will take you straight to a playable YouTube playlist you can jam out to):
– A Thousand Horses, “Travelin’ Man”
– Big Data feat. Dragonette, “Get Some Freedom”
– Blackberry Smoke, “Holding All the Roses”
– Brooke Candy, “Rubber Band Stacks”
– Don Broco, “Automatic”
– Fashawn feat. Nas & Aloe Blacc, “Something to Believe In”
– GOH vs. Sugarstarr feat. Redman & Method Man, “I Used to Be”
– Hermitude feat. Young Tapz, “Through the Roof”
– James Bay, “Collide”
– Jimi Charles Moody, “House of Moody”
– John Newman, “Come and Get It”
– Joywave, “Destruction”
– Los, “Ghetto Boy”
– Lee Brice, “Sirens”
– LunchMoney Lewis, “Ain’t Too Cool”
– Modestep & Teddy Killerz, “Make You Mine”
– NF, “Intro”
– No Wyld, “Odyssey”
– Nothing But Thieves, “Ban All The Music”
– Rag’n’Bone Man, “Wolves”
– Robert DeLong, “Better Days”
– Sigma feat. Labrinth, “Higher”
– The Cadillac Three, “I’m Rockin'”
– The Weeknd, “Can’t Feel My Face”
– twenty one pilots, “Heavydirtysoul”
– Viv and the Revival, “Flash”
– X Ambassadors, “Superpower”
– Xilent feat. Diamond Eyes, “Animation”
– Yelawolf, “Fiddle Me This”
– Youngblood Hawke, “Knock Me Down”
4. Pre-Ordering The Normal Version of The Game Will Bring You a Nice Set of Bonus Items
The most hardcore of Madden fanatics out there can go ahead and pre-order the normal edition of the game right now. On the pre-order bonus DLC front, players will receive three separate pieces of helpful items:
– 10 Ultimate Team Pro Packs
– 1 Playmaker Pack
– 1 Pro Pack per week for 10 weeks (from 9/1/15 until 11/9/15)
5. The Deluxe Edition of The Game Comes With Even More Bonus Items Than The Normal Edition
For those Madden fans who choose to spare no expense, the game’s Deluxe Edition is the best option to pre-order and purchase. The dosage of DLC that comes with this version is a ton of content Ultimate Team players will enjoy:
– 36 Ultimate Team Pro Packs the pre-order exclusive
– 1 Playmaker Pack
– 3 Pro Packs per week for 12 weeks (from 9/1/15 until 11/23/15)
Buy the Deluxe Edition of Madden NFL 16 here.
Buy the Xbox One Madden NFL 16 1TB Bundle here.