What fans had been referring to as Story Mode has been confirmed for Madden 18 at EA Play. The good news is the mode will not just feature fictional schools, but it looks like EA will be using top college football programs.
The main character (Devin) in the trailer played for Texas, but the short clip also showed Oregon. The trailer shows Devin starting as a high school player, and working his way up to get drafted by an NFL team.
It is big news considering we have not seen any semblance of college football in a video game since NCAA 14. We can hope to be able to pick from a bevy of schools similar to how the NBA 2K My Player mode begins.
For the second straight trailer, EA has focused on a father and son relationship. This means the gameplay could be nuanced, and feel like you are playing a real-life movie.
This is EA’s response to NBA 2K’s popular My Player mode as well as FIFA’s The Journey. Based on the trailer, fans can expect to control their player starting in high school. You will then move into college football, the NFL Combine and get drafted into the NFL. From there, it likely will feel similar to NBA 2K where you are able to control your player in certain game situations with multiple off-field story lines.
The trailer focuses on the player’s relationships outside of football as well as how he interacts with coaches. The Madden franchise has enjoyed unprecedented success, but this new mode could be a game changer for those missing the NCAA football series which EA discontinued.
The mode will feature Scott Porter, who you may know as Jason Street from Friday Night Lights. Porter will play the character of Colt Cruise in the new Story Mode.
“It’s a football story you can play…We went about making the first campaign mode in a sports game,” EA noted at EA Play.
EA has created a new page for the Longshot mode which you can find here.
The team confirmed you will be able to do participate in the combine for the first time in the game since 2006. Dan Marino will serve as a mentor to the main character “Devin”. Here’s a screenshot of Marino:
.@AntoDaBoss + @ScottPorter talking about the brand new #Longshot story in #Madden18.
Watch Live: t.co/hmtMaianGV #EAPLAY
It sounds like the majority of the mode will focus on making it to the NFL, rather than being a superstar in the league. This is a smart move by EA knowing that fans love a good underdog story, and it looks like they will be able to play one in Madden 18.
Oscar winner Mahershala Ali will also be in the game. Ali stared in the movie Moonlight as well as House of Cards.
You can find all the Maddden clips here: