When it comes to sports, I still think the Sandlot said it best. Hero’s live forever, but legends never die. The Madden NFL franchise has definitely become a legend of its time. With every sports game, the main question will always be what changed and at the EA Games press conference gave us a bit more insight on what we can expect
The two main talking points this year were a brand new physics engine and a revamped career mode. The all new Infinity Engine promises that each play will play out differently and give players unparalleled control on what happens on the gridiron. No longer will plays be dead on contact with players stuck in a tackling animation, they’ll now be able to regain their balance, bounce off or even step out of tackles to fight for those yards. It’s the small changes like this that bring the realism we need in sports games.
I’m outright giddy about this new career mode. EA has combined Franchise mode with Superstar mode to create something I’ve never quite seen before. Players will be able to join a league with up to 32 other players online as a current player, a created player, a legend or even a coach and play through their careers with their friends.
There will be set tasks the accomplish this week that will reward players with XP, allowing players to “level up” and introduces a RPG element with a skill tree of sports. For those of you looking for even more realism, EA will also have a twitter feed in game that will have experts such as Skip Sheffield weighing in on what goes on in the league.
I’ve never seen anything quite like this, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t waiting with baited breath.
What are your thoughts on the new additions? Enough to bring you back on the field?