This review is only of the Longshot mode. Check out our full review for more.
Like most people, I was taken by surprise when Electronic Arts announced that they were adding a cinematic story to this year?s Madden release. For a company that is (fairly or unfairly) regularly criticized for yearly installments without much change, it?s a big undertaking and something completely different than what football fans have come to expect from Tiburon?s franchise. While that sort of attempt to do something new and fresh should be celebrated in of itself, it?s also important that EA tells a meaningful story.
While I came in expecting a certain level of polish (for all of EA?s flaws, I don?t think any of their recent releases could be considered ugly or broken), I ended up really being surprised by just how good Madden?s story mode is. Called Longshot, the mode forgoes the plot device that most sports games have had recently, which puts players in the shoes of a young upstart who just got into the league. Instead, players get to experience the story of Devin Wade, a once promising Texas quarterback whose career is initially cut short by the tragic passing of his father. After taking several years away from the game he once loved, Wade attempts to enter the NFL draft alongside his friend Colt Cruise. As one would expect, Wade?s odds to make it to the NFL (let alone succeed) are slim after not playing a single down in the past three years. He defines the idea of a long shot, even though...