Madden 18 review: revamped story mode puts new twist on the franchise

With the NFL season just around the corner, the start of the virtual American football season has kicked off with the release of the latest instalment in EA Sports' Madden franchise.

It's difficult to re-invent the wheel on a yearly basis when it comes to sports games, but there are a few new features in the 2017 iteration; most importantly, the option to play with the choice of three different 'Game Styles': Arcade, Competitive and Simulation.

Madden has been given a visual bump this year, but the main additions are a new story mode and Ultimate Team.

Arcade is perfect for playing with your friends, or to introduce someone to the series. It's more high tempo, defence is more difficult and turning the ball over is harder. High-scoring games are the norm with it being far easier to launch the ball downfield without fear of throwing an interception.

Simulation is more of a middle ground, what you'd have experienced in past years on the game. Players make mistakes, bad passes are punished and the difference between higher and lower rated players is more visible.

And then there's Competitive, which takes it to a higher level. For years players in sports games have complained about unrealistic variance in online play, and early responses from players suggest that this new mode is a huge step in the right direction. If you are the better player, the chances of you losing due to freak plays and luck have decreased substantially.

The other big change comes in the story mode, which has stepped up far beyond simply creating your own player, customising his appearance, and starting a game.

The line between movies and video games has been blurred for some time now, but in the sports genre it's a concept still very much in its infancy. Others such as FIFA and NBA 2K have dabbled in the realms of combining the two, and now you can play out your own Friday Night Lights-esque adventure in Madden, with 'Longshot'.

You play as college dropout Devin Wade, who walked away from the game after the death of his father (played by Mahershala Ali of House of Cards fame), as he tries to resurrect his career weeks before the NFL draft. Along for the ride is his best friend and former high school and college team mate, Colt Cruise (voice by Scott Porter, who was one of the stars on Friday Night Lights.)

After navigating your way through a series of drills in front of unimpressed NFL scouts, you're invited to participate on a reality show called Longshot, where you are coached up by fictional former coach Jack Ryan, and real-life NFL Hall of Famer Dan Marino.

One of the drills you go through features playing 7-on-7 (instead of the usual 11) and it's probably the most entertaining part of the entire mode. It's a shame it isn't available to play outside of 'Longshot'. Fans have wanted a new edition to the classic NFL Street series for a decade now, and this felt as close as we've come in that time to getting it.

Although the story is relatively strong, there aren't really any lasting consequences for the choices you make. There are only a couple of endings, and they are all similar, despite the fact that there are dozens of choices you make that affect both your 'Performance Rating' and 'Football IQ'.

The other issue is that the story abruptly ends when you eventually sign with an NFL team, and you can't continue to play as Devin or Colt as professional player. You can, however, use their likenesses and other items you earn in Madden's 'Ultimate Team' mode, which continues to grow.

'Ultimate Team' has been EA's most popular game mode in FIFA for several years now, and it's clear that they have prioritised that over Franchise mode, which remains largely the same and really hasn't changed much at all since I first began playing Madden 05 in high school.

The premise of 'Ultimate Team' is simple. It's part trading card game and part sports game where you complete challenges, win games and outbid other users in the marketplace to try and improve your squad. There's plenty of retro cards and former players, and lots of rewards based on both real-life events, past and present.

Overall, Madden 18 offers some fun new additions. 'Longshot' isn't perfect, but it's a big step in the right direction. If you buy Madden every year there's enough fresh content to satisfy you, but if you had Madden 17 and only buy the game once every few years, nobody could blame you for holding off. If you haven't purchased the game in several years, this is a great year to jump back in.

Madden 18 is out now on PlayStation 4 (reviewed) and Xbox One.