Madden NFL 19 is hitting store shelves and digital marketplaces everywhere, and we know there are still plenty of players still on the fence about making the purchase.
This year brings some new features and options to the series that EA Sports is hoping will improve the game from Madden 18. But are the changes and additions enough to justify dropping the $60 — or more — on the game?
After going through all the information available as well as our own personal experiences, Sports Gamers Online has put together the 10 things you need to know about Madden NFL 19.
The Game is Back on PC
For the first time in a decade, Madden makes its way back to PC via EA’s Origin Service. A fully-featured release, fans on the PC will be able to experience the same game as those on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have.
No More MUT Contracts
The bane of every MUT players existence are contracts. They often got in the way of putting together the best roster possible, and just resulted in wasted MUT Coins that you worked to earn.
Well, EA Sports heard you.
Starting with Madden NFL 19, Contracts will no longer be part of keeping your team together. Being the money maker that MUT already is for EA Sports, it makes sense to remove a “feature” that left more people tuning out than eager to play.
MUT Squads vs. CPU
When MUT Squads — online team play — came to Madden last year, it was only available against other players. It left players nowhere to get get better as a team.
Madden NFL 19 allows players to team up in MUT Squads to take on the CPU, offering the chance to not only build chemistry with teammates but earn some rewards as well. It’s just another way Madden is aiming to become an even bigger co-op experience.
No RPO
It’s become prevalent throughout the NFL, but the Run-Pass Option continues to be missing from Madden NFL 19.
There’s not much else to say here other than ask why it still hasn’t been implemented yet. It just makes no sense that such a popular scheme isn’t represented in the digital world.
New Halftime Show
For the first time in years, the game’s halftime show is getting an overhaul for players.
The show will feature a 3D map that players bounce around to view scores or news from various games. Within Franchise Mode, the showwill feature live updates of games happening at the same time or show you what happened earlier in the day. After the updates, you will see highlights of your own game.
There hasn’t been confirmation how it will work within Online Franchise, but it will be interesting to see how it grows.
Oh, and the halftime show will also feature WWE commentator and former ESPN anchor Jonathan Coachman this year.
New Player Positions
With so many hybrid positions in the NFL, it’s been a head scratcher as to why Madden hasn’t added new positions to the game’s depth chart. Well, with Madden NFL 19, we finally have those changes.
New positions include power half back and slot wide receiver on offense. On the defensive side of the ball, there are five new positions in total: rush right defensive end, rush left defensive end, rush defensive tackle, slot linebacker, and slot cornerback.
Player Archetypes
In addition to the new player positions, player archetypes make their way into Madden this year.
These archetypes — ranging from a strong arm QB to a red zone threat wide receiver — help determine how a player will progress within franchise mode. You still earn XP for players in a number of scenarios, but instead of going attribute by attribute to progress a player, you now upgrade the archetype. This will then increase various attributes on a player that relate to that specific archetype.
The archetypes by position are:
- QB: Strong Arm, Scrambler, West Coast, Field General
- HB: Power Back, Elusive Back, Receiving Back
- FB: Blocking, Utility
- WR: Deep Threat, Possession, Red Zone Threat, Slot Receiver
- TE: Vertical Threat, Possession, Blocking
- OL: Agile, Power, Pass Protector
- DL: Run Stopper, Speed Rusher, Power Rusher
- MLB: Field General, Pass Coverage, Run Stopper
- OLB: Pass Coverage, Run Stopper, Speed Rusher, Power Rusher
- CB: Man-to-Man, Zone Coverage, Slot Corner
- S: Zone Coverage, Run Support, Hybrid
- K/P: Accurate, Power
New Controls
The way you control your players in Madden NFL 19 has changed for the better, especially when it comes to running the ball.
New to the game this year are advanced one-cut moves, the ability to push the pile in front of you, and carrier hesitation. These changes to the on-field gameplay should produce more realistic plays at the line of scrimmage, and help separate the bad runners from the good, and the good from the great.
The Return of Longshot
After its debut last year, Longshot is back for year two in Madden.
Continuing the story of Devin Wade and Colt Cruise, Longshot: Homecoming completely ignores how the first story ended. Instead, Wade starts in training camp with the Dallas Cowboys while Cruise finds himself coaching and focusing on off-field life all while trying to get one more shot at the NFL.
The mode promises more gameplay this time around than the first installment had, but it still is a disappointment that everything you did in the first version of Longshot didn’t really matter in any way.
Custom Draft Classes
Lastly, Madden NFL 19 will finally — FINALLY — allow players to have custom draft classes within franchise mode.
Having the potential to draft “real” prospects in Madden has been missing since NCAA Football was last released back in 2013, but that ends with Madden NFL 19. Whether you create your own players or download a draft class from the Madden community, the ability to fully edit any player entering the draft in a given year is a much welcomed addition to the Madden NFL experience.
What feature are you excited about in Madden NFL 19? Have you made a decision about making a purchase yet? Let us know in the comment section below, and be sure to stick with Sports Gamers Online for more great Madden NFL coverage.
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