The crown jewel of EA Sports’ video game catalogue, Madden NFL 16 was available to demo at E3 2015. The developer has been hyping up its sports games over the past few weeks including NHL 16 and NBA Live 16 but everyone looks forward to Madden every year. And with this year’s emphasis on the receiver and making dynamic offensive plays, Madden NFL 16 should be a high-powered masterpiece. While more information about Madden NFL 16 will come throughout the Summer, Amazon’s listing for the game detailed some new features:

 

The importance EA places on NFL 16 Ultimate Team is evidenced through their pushing of the mode through pre-order incentives and special editions. This year the pre-order bonus for the standard edition of Madden is $15 worth of Madden NFL 16 Ultimate Team packs. There's also the $70 "Deluxe Edition" which includes $50 worth of Ultimate Team packs, and the $100 (possibly digital only) "Super Deluxe" version which may feature well over $100 worth of packs. For a more authentic experience, potential draft picks will now have Combine stats from six events: 40-yard Dash, Vertical Jump, Broad Jump, 3 Cone, 20-yard Shuttle, and Bench Press. These results can be seen without spending any Scouting Points. In the actual draft, you'll get immediate feedback on the player you drafted, including a look at the player's attributes and where he was ranked.

 

Upon unlocking your starter NFL 16 team, your captain provides some starting chemistry, which can be selected in the starting lineup. You can review your rating in team chemistry by selecting that tile on the lineup panel. Scroll left and right to see your totals in all the different chemistries. Your team begins with one available chemistry slot, and you can choose any of the eight available types. When your OVR gets to 85, you’ll receive a second slot, allowing you to experiment with different combinations of chemistry. You’ll want to maximize the chemistries that complement your play style. The best compliment I can give the skills trainer is that after spending a few hours being taught a new sport, I could not only play competently (albeit at the rookie difficulty) but I actually enjoyed it.

 

There are plenty of player cards to chase after, as well as sets to collect and trades to make with other users, should you have one Peyton Manning too many. However, there's more to Ultimate Team than you might expect, so let's review what changes went into this year's edition. First off, Best Line-Up is somewhat different. Before, you were limited to players on active duty, as you couldn't set up those who were on the reserve roster. This time around, however, the sky's the limit, as you can now view your entire list of players, including active and reserves, to set up your essential list. After an explanation of a concept the skills trainer then lets you practice your newly acquired skill a few times before getting you to run some drills. These normally involve you trying to complete the given task against AI opponents. The defensive part of the skills trainer is one of the standout sections of the entire game.

 

Madden NFL 16’s creators have jiggled things about and front and center of the new version is the Skills Trainer. Not only does the new and improved skills trainer teach old hands the new controls for passing and tackling and such but it is excellent at explaining the game of American Football to novices of the sport. The knowledge of American Football this reviewer had was that a game is split into four quarters; an offensive side gets four chances to move the ball ten yards and if they succeed they get to try again until they muck it up or score a touchdown. It turns out that this was more than enough. The rules of the real game are combined with the controls of the video game well enough to give you an understanding of the sport. It not only introduces the new plays available but explains what they are designed to do and how to spot them when they are being used against you. Madden NFL 16 has avoided the trap of treating players either like seasoned pros or complete idiots when explaining new mechanics.

 

Included in the skills trainer are tutorials on all of your new moves on defense. No longer will you get tied up by a blocker if you can master these skills. Finesse moves can have you shedding blockers like a bad habit, and have you putting the hurt on QB’s all day. Timing your jump off of the snap is key to getting that initial move down, and if you do it right, you can steer that blocker out of your way or into the RB’s running lane. Either way, it will help you to be better at your position, whether it be a LB, OLB, or even a DT.