Madden 15: Release Date, Top NFL Player Ratings and Most Intriguing New Features

The Madden video game series is one of the most popular in history, and this year’s edition, Madden NFL 15, will be released on Aug. 26 in North America and Aug. 29 internationally.

Hardcore football fans and gamers are ready to witness the upgrades and changes that will come with EA Sports’ second release on the next-generation consoles. The graphics will be better, but many are also hoping for major improvements with gameplay.

Here is the full list of top player ratings and the most intriguing new features.

Top Quarterbacks	Team	Rating
Top Fullbacks	Team	Rating
Top Running Backs	Team	Rating
Top Tight Ends	Team	Rating
Top Wide Receivers	Team	Rating
Top Offensive Linemen	Team	Rating
Top Defensive Ends	Team	Rating
Top Defensive Tackles	Team	Rating
Top Middle Linebackers	Team	Rating
Top Outside Linebackers	Team	Rating
Top Cornerbacks	Team	Rating
Top Free Safeties	Team	Rating
Top Strong Safeties	Team	Rating
Top Kickers and Punters	Team	Rating
Peyton Manning	Denver Broncos	98
Aaron Rodgers	Green Bay Packers	98
Drew Brees	New Orleans Saints	96
Russell Wilson	Seattle Seahawks	93
Tom Brady	New England Patriots	93
John Kuhn	Green Bay Packers	93
Mike Tolbert	Carolina Panthers	92
Marcel Reece	Oakland Raiders	92
Anthony Sherman	Kansas City Chiefs	90
Jerome Felton	Minnesota Vikings	88
Adrian Peterson	Minnesota Vikings	98
LeSean McCoy	Philadelphia Eagles	97
Jamaal Charles	Kansas City Chiefs	97
Matt Forte	Chicago Bears	95
Marshawn Lynch	Seattle Seahawks	95
Jimmy Graham	New Orleans Saints	97
Rob Gronkowski	New England Patriots	96
Vernon Davis	San Francisco 49ers	94
Jason Witten	Dallas Cowboys	93
Greg Olsen	Carolina Panthers	88
Calvin Johnson	Detroit Lions	99
Brandon Marshall	Chicago Bears	96
Andre Johnson	Houston Texans	95
A.J. Green	Cincinnati Bengals	95
Dez Bryant	Dallas Cowboys	94
Joe Thomas	Cleveland Browns	98
Evan Mathis	Philadelphia Eagles	97
Josh Sitton	Green Bay Packers	97
Trent Williams	Washington	95
Joe Staley	San Francisco 49ers	94
J.J. Watt	Houston Texans	99
Robert Quinn	St. Louis Rams	97
Cameron Wake	Miami Dolphins	96
Calais Campbell	Arizona Cardinals	96
Cameron Jordan	New Orleans Saints	93
Muhammad Wilkerson	New York Jets	93
Ndamukong Suh	Detroit Lions	97
Geno Atkins	Cincinnati Bengals	96
Gerald McCoy	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	95
Kyle Williams	Buffalo Bills	95
Jurrell Casey	Tennessee Titans	93
Patrick Willis	San Francisco 49ers	96
NaVorro Bowman	San Francisco 49ers	96
Luke Kuechly	Carolina Panthers	94
Derrick Johnson	Kansas City Chiefs	91
Jerod Mayo	New England Patriots	91
Von Miller	Denver Broncos	96
Aldon Smith	San Francisco 49ers	96
Justin Houston	Kansas City Chiefs	93
Lavonte David	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	93
Robert Mathis	Indianapolis Colts	93
Richard Sherman	Seattle Seahawks	99
Darrelle Revis	New England Patriots	97
Joe Haden	Cleveland Browns	95
Patrick Peterson	Arizona Cardinals	93
Vontae Davis	Indianapolis Colts	92
Jairus Byrd	New Orleans Saints	96
Earl Thomas	Seattle Seahawks	95
Devin McCourty	New England Patriots	94
Eric Weddle	San Diego Chargers	94
Charles Woodson	Oakland Raiders	86
Kam Chancellor	Seattle Seahawks	93
Troy Polamalu	Pittsburgh Steelers	93
T.J. Ward	Denver Broncos	91
Eric Berry	Kansas City Chiefs	90
Reshad Jones	Miami Dolphins	89
Brandon Fields	Miami Dolphins	96
Matt Prater	Denver Broncos	95
Andy Lee	San Francisco 49ers	95
Robbie Gould	Chicago Bears	93
Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens	93

Most Intriguing New Features

Many jaded video game fans will claim that the latest edition of Madden is nothing more than a glorified roster update, but those people are flat-out wrong. Madden NFL 15 is a huge upgrade from last year’s game and will satisfy even the hardest-to-please gamers.

EA Sports has made major upgrades over the last year.

One of the biggest upgrades comes in the play-calling aspect of the game. Instead of the normal "Ask Madden" option, gamers will be given several options that consider the down and the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses. Using the success rates of other players and keeping track of how many times a play is used by an individual gamer, you will be able to spot trends and look to mix up the plays to keep defenses honest.

The new play-calling techniques also have the option to bunch plays by concept. If your team has a speedy back who likes finding open space, there will be a set of plays built to stretch defenses wide and opens up wider running lanes on the outside.

Another major upgrade comes along the defensive line. While many fans of Madden consider those who use the defensive line when playing novices, that isn’t the case anywhere with the War in the Trenches 2.0 improvements.

With each player along the line possessing certain talents, gamers will now be able to utilize the bull rush for powerful tackles or spin moves for ends with more finesse. Just like real football, Madden games can be won or lost in the trenches, meaning fans can now impact the play of the offensive and defensive lines more than ever.

The most important upgrade came to the tackling mechanics.

For years, there have been complaints about tackling in the Madden series. The introduction of the "Hit Stick" revolutionized the way gamers view playing defense, but the game has been changed again with the tackle cone. Instead of needing to make contact before initiating a tackle in the game, any player within the tackle cone for a user-control player is in range.

Madden developers have also done a nice job eliminating most of the complete missed tackles based on mistimed moves. Watching a defender fall down because of a premature button press was a sobering experience, but this year’s game puts the focus more on which tackle to use and less on the timing.

All of the changes and upgrades EA Sports has made sound like what the fans have been calling for over the years. With the excitement building as the release date approaches, gamers and football fans are ready for Madden NFL 15.

*Stats and information via EASports.com.

Follow @Donald_Wood