Madden 16: Release-Date Info and Newest Features

The EA Sports development team approaches the Madden game with a new initiative every year.

For Madden 16, that initiative is called Air Supremacy. As usual, the directive hits on the most prominent aspect of the NFL at the moment. With high-powered passing offenses ruling the day, the passing game in Madden should allow gamers a similar amount of potential impact.

Here's the release-date information, and just below the table is a closer look at three of the game's most notable new features. The specifics on Air Supremacy are included in the first section.

You can see full breakdown at EA Sports.com.

Retail Date	EA Access Early Preview (Xbox One Only)	Platforms
Aug 25	Aug 20	PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

Be the Playmaker

Being the playmaker is a broad term as it pertains to this year's Madden. It covers a new handoff system that is said to "include all new fake handoffs for the Play Action game, which ties in perfectly for the shot plays," per Rex Dickson of EA Sports.

There's also the new quarterback locomotion that gives control to the way you transition from a pocket passer to rolling out or scrambling. 

Perhaps the biggest addition is the ability to change the type of catch your receiver makes. This is where Air Supremacy comes into play. In Madden 16, you'll be able to choose if the receiver is going to make a RAC (run after catch), possession catch or an aggressive catch.

All three have their own risks and rewards. For example, Dickson said this about the possession-catch mechanic: "They are most effective with the low-throw mechanic, and when thrown to slot/possession trait receivers. They come at the expense of RAC yards, as receivers frequently go down immediately after the catch." 

This should theoretically add a nice dose of realism to the passing game, but what about the defense?

That side of the ball has also seen some changes. Per Dickson, defenders can now choose to play the ball or the receiver. The right choice depends on the players being controlled, the trajectory of the ball and the placement on the field.

There are also new organic gang tackles. There's now no limit to the amount of defensive players that can team up to bring a runner down. We can only hope it looks as awesome as it sounds.

Playmaker Broadcast

Presentation isn't always the hallmark of an EA Sports game. Madden has suffered from a lack of personality in the past, but there are strides the brand is making to hopefully correct this issue. 

One specific area in need of improvement is the commentary and overall audio. Brian Murray of EA Sports talked about some the changes in this aspect of the game:

"

On the audio side, the team went to great lengths to ensure Madden NFL 16 is the best-sounding game in franchise history. The return of EA Trax allowed us to implement several new events to play in stadiums during games, and new IR Reverb tech gives each stadium a whole new feel.

"

That sounds interesting, but there isn't much of a reference to how the team improved the actual in-game commentary. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms were decent in Madden 15, but there needs to be more variety. Perhaps that's something we'll see moving forward.

For now, the majority of the presentation improvements seems to be on the visual side. The game will feature new monoliths for statistical presentation and on-field cameras. This is something that isn't in the NFL, but from a video game standpoint, it could provide some cool angles—especially if you switch to that camera during an instant replay.

Draft Champions

New game modes are always exciting to learn about. EA Sports is hoping fans take a liking to its newest way to play Madden. It's called Draft Champions, and it blends fantasy football elements with traditional Madden gameplay. 

EA Sports wrote: "Draft night is the best part of Fantasy Football. The goal of Draft Champions was giving players draft night over and over again."

In DC, you start off picking one of three coaches. In each draft, the coaches will be different. Limiting the choices to three is designed to speed up the process. The coaches determine the playbooks your team will run.

The squad you have listed as your favorite team determines the uniform. From there, a basic team is generated with low-rated players. You then have the opportunity to determine which positions to upgrade with better players. That's where the drafting comes in.

Every draft is different. You may have one with a ton of great receivers and another with elite defensive linemen. It'll be up to you to pick which positions are the most important to your team.

Once you have your team, you're ready to take on CPU-controlled teams or go online to play head-to-head with other Draft Champions players. The object is to win four games in a row to become the Draft Champions king. 

This could be a nice option for gamers looking to simply play through a mode over and over again that offers pace and structure. It sounds good, but check back on Aug. 25 for a complete review of Madden 16.

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Images provided by EA Sports.

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