Madden 18: Expert Review Scores and Fan Reaction

EA Sports' release of Madden 18 isn't officially scheduled until Friday, but fans are already building their dynasties thanks to the pre-ordered "G.O.A.T. edition" being made available on Wednesday. 

If you saw the trailer for the 29th iteration of the Madden NFL franchise, you already knew that Madden 18 would differ significantly from its predecessors, starting with the graphics:

This iteration is the first in the Madden NFL series to use the Frostbite Engine, and the already-stellar graphics have improved as a result. 

But the end of the trailer is what really piqued fans' attention: a preview of the new story mode, Longshot. 

There are other new features to experience in Madden 18, from Target Passing (throwing to any spot on the field at any time) to choosing from among three new play styles. 

We'll take a look at what experts around the Internet thought of Madden's new engine and story mode, as well as examine early fan reaction to the game that's earned a score of 83 on Metacritic. 

Expert Review Scores

Alex Newhouse, GameSpot: 9/10

Newhouse had high praise for Longshot and the realism of the Frostbite engine, but, like many other reviewers, he was frustrated when the commentators continually discussed events that had taken place in past games.

"Overall, Madden 18 marks an unusually large shakeup in a series that, due to its annualized releases, rarely features much more than small, iterative changes. The Frostbite engine allows the game to reach new levels of realism in its visuals, and EA has put a lot of effort into constantly evolving the game to keep it in line with real-world events. But it is the Longshot story mode that defines Madden 18."

Matthew Kato, gameinformer: 8.25/10

Kato titled his review "Madden 18: A Tale of Two Halves." While he appreciated what Longshot brings to the series, he found some of the improvements and features in Ultimate Team to be bloated. He also would have liked more improvements made to native modes and features.

"Madden 18 is missing a host of fixes, wishlist staples, and improvements, but it doesn't have to appease to have worth. It captures the joy that I find in playing video game football even after all these years. That's not just a love of the sport with a license slapped on it; it's the continuing refinement of gameplay and modes that still has the ability to surprise and excite."

Owen S. Good, Polygon: 8.0/10.0

Good acknowledged that Longshot may provide a good entry point to the series for newcomers, but that it might not be overly impressive to longtime game players who are looking for upgraded visuals and a better playing experience. 

"Madden NFL 18 places its bets on a tried-and-true tale more than changes to gameplay or new layers in the career suite, and Longshot may not impress more worldly people."

Bradley Russell, gamesradar: 3.5/5

Russell, like most reviewers, was disappointed with the lack of major improvements in Madden 18, saying that it "feels like Madden 17.5 (for better or worse)."

"Madden 18 will divide opinion among fans of the long-running football franchise. Longshot mode, essentially a fully-stocked story mode, is a much-needed welcome addition—with a genuinely interesting narrative to boot—but, away from the flagship feature, the changes are mostly skin-deep."

Fan Reaction 

Though Madden 18 earned a critic score of 83 on Metacritic, users were less kind, arriving at a score of 7.3 out of 10 as of Thursday. 

"The graphics are nice and the commentary is good, but other than that this game is average at best," said user Lauthier. 

Turning to Twitter, the MMQB's John DePetro provided a nice breakdown of the game's newest features:

Buffalo Bills linebacker Lorenzo Alexander is excited to finally be able to play the game with his son:

Twitter users Tyler Tirella and Seth Hurley had high praise for Longshot:

And, finally, Sean was no doubt disappointed to discover that Madden 18 is the first game in the series not to be made available for Xbox 360:

Overall, fans seemed to be impressed with Longshot and were quick to call it the best story mode in the sports game landscape, but they were also frustrated that some of the existing issues with franchise mode and commentary were not addressed.

Fans were left hoping that if developers' attention on Madden 18 was spent mainly on Longshot and the new engine that the next installment in the series could improve some of the native features. 

Madden 18 specs and information via EA Sports unless otherwise noted.