Madden 19: Release Date, Top Player Ratings, New Features, Preview and More

If football is your virtual sport of choice, then congratulations are in order—the biggest holiday on your gaming calendar is quickly approaching.

As an added bonus, it's arriving even earlier than usual. Madden 19 hits shelves August 10, but those who spring for the Hall of Fame edition can grab their copies August 7.

No matter when you plan to celebrate Madden Day, just know the new version is packed with enough goodies to keep you entertained for the foreseeable future.

Top Player Ratings

As much as modern sports fans love ratings of all types, those assessed in the Madden realm hold a special kind of significance. They not only spawn the enthusiastic debates typical of any ranking, they give boosts to the virtual versions of the real gridiron stars.

As any seasoned ranker can attest, it's always best to start at the top. Seven different players earned the coveted distinction of a 99 rating, only two of whom share a position.

• Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
• Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Aaron Donald, RE, Los Angeles Rams
• Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots
• Luke Kuechly, MLB, Carolina Panthers
• Von Miller, LOLB, Denver Broncos
• Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers

Brown, this year's cover athlete (for the standard version; Terrell Owens fronts the Hall of Fame edition), displayed some delicious custom "Madden 99 Club" cleats:

"It's an honor," Brown told Bleacher Report's Tyler Conway in July. "Not only to be in the 99 Club with some elite guys but to be on the cover along with that. Finding out that news was extremely exciting, it made me feel good. ... I'm inspired, not only business is booming, but it feels great that other people recognize me as one of the greatest players in the NFL."

While the full list of ratings can be found at EASports.com, perhaps the greatest focus for the initial batch comes from how Madden views the NFL's newest batch of rookies. Indianapolis Colts offensive lineman Quenton Nelson—the sixth overall pick—paces the freshmen with an 83 overall. Ratings for each of the top 10 picks are listed below by their selection order.

• 1. Baker Mayfield, QB, Cleveland Browns—81
• 2. Saquon Barkley, HB, New York Giants—82
• 3. Sam Darnold, QB, New York Jets—75
• 4. Denzel Ward, CB, Cleveland Browns—80
• 5. Bradley Chubb, RE, Denver Broncos—80
• 6. Quenton Nelson, LG, Indianapolis Colts—83
• 7. Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills—74
• 8. Roquan Smith, MLB, Chicago Bears—81
• 9. Mike McGlinchey, RT, San Francisco 49ers—78
• 10. Josh Rosen, QB, Arizona Cardinals—78

Remember, though, these rankings are fluid and get updated based on performance. Still, it's interesting to see where all the players sit ahead of the games that actually matter.

New Features

Given how advanced gaming systems are at this point, graphics seems like a somewhat silly place to start when discussing new additions. Adding an extra coat of paint to an existing masterpiece can only add so much, right?

Maybe not.

"I feel confident in saying: Madden NFL 19 is the best-looking sports video game I've ever played," Brian Mazique wrote for Forbes.com. "...I'm telling you, the players and objects in this game are rendered so nicely, it's hard not to recognize the quality. You can take almost any screenshot, zoomed in or out, and marvel at the level of detail in almost every aspect of this virtual world."

Aesthetics aside, gamers will also have plenty of new features at their disposal.

Madden 19 uses EA Sports' Real Player Motion technology, which the company dubbed "a new animation system that delivers our most responsive and fluid gameplay ever."

Ballcarriers will be granted "one-cut" moves, allowing them to stop on a dime and explode through changes of direction that should have defenders looking silly and crowds "oohing" and "aahing." Players can also "push the pile" or push blockers where they want them to go rather than have to run around them.

The Longshot story mode is back for gamers to delve further into the personal journeys of Devin Wade and Colt Cruise. Madden Ultimate Team has seen the player upgrade feature streamlined and added Solo Battles, offline challenges with the CPU that have an online element in that the rosters are comprised of other gamers' Ultimate Team clubs.

Squads are back in Ultimate Team, but with the ability to play games against the CPU. This is not only a way to earn virtual coin, it's also a chance for squads to practice against the CPU before going live versus other gamers.

The last two additions we'll touch on are overdue but certainly welcomed: a return to the PC and custom draft classes. The latter not only gives gamers some much-needed creative control, it could also extend the playability of franchise mode.

Preview

While gamers should know better than to expect perfection from any title, it sounds like there's plenty more to like than dislike with Madden 19.

The visuals alone should be stunning right out of the gate. The enhancements to Ultimate Team and Connected Franchise Mode will both breathe new life into what were already wildly entertaining modes. If Real Player Motion delivers on its promise, gamers should have even greater control of their virtual ballers. And those who appreciated the depth of Longshot will be glad to dig deeper into those stories.

If you've been an avid Madden player for years, you'll have more than enough reason to keep rolling with the franchise. And if you haven't picked up the sticks in a while, you'll be thrilled to see how far virtual football has come.

Unless otherwise mentioned, information obtained via EASports.com.