Madden 20: Analyzing Player Ratings, New Features and Ultimate Team

Madden 20, the latest installment in the juggernaut EA Sports franchise, livened up the quiet summer stretch surrounding the NFL by unveiling its launch player ratings for all 32 teams. 

The ultimate conversation starter and subject of seemingly endless debates, the ratings themselves should easily keep things interesting right until the game's official Aug. 2 launch date. 

And while the ratings are a fun topic—only four players earned the fabled 99, for example—it shouldn't overshadow some of the major improvements and changes the team at EA Sports has weaved into this latest release. 

As the last few releases have shown quite well, Madden 20 won't simply be a roster update. 

Player Ratings

Madden sure knows how to keep the conversation interesting. 

When it comes to player ratings, it is clear the behind-the-scenes process continues to evolve in an effort to get the sport's digital representation as close as possible to the real-life product. 

Andre Weingarten, the associate franchise and gameplay designer, spoke with Complex's Zach Frydenlund about the effort to split players into tiers: 

"So we did a rating stretch overall this year where we separated out the elite players from the rest of the players to really make them stand out. We basically clipped into tiers. You have your elite players, you have your good, very good guys, you have your league average solid guys and you have your low level starters, back ups, etc."

Given the split there, it isn't a surprise to only see four names hit 99 overall: 

• Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins
• Los Angeles Rams DL Aaron Donald
• Chicago Bears LB Khalil Mack
• Seattle Seahawks LB Bobby Wagner

In other words, the game's best wideout, pressure creator, linebacker and overall game-changing presence in the defensive trenches stand alone. 

It's hard to argue the point. NFL players had plenty of comments on the matter, though: 

As a whole, it's nice to see the true superstars separate themselves from the pack even more. Russell Wilson sitting on a 91 overall and Ben Roethlisberger at an 85, at least for now, seems like a fair balance based on how much the former has had to compensate for struggling pieces around him compared to the latter. 

Rest assured, fans will keep the debate alive for the foreseeable future. The nice thing about the ratings, though, is they will again be continually updated as the season progresses. For now, fans can find launch ratings for all 32 teams at the EA Sports website. 

New Features and Ultimate Team

Franchise: QB1 Career Campaign is one of the biggest new additions to the Madden series this year. 

And it is as simple as it sounds: Players are free to create their own custom quarterback and experience the draft process, from the combine right up to draft day and beyond. While it has been fun to play through detailed story modes for the past few years, EA Sports has clearly heard feedback that says players still want a dedicated way to insert themselves into the action. 

Painting in wider strokes, franchise mode itself is finally getting some attention again too with the return of the Pro Bowl and the continued expansion of Coach Mode. 

Perhaps more interesting than anything else is the implementation of the RPG-esque X-Factors system, explained well by senior gameplay designer Clint Oldenburg:

"Each of the 50 players will have a loadout of powerful abilities, including one Zone ability that can be unlocked during gameplay by completing an in-game objective tailored to that player. When the objective is achieved, they will enter the “zone” and have access to use their special ability until their opponent knocks them out of the zone with an objective of their own."

The premise is only 50 superstars in the NFL get these traits. These aren't just number boosts, either. Patrick Mahomes, as a brief example, can unlock the ability to have perfect accuracy on cross-body throws if he completes his objective. 

Then there is Ultimate Team. EA Sports has worked hard to make the mode deeper and more engaging each year to solid results. Madden 20 shouldn't be an exception here thanks to the addition of missions, which, at their most basic, are achievement-type goals based around the path a player is taking. The idea is a more focused experience on a per-player basis, so someone who has no interest in what they view as menial tasks can avoid them and get after the cards and style of binders they prefer. 

Ultimate Challenges also steps into place for Solo Challenges and the difficulty modifier based on the number of stars a player chooses has the aim of increasing replayability. 

Over the past few years, Madden has dialed in on an all-encompassing experience for every type of player. The objective now is making sure the depth is there to keep all sorts of players hooked, so it isn't hard to see why Madden 20 has so much hype around it as launch date nears.