'Madden 18' Gameplay: First Story Mode Features College Teams
In a very rare chance, Electronic Arts was finally able to incorporate college football teams into the "Madden" franchise.
"Madden" is EA's line of simulated video games licensed by the members of the National Football League to feature real-life teams and players.
The first-ever story mode for the Madden franchise arrives in "Madden 18" and is called Longshot. It will feature the story of a protagonist named Devin Wade who is a college football player who has lost his way and is trying to make a comeback, eventually making it big again.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The inclusion of college teams in the simulation game is a special milestone considering what happened to the defunct "NCAA Football," an EA project that was dropped in the previous years.
Polygon recalled that despite EA's persistence and efforts to follow NCAA's policies to make the "NCAA Football" video game happen, the organization remained hesitant in giving EA the permission to make it actually happen.
However, with the addition of the Longshot story mode in "Madden 18," it seems EA is on a mission. As the game's executive producer Seann Graddy told Polygon: "Authenticity was important to the story ... so having a team Texas actually played during the year that our story is set in made sense."
Graddy also told the publication that if ever the University of Texas did not agree to be part of "Madden 18's" Longshot, they are going to woo other Texas college teams. That goes to show how committed EA was in making their vision happen for Longshot.
"Devin's high school career is even more central to the story we are telling, and the heart of high school football is in Texas," Graddy added.
Apart from the University of Texas, EA was also able to get a "Yes" from the University of Oregon to include the school's football program in telling the story of Devin in Longshot.
"We're excited that we were able to include two great schools like the University of Texas and the University of Oregon," said Graddy.
"Madden 18" is slated to release on Friday, Aug. 25.
