Madden NFL 18

Longshot plot

Devin's performance attracts TV producers Ross Fountain and Julia Vasco, who want him to star in a series called Longshot, following a player with low odds of making the NFL, with help from host coach Jack Ford. Devin and Colt leave without answering. On the drive home, Devin recalls his successful high school career and his struggles at the University of Texas, which he left after four games following his father's death in a car accident. Ross arranges for three other quarterbacks to compete on the show.

Ross schedules an exhibition game in two weeks. Colt, invited to the NFL Super Regional Combine, joins the show to help. At a press conference, Devin's confidence is shaken by questions about his disappearance after Texas. Devin asks to postpone the game, but Ross and Julia are fired.

Devin and Colt drive home. In Texas, Colt confronts Devin about quitting. Devin works at a friend's construction business. At a high school football ceremony, Colt makes amends. Julia visits and convinces them to rejoin the show.

Development

EA Sports selected and announced Tom Brady as the cover athlete in May 2017, without an open vote. The game was released on August 25, 2017, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It was the first Madden not released on Xbox 360 since Madden NFL 06 and the first not on PlayStation 3 since Madden NFL 07. The soundtrack includes 40 songs by artists such as Stormzy, Kendrick Lamar, Big Sean, Imagine Dragons, Steve Aoki, Waka Flocka Flame, Pharrell Williams, Snoop Dogg, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, Big Boi, Killer Mike, and ASAP Rocky.

The original score from Madden NFL 13 by Colin O'Malley is playable via EA Trax. Written by EA Sports creative director Mike Young, Longshot is split into three acts. Young described it as a "playable movie" rather than a career mode with cutscenes. Motion capture was used on actors.

Devin is portrayed by JR Lemon, a former Stanford Cardinal football player and Oakland Raider. Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali plays Devin's father Cutter. Colt is played by Scott Porter. Ross and Julia are portrayed by Ricky Wayne and Marem Hassler.

Rus Blackwell plays Jack. Bill Cowher was originally considered for Jack's role. Former players Marino, Chad Johnson, and Larry English appear. Nate Boyer, a U.S. Army soldier and former Texas Longhorns long snapper, appears as Captain McCarthy.

Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan appear as live action analysts, and players Kirk Cousins and Josh Norman appear in Twitter videos.

Reception

Critics generally liked Madden NFL 18 on both Xbox One and PS4, according to Metacritic, but users were less kind. The new Longshot mode split opinions: some praised its story as a game-changer, while others saw it as an ambitious disappointment with too little actual football. IGN scored it 8.6/10, saying the Frostbite engine didn't do much for gameplay but Longshot was memorable. EGMNow gave it a 7/10, noting Longshot shines but new gameplay additions miss the mark, making the rest feel like last year's game. Polygon placed it 49th on its 50 best games of 2017 list. It won Game Informer's Best Fantasy Team Mode award and was nominated for Best Music Supervision at the Guild of Music Supervisors Awards and Sports Game of the Year at the 21st D.I.C.E. Awards. Longshot itself earned a nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing at the Writers Guild of America Awards 2017.