Madden NFL 18

 PlayStation 4
User Score
3.5

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 164 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 164
  2. Mixed: 29 out of 164
  3. Negative: 99 out of 164
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  1. Hughishness
    Aug 27, 2017
    5
    Are you desperate for more realistic shadows and overall better looking aesthetics and a roster update? If yes then you can probably be forgiven for shelling out 60 for the game. I'll preface by stating I've never been an online player in any way, so this could definitely void the review for some which is understandable. Now on to my review of Single player career...it's the same, almostAre you desperate for more realistic shadows and overall better looking aesthetics and a roster update? If yes then you can probably be forgiven for shelling out 60 for the game. I'll preface by stating I've never been an online player in any way, so this could definitely void the review for some which is understandable. Now on to my review of Single player career...it's the same, almost literally the same. I don't care about MUT. I don't care about your ham handed soap opera. I want to move a team and design every aspect of the move I want to design a stadium. I want chemistry to effect team play. The draft is still good but you nailed that last year. We do this song and dance every year. Little by little you add features that were in previous seasons iterations and by the end of a console's life cycle it's a fully fleshed out game. Meanwhile, on the new console it's like a demo offered at full price with slightly better graphics. I've bought the last 3 copies of Madden consecutively and I'm going to have to take pause before I buy another, some changes need to be addressed with Career Mode because it's becoming fairly stagnant at this point.… Expand
  2. Lauthier
    Aug 22, 2017
    6
    The graphics are nice and the commentary is good, but other than that, this game is average at best. I understand they moved to the FrostBite engine this year and they added the Long Shot mode (Story Mode) but it's just lacking. I found myself becoming increasingly more frustrated by not actually being able to play. The whole mode is constant cut scenes with a minor amount of actual gameThe graphics are nice and the commentary is good, but other than that, this game is average at best. I understand they moved to the FrostBite engine this year and they added the Long Shot mode (Story Mode) but it's just lacking. I found myself becoming increasingly more frustrated by not actually being able to play. The whole mode is constant cut scenes with a minor amount of actual game play. I am over half way through the mode and have played two games so far. The rest of the time you essentially watch a movie and you have to press the button quickly on quick time events. The worst part of this mode is you don't even actually make it to the NFL. Really EA? You don't even get to the NFL? So disappointing. And then there is CFM. I am a huge Franchise guy and I love taking my team from nothing to the Super Bowl. That is the primary reason I have purchased every Madden every year since Madden 2003. But the only new addition to CFM this year has been a draft board. I like the draft board, but how is it that the Madden community is still pining for features that we had over TEN YEARS AGO???!!! This is ridiculous! My hope is that this year they were unable to make a bunch of changes because they were forced to switch over to the FrostBite engine and they were forced to put in a story mode, so hopefully next year we can see a bunch of the improvements we want to see.… Expand
  3. PlayorNaygames
    Aug 23, 2017
    5
    I've played NCAA or Madden just about every year since Madden '01. I've seen many of the changes and retracting those changes and then implementing the old as new again. So is Madden. This is one of the worst Maddens in recent years for Franchise mode. Please keep in mind I only play franchise mode offline, so my review is tailored to that. PS4 Pro is my console.

    -The new Frostbyte    I've played NCAA or Madden just about every year since Madden '01. I've seen many of the changes and retracting those changes and then implementing the old as new again. So is Madden. This is one of the worst Maddens in recent years for Franchise mode. Please keep in mind I only play franchise mode offline, so my review is tailored to that. PS4 Pro is my console.

    -The new Frostbyte engine sucks. To, me I can really only tell a difference in the lighting, not much else. In exchange for that, we get MAJOR performance issues, and again this is on the PS4 Pro. The game will randomly freeze for a few seconds during a play, which is game-breaking to me. Needs hotifixing immediately. This happens fairly often and is very frustrating.

    -The Frostbyte engine may also be responsible for funky animations this year. I'm encountering more scenarios this year where what happened on the field does not match what happened under the hood.

    -Not much new in Franchise mode this year. Some minor things like auto-scouting college prospects and regression have been added back. Owner mode is in dire need of an update. For example, the Bears have a trainer whose regression trait is "bad". Why wouldn't I fire him immediately like in the real NFL? Why are there no coaches other than head coach? Why is the owner mode the same as it has been for 15 years, whereas NBA 2k owner mode is much more robust?

    -Even more commentary said out of context than last year. I'm not sure if the move to the new engine caused this or what. Not very much new commentary either.

    -No notification in game who was injured. Commentators oblivious to this. Injury notifaction has been in past Maddens, not sure why it's not it's not implemented in this year's version.

    -Halftime show/post game wrap up is still poor compared to 2K sports games and real NFL broadcasts.

    -Legacy bugs were not fixed, like your depth chart rearranging from the the splash screen still does not stick.

    -Run game is undertuned on the inside and off tackle. Over-tuned run plays on the outside for some plays, broken on others (again). I don't know if this is because the game expects you to use more play maker moves and less follow your blocks or what, but it doesn't feel good unless I use only "cheese" runs with base slider settings.

    The good:

    -Kicking/Punting has been made harder this year. If you go outside the limits of the meter, expect an auto-shank at 50+ yards, a needed change.

    -Pass interference is called at a more realistic rate, while holding and illegal block in the back calls are slightly less frequent.

    -Away from the ball injuries are now actually possible in game and do happen, just like standard injuries.

    -QB accuracy has been reduced on the medium-low end. I was playing as the Bears rookie QB and 1/4 passes were just complete ducks that were uncatchable balls, some lead to interceptions. More RNG interceptions are not fun, especially since you have limited control over it. Granted, the animations are quite over-exaggerated so it makes your QB look like a wild-armed pitcher sometimes.

    -Still a solid game of football and the only NFL one out there.    … Expand
  4. keanex
    Feb 13, 2018
    5
    This is a review only concerning the Longshot mode and I'll keep it short and simple. Longshot mode has a cliche, though enjoyable story with some moments that tug at emotions. The mini-games and scenarios are okay, but sometimes a chore to get through. Dialog choices and scouting report are almost entirely meaningless, do whatever you want.

    What I can't get over is how awful the    This is a review only concerning the Longshot mode and I'll keep it short and simple. Longshot mode has a cliche, though enjoyable story with some moments that tug at emotions. The mini-games and scenarios are okay, but sometimes a chore to get through. Dialog choices and scouting report are almost entirely meaningless, do whatever you want.

    What I can't get over is how awful the animations and models are. EA should be ashamed of themselves, it looks janky as it gets.    … Expand
  5. leechapman265
    Sep 21, 2017
    5
    This is such a disappointing year for Madden and it pains me to say that. I've only played Madden since 2012 but I love the NFL and had fallen in love with this franchise. I get Madden every year along with my friends and we play online together in Connected Franchise mode. Usually, we can't stop playing when the new edition is released but this year's edition feels half-finished, withThis is such a disappointing year for Madden and it pains me to say that. I've only played Madden since 2012 but I love the NFL and had fallen in love with this franchise. I get Madden every year along with my friends and we play online together in Connected Franchise mode. Usually, we can't stop playing when the new edition is released but this year's edition feels half-finished, with lots of bugs and way too many gameplay issues for me to list. The biggest problem is that it just feels like last years game, with the addition of Long Shot (which I thought was ok). The whole "improved presentation" thing is good for trailers but adding some templated team entrances and wide shots of stadiums isn't enough. There's no real leap forward this year, nothing to make loyal players think "yeah I spent £50 on something worthwhile". All of the presentation issues can be forgiven had they revamped the tired Franchise Mode and improved on the gameplay, but instead, EA has regressed in both areas. Sadly I think my love for Madden has ended.… Expand
  6. Bassmurderer1
    Aug 25, 2017
    5
    I dated a cheerleader in High School, it was exactly what I supposed to do in my small town, I was a team captain linebacker, and she was a cheer captain. She was pretty hot, and I felt cool showing up to dances and parties with her. The problem was I was getting bored, and I wanted to get out of town after school to experience life. She never really did anything wrong, but she didn’tI dated a cheerleader in High School, it was exactly what I supposed to do in my small town, I was a team captain linebacker, and she was a cheer captain. She was pretty hot, and I felt cool showing up to dances and parties with her. The problem was I was getting bored, and I wanted to get out of town after school to experience life. She never really did anything wrong, but she didn’t get my sense of humor, and she just wanted to stay safe, she wasn’t adventurous or particularly ambitious. So I started to be a little bit mean to her and complain about her flaws but of course as is the case with most of us she couldn’t fix them.
    The summer after we graduated I told her I wanted to take a “break” while I went on a road trip to see the coast before going to college. When I got back, I found out she had been working out hard all summer (I said she was getting thick during the mean phase). She was looking amazingly great, and she had covered my bed with little presents and put a couple twelve packs of Miller High Life (my beer of choice then don’t judge) under my bed. So once again I felt obliged to go out with her, at first it was cool, spending my last couple weeks in town showing off how good my girl looked. The problem was that it was just more of the same, sure getting little presents was nice, and her attempts to keep me were admirable, but she just couldn’t understand that I wanted a more intellectually stimulating relationship. So despite severe heartbreak and a storm of small town rumor mill hassle, I broke it off with her.
    Madden 18 is my high school cheerleader girlfriend, after last year I said I need a break. However, the end of summer rolled around and like the football player is supposed to date the cheerleader, the football fan is supposed to play Madden. The game is smoking hot, until you realize that the complaints just hurt their feelings but didn’t enact change. EA just watched MTV and saw what other girls/games did to keep their boyfriends and mimicked it. They didn’t do anything exactly wrong, but they just didn’t understand that we are at the point where we want something more intellectually stimulating. We want our complaints to induce real change not motivate a purchase of more make-up.
    Madden 18 is beautiful, but you will feel de ja vu and a sense of displeasure when you open CFM. My girl gave me a big box of sour patch kids EA gave us a draft board. Time for a break.

    BTW be careful what you wish for, I wanted a girl who could make me laugh, now all I get from my wife are jokes about my bald spot, my limp and the time I did a S*&* job launching the boat.    … Expand
  7. samster
    Feb 26, 2018
    7
    This was a great madden. Longshot is amazing and the graphics are spot on. However, the referees are still awful and getting a call overturned by challenging is like 1:1000000. Also, not enough things to do and the franchise is still not at its full potential.

    Graphics: 4.5/5
    Gameplay: 4.5/5
    Things to do: 3/5
    Flexibility: 3/5
  8. thelizardprince
    Oct 11, 2017
    7
    Madden for me has been pretty fun but one major thing that bugs me is the random crashes that happen while im in the middle of a game. I understand that the game is still fairly new but I mean this is something that continues to happen and hasnt been fixed yet, it bums me out because overall i genuinely enjoy the Madden franchise.

Awards & Rankings

46
#46 Best PS4 Game of 2017
60
#60 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017
54
#54 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 40
  3. Negative: 0 out of 40
  1. Worth Playing
    Oct 5, 2017
    85
    The Madden series is iconic in the world of sports gaming. Regardless of your reason for playing, you can't go wrong with Madden NFL 18 because it's the ultimate NFL simulation experience on the market. This year's iteration brings dramatic changes in the form of an interactive movie, but there's something here for everyone, whether the interest is in MyTeam, online play, the MUT system, the competitive scene and community, or the superstar career mode.
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  2. Areajugones
    Sep 12, 2017
    90
    Madden 18 is the best installment of the series in the last years. Very solid and with stunning graphics thanks to the Frostbite engine. Great both for the veterans of the genre and for the newcomers.
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  3. Impulsegamer
    Sep 11, 2017
    78
    This year in Madden they really stepped up their game, ‘Long Shot’ is one of the best things Madden players have seen in a while, and many players wanted it. ‘Long Shot’ had its many faults but going forward in the next few Madden’s the Career Mode will get better and it will be more interesting. Lovers of Madden should get this game because it has many new additions. If you haven’t got a Madden in a while it’s a good idea to get this one. But all together, Madden 18 is a good game with many new perks, and it’s headed in the right direction.
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