Madden NFL Mobile
| Madden NFL Mobile | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | EA Tiburon |
| Publisher(s) | EA Sports |
| Series | Madden NFL |
| Platform(s) |
Android iOS |
| Release date(s) | August 26, 2014 |
| Genre(s) | Sports |
Madden NFL Mobile is an American football sports video game based on the National Football League and published by EA Sports. Part of the Madden NFL series, the game was released for both iOS and Android platforms on August 26, 2014.
Gameplay
Madden NFL Mobile is essentially the mobile version of Madden Ultimate Team (MUT), with features like players and cards being available. To earn these, players participate in "Live Events", which can earn them card packs and coins. Another mode that is available is "Season", which allows players to play a full 16-game season, which extends to the Super Bowl.[1] Being a freemium game, players can spend real-life money to purchase packs and "Bundles" that include a certain number of packs and a topper of an item. The game is also level-based, and featured like certain plays are restricted until one reaches a certain level.[2] There is also another mode labeled "Leagues" where players may join or create a "league" alongside other players that face in Tournaments against other leagues, offering a chat box, goals with rewards such as players and packs, and the ability for players to send other players within the league packs.
The game itself features standard football rules, such as scoring mechanics including touchdowns, field goals, and safeties. It also features real plays categorized as "long passes", "short passes", and "run" plays for the offense; "man coverage", "zone coverage", and "blitz" plays for the defense. It also features four special plays available at any point including punts, field goals, quarterback kneels and spikes. There are also up to four different styles for kickoffs, kick returns, punt, and punt returns (left, right, middle, duplicates, onside kicks, etc.)
The game is connectable with Facebook to allow for more social features, though players can also create anonymous accounts.
Season
Players may participate in a series of 16 regular season games before advancing to the post-season. During these games, the player competes against real players as characters matching their real team. If the player wins at least 8 games in the regular season (which increases to 9 after several seasons), they advance to the post-season, where they play a divisional game against a divisonal rival and the conference championship game, before making it to the Super Bowl. The player may lose any games in the first sixteen games, but in the final three they automatically end their season (as the real post-season is the same.) During these games, the player may stumble across Spontaneous Challenges, granting them 1-3 NFL Moments cards which can be used in a set. They can also play as a receiver or blocker (exclusive to Season mode, and rarely in Live Events).
Live Events
Live Events is a game mode in which players may participate in live events. Some could cost as low as 3 stamina, or as much as 10 stamina. Completing these events earn the player rewards, such as card packs, coins, and experience points. There are two daily events, one titled Scrimmage and the other Daily Warmup. Completing Scrimmage will earn the player a random scrimmage set player/collectible alongside a single gameplan set collectible (useful for the weekly Gameplan set), and the Scrimmage event occurs more than once a day, and could be completed more than once throughout the day. The Daily Warmup awards a single Daily Warmup and could only be completed once. Other challenges include Game Changers, Free Agents, Veterans, Road to the Ring, Domination, and more. There are also seasonal live events for things such as Black Friday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas as well as Super Bowl and Playoff Recap events.
Head to Head
Head to Head is a social mode in which players may compete against other players in a turn-based style, with up to 6 regular drives (more in overtime.) A player may compete playing one drive, then allowing the opponent to play one. A player's drive ends in a turnover (interception/4th down/fumble), touchdown, field goal, or safety.
Leagues
Joining a League will give the player user interaction to other players inside the game. In a league one can match each other in a head-to-head match for bragging rights. There are League Tournaments that a league can play in as a team: all players participating in the tournament will have three drives to score as high as possible against another league. Winning the tournament will give the player three League-vs.-League collectibles; if it ends in a draw, one will get two collectibles, while losing will earn only one. These collectibles are used in the League-vs.-League set which guarantees a couple of gold players, silver players, and one League master collectible, which can be used for a 99 overall Madden Mobile Master Odell Beckham, Jr. There are also League achievements in the categories of rushing, passing, and season wins that unlock a 99 overall Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice, and Devin Hester respectively. Finally, there are League Championships, in which players compete against each other in a championship tournament that will rank them based on their performances in the tournament.
Sets
Players can complete sets to get coins or players for their team. Sets require different amounts trophies or players from the 4 tiers (bronze, silver, gold, elite). Some sets also require collectibles that can be acquired from packs or by completing various live events. There are many different types of sets which organized into categories that can lead to special players, trophies, or collectibles. Examples include the Captains and Road to the Playoffs sets, one for each team in the NFL and 32 in total for each. Completion of these sets gives the gamer an elite player from that team that contributed to the teams success in the year before (Captain) or the first half of the season (Road to the Playoffs). Other sets include NFL Domination which guarantees the player a 99 OVR Richard Sherman (2014–15) or a 99 OVR Rob Gronkowski (2015–16) if they beat several live events, and Road to the Ring sets which grant them different Road to the Ring edition elite players if they collect Super Bowl ring collectibles.
Some sets such as the weekly NFL Gameplan are timed sets that require to be completed within a certain amount of time (displayed when played), while others may be done at any time. Some sets are seasonal, based on holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, or NFL events like the combine and draft.
Auction House
The Auction House is a place where players may bid/buy cards sold by other players. Bidding allows the player to bid slowly against others with a slightly lower chance of winning the item. Buying the item allows the player to immediately end the bidding process and earn the item for the amount bought for. The player may not buy the item if the buy price is less than the bidding price.
Packs
Packs are another key element to the game. Players can purchase various packs in the Store for 7,500-200,000 coins or numerous amounts of in-game cash. There are many different packs available for different times and lengths. Some packs such as the Pro Pack is available 24/7, while others (such as Super Bowl) are available for a few days. Packs could include rare collectibles, bronze to elite players, etc. and vary value.
Cover athletes
The cover athlete corresponds with the winner of the Madden NFL cover vote. For the 2014 NFL season, star Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman was the cover athlete for the game. In 2015, he was replaced by New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for the 2015 NFL season. The cover athlete for the 2016 NFL season is not yet announced.
| Season | Player | Date Announced | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Richard Sherman (American football) | N/A | First player to be on cover of game. |
| 2015 | Odell Beckham Jr. | N/A | |
| 2016 | TBA | N/A | Not yet announced; updated. |
Launch
2015 season
The game received a soft launch on the Canadian App Store on August 12, 2014.[3]
On August 26, the game was officially launched on the iOS App Store and on Android's Google Play, the same day that Madden NFL 15 was released on console. On August 17, 2015, the Mobile servers were shut down in order to prepare for the new and upcoming season.
2016 season
On August 21, 2015, four days before Madden NFL 16 was released, a mandatory update was released and required to play the game for the new season.
References
- ↑ Williams, Katie (August 11, 2014). "MADDEN MOBILE ANNOUNCED FOR IOS AND ANDROID". IGN. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
- ↑ Grundman, Blake (August 26, 2014). "Madden NFL Mobile Review". 148 Apps. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
- ↑ Nelson, Jared (August 12, 2014). "'Madden NFL Mobile' Soft-Launches in Canada, and Yeah, It's a Free to Play Game". TouchArcade. Retrieved November 11, 2015.