Introduced by Robert Flores, host of ESPN 2’s Fantasy Football Now, EA Sports provided fans with a glimpse into the new Draft Champions feature and a number of gameplay changes that have been made to Madden NFL 16 at their E3 2015 press conference.
Kicking off proceedings was a detailed reveal of how the new Draft Champions feature actually works. Accommodating that fantasy pick itch that many sports fans have, Draft Champions allows gridiron aficionados to select fantasy draft picks from a ton of NFL players all with accurate stats, and pooled from a range of both current and legendary players.
Here, Madden players can pick three players from each round of the draft and pit them against other draft picks in solo or online multiplayer matches. Designed to be both easily accessible and quick to finish, Draft Champions allows players to either spend a few minutes or a whole evening indulging their fantasy picks and testing their mettle against the opposition.
Beyond the new Draft Champions system, EA Sports has done a great deal of work on the fundamentals of Madden NFL 16. By far the most significant is the passing system, which for this year’s game has been completely overhauled.
Here, Quarterbacks can now do a much wider range of throws than ever before. High throws can be executed to cover a significant amount of distance, while low throws can be employed to stymie close or mid-range defenders who might attempt an intercept.
Receivers have also been hugely tweaked as they now have a trio of different catches that can be performed depending on the circumstances. A Possession Catch allows the receiver to grip onto the ball at the expense of distance, while the Run-After-Catch allows additional yards to be scored and finally the Aggressive Catch prevents the receiver from losing possession immediately if close to opposing players.
Finally, Defenders may now play the role receiver and rather than being just a passive role as in years past, can now perform active interceptions of the ball.
Madden NFL 16 is set to release for PS4 on August 25.