''Madden NFL 17'' is an American football sports video game based on the National Football League and published by EA Sports for the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360. As the 28th installment of the '' Madden NFL series'', the game was released on August 23, 2016 and features

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

tight end Rob Gronkowski on the cover. It was the last ''Madden NFL'' game to be developed for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are based on '' Madden NFL 25''.

Development

On May 12, 2016, EA Sports uploaded a trailer to YouTube. They also revealed the new features that were added to the game, which includes an upgrade of the Ground Game, a redesigned and better Franchise Mode, "Madden 365", a new Ball Carrier UI Prompts help teach moves available to you, while the new Path Assist helps you navigate and anticipate down field and more. They have also announced that they would hire new announcers, Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis.

Cover athlete

EA decided not to allow Madden players to vote for the ''Madden NFL 17'' cover athlete, announcing it on May 12, 2016 via the ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...

'' Twitter account. After losing the '' Madden NFL 16'' cover vote to

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.,

tight end Rob Gronkowski was announced as the cover athlete of ''Madden NFL 17''.

Features

''Madden NFL 17'' has developed a new ground game mechanic that provide players a more balanced experience. In addition to this, the new defensive AI puts players' teammates into positions to stop the run or pass game. Features such as Ultimate Team and Franchise mode will make a return, however, many of their features have been revamped and upgraded.

Soundtrack

On August 3, 2016, EA Sports announced the soundtrack for the game, which would feature 40 songs, including

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (or Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, al ...

, Flume,

Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki (, ; born November 30, 1977), best known as Steve Aoki, is an American DJ, record producer, music programmer, and record executive.

, Logic, Blake Shelton,

Brantley Gilbert Brantley Keith Gilbert (born January 20, 1985) is an American country rock singer, songwriter and record producer from Jefferson, Georgia. He was originally signed to Colt Ford's label, Average Joes Entertainment, where he released ''Modern Day ...

, Bishop Briggs,

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (, ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 breakout single " Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital dow ...

, Flux Pavilion, Pusha T and Lil' Wayne. The soundtrack was also made available for streaming on Spotify. The original score of '' Madden NFL 15'' also returns in game and can be played through EA Trax.

Reception

According to review aggregator Metacritic, ''Madden NFL 17'' received generally favorable reviews. IGN awarded the game an 8.6/10, praising the improved franchise mode and defense, but were disappointed in the game's commentary.

GamesRadar ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...

gave it 4/5, saying: "With major changes to some of the game’s core mechanics, and an impressive revamp of the now marquee Franchise Mode, ''Madden 17'' has done its best to avoid ccusations of phoning it in and failing to make significant progress and succeeded." According to the NPD Group, ''Madden NFL 17'' was the best-selling retail game in the US in its month of release, but its launch month sales failed to surpass that of its predecessor, '' Madden NFL 16''.

References

{{Portal bar, American football, Video games, border=no 2016 video games EA Sports games Madden NFL PlayStation 3 games PlayStation 4 games Video games developed in the United States Video games set in the United States Xbox 360 games Xbox One games Video games set in 2016