Madden 22 is just over a month away, and many fans have high hopes for the single-player story and campaign mode Face of the Franchise.
While not always a favorite in recent years, EA Sports has revealed new details about Face of the Franchise in Madden 22 that could make it better than ever before.
Madden 22 reveals new features for single-player story mode
Face of the Franchise is not a new game mode for Madden 22, as the single-player story mode has been in the series before.
However, this year's Face of the Franchise: United We Rise is looking to bring things into a whole new era with a flurry of new features and changes compared to previous games.
Following their release of the Face of the Franchise trailer a few days ago, EA Sports revealed new Gridiron Notes on Face of the Franchise, and we'll look at some of this year's most important features that could make or break the often criticized experience.
Road to the Draft kicks off Face of the Franchise
The story will begin in Road to the Draft, and opening section of Face of the Franchise where you'll go through a series of scenarios and challenges on your road to the 2021 NFL Draft.
Some of these can include participating in the College Football Playoff, NFL team interviews, private workouts with certain teams, and even making decisions like choosing between attending a charity game or a Nike sponsored exhibition match.
These potential choices tie right into this year's new Season Engine, something that Franchise Mode is also getting in Madden 22.
The new Season Engine will introduce new challenges and side activities each week, aiming to keep the experience fresh and unique as Face of the Franchise continues.
They've also taken a cue from MLB The Show 21's Road to the Show and added podcast segments, with over 70+ this year including interviews, mic'd up clips, opinions, trivia, and other story beats that will be influenced by your performance and choices in Face of the Franchise.
The Rich Eisen Show will feature during Road to the Draft, with fictional podcast The Nia Polanco Show, featuring new characters Kevin Connors and Nia Polanco as hosts, taking over once you're in the NFL.
The full cast for Face of the Franchise is as follows, but they're only listed by character name and we don't yet have details on the actors who played these characters:
- Alexandra Bishop - Defensive Coordinator
- Manny Kahue - Offensive Coordinator
- Nia Polanco - Podcast Host
- Ethan Rhodes - NFL Analyst
- Brandon Yung - Nike Trainer
- Jordan Wright - Agent/Close Friend
- Alonzo "Zo" Aiden - Brand Manager/Close Friend
- Carter Landry - Mentor/NFL Teammate
In addition to these flurry of upgrades throughout the story itself in Face of the Franchise, the primary campaign and RPG element of the mode is also getting a facelift.
Class Progression & The Yard
In an all-new addition that we didn't see last year, Madden 22 introduces a Class Progression System that offers players the opportunity to choose from a variety of classes.
These options are linked to position, and what you can choose while depend on whether you make your player a quarterback, wide receiver, running back, or linebacker.
Being able to play as a linebacker in Madden 22 marks the first time the option has been available to play a defensive position in Face of the Franchise.
While there may be additional classes that have not yet been revealed, these are the ones we know bout so far:
- The General (Quarterback)
- The Magician (Quarterback)
- Lightspeed (Quarterback)
- Moonshot (Wide Receiver)
- Pathfinder (Wide Receiver)
- Lycky 7's (Wide Reciever)
- It's probably Lucky, but they put Lycky in the trailer
- The Shadow (Halfback)
- Juggernaut (Halfback)
- Double Agent (Halfback)
- Hawk (Linebacker)
- Infiltrator (Linebacker)
In addition to these new features factoring into Face of the Franchise, they'll also be completely linked with The Yard, and players will experience unified progression and rewards when playing either game mode.
To pair with all of these new features, they've also dropped in a new Career Hub that should help streamline and amplify the experience that is Face of the Franchise: United We Rise in Madden 22.