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In my experience, there are two kinds of Madden players; those who take control of the players and those who don’t. While a majority of players fall into the first category, there is still sizeable group of players who would rather just play coach. With the upcoming NFL Head Coach, EA Sports is looking to give these players the opportunity to not only play coach, but take care of all of the little things that go along with it.
Unlike other management sims, NFL Head Coach places more emphasis on watching the game rather than simply going through pages of text. The game features two modes, Coach Now and Career. Coach Now is akin to a Quick Play game in Madden, while Career has you creating a coach and guiding his career to the top.
Coach creation allows you to customize your coach’s look as well as deciding attributes, namely his coaching style. From there you’ll interview with a team by answering questions about game situations. Your answers to these questions probably won’t cost you the position, but they will tie into your attributes. Eventually you’ll be offered a position by a team. From there you’ll have to meet the owner’s expectations as well as those of the fans.
Once in the position, you’ll also have to deal with the daily rigors of the job. You’ll have to address your team’s weaknesses through trades and free agency as well as through the NFL draft. You’ll also have to hold practices and regular team meetings -– all building up to opening day.
In-game, your duties will involve calling plays. Once the ball is snapped, the players will do their own thing. Unlike Madden, player attributes are set in ranges rather than as one number. At times during a game, players won’t play up to their potential, at which point you’ll be able to discuss a situation with a player or give them a motivation speech (or chewing out depending on the situation).
NFL Head Coach will not only let you compete against the A.I., but you’ll also be able to take on a friend to see who is the best coach. You’ll also be able to import your team into Madden.
NFL Head Coach is not a wholly original concept, but it is an interesting direction for EA. Look for NFL Head Coach this June. |
