The Game Times: News on the Madden 25 Demo, NHL 14 Gameplay, and EA vs. the NCAA

A week's worth of video game news and trailers, all in convenient digest form. Get Your Hands on Madden NFL 25* With the holiday launch of the PlayStation 4

A week's worth of video game news and trailers, all in convenient digest form.

Get Your Hands on Madden NFL 25*

With the holiday launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One creeping ever closer, EA has finally decided to bring out its big guns—the first playable demo of Madden NFL 25 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. As EA Sports itself stated in a press release, "the Madden demo includes two playable features, as well as two never-before-seen videos," all in anticipation of the game's full release come August 27th. Topping the list of features is the game's Skills Trainer, a first for the Madden franchise, which offers Precision Modified Running, Total Control Passing, The Option, and Ball Hawk as its four introductory drills.

Beyond that, the demo comes prepackaged with two new Play Now scenarios, which pit two rival teams against one another in a full-fledged Madden showdown. In this case, the included opponents are the 49ers and Ravens (the Super Bowl XLVII pairing) and the Seahawks and Packers (the replacement ref Hail Mary touchdown pairing). Gamers who download the demo will also get access to two videos: A recap of Madden Ultimate Team and, better still, details on the game's Owner Mode—which allows you to take control of an entire franchise—featuring Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

*Figuratively speaking. It's a download.

Game News

• Hulk Hogan and The Rock are back in the spotlight for WWE 2K14, though this time around they're pals.
• An ESPN survey shows that college football players expect compensation for having their likeness used in games like NCAA. 
• Virtuix Omni has taken mobile gaming to a new level with its gaming treadmill. That's all.
• Former MLB ace Curt Schilling opened up to the Boston Globe about how affected he was, both mentally and physically, by the failure of 38 Studios.

NHL 14 Shows Off Its Dynamic New Gameplay Sports game developers are understandably hell-bent on raising the standard for realism, and the power of next-gen consoles is letting them do just that. As OperationSports reports, NHL 14's newest gameplay trailer showcases improved goalie collision, enhanced incidental contact, and a stricter (and more accurate) system of penalties.

EA Loses More Licenses Just one month after the NCAA confirmed that it would no longer be licensing with EA Sports, the SEC and Big Ten have now severed ties with the developer as well. As ESPN reports, the SEC has stated that "neither the SEC, its member universities, nor the NCAA have ever licensed the right to use the name or likeness of any student to EA Sports." The statement should be taken with a grain of salt, however, as recent updates have shown that the terminated partnership will not necessarily eliminate all SEC elements from NCAA games:

Clarification: Actual SEC LOGO won't be in EA game. Source says no SEC school has decided to drop out of college football game.

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) August 14, 2013

The Section with the Trailers

"Live the Life" Trailer Provides A New Glimpse At NHL 14

The First Look at 2013 FIA World Rally Championship

Final Boss

An update on 2K Sports has revealed that, in response to the runaway success of WWE 2K13's Attitude Era mode (which allowed players to reenact iconic WWE moments), the next WWE game will include a full 30 years of playable WWE history. What's that mean? This guy.