EA Access through Xbox One is one of the best values in all of gaming, and that's especially true for sports fans. The $30 annual (or $5 monthly) subscription service includes every EA Sports game to date on the console (other than the recent "Rory McIlroy PGA Tour") plus other EA titles such as "Titanfall," "Battlefield 4," "Need for Speed Rivals" and "Dragon Age: Inquisition."
One of the other main perks of the service is the pre-release play time granted for the soon-to-go-out games. One of those began today for "Madden NFL 16."
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Subscribers to EA Access get 10 full hours with "Madden NFL 16," which doesn't officially release until August 25. Those who decide to purchase the game will be able to continue any progress made during the trial period. Given that there is no demo for the game, the play time represents the only opportunity to try it out prior to its release.
Among the new additions to this year's Madden is Draft Champions , a new mode that borrows some concepts from the popular Ultimate Team mode, but removes the long term commitment while giving people a chance to choose what players will be on their team for a series of games — before having to redraft and start the process again. Arguably the biggest on-field improvement will be the battle between receivers and defenders for the ball when it's in the air, with new controls for making a play available to both offensive and defensive players.
EA Access is available only on Xbox One — Sony has not allowed it on PlayStation 4. It also will feature early play time for upcoming games "NHL 16," "FIFA 16" and "NBA Live 16." Subscribers can receive a 10 percent discount on any digital purchases made within EA games or on the digital downloads of the games themselves.
Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, has co-founded the new site HitThePass.com, is a regular participant in the Press Row Podcast, and can be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre.