Madden NFL 13

Blog Post: Madden 13 a beautiful addition to the sports franchise

Juanolo — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 22:54:00 GMT

Football. America's sport. You could say baseball used to be the king, but today, football owns the thrown. The closest thing of playing football without actually playing is Madden. This year's madden, madden 13, looks absolutely gorgeous, plays great, and stays alot the same. In many ways, that's a great thing.

As you've figure from my introduction, the game looks great. Each year looking better, and better. Madden 13 certainly sets the bar for best looking sports game. Controls are the same, and so is the gameplay. It's all a blast to play from create your own player, to just a game. One mode that they did cut(or so I think) is franchise mode. It was so much fun being the manager cutting and bidding on players, and they just got rid of it. Sad face. Finally, the sound is pretty good. The announcers are great, and the sounds across the whole field is well done.

Overall, Madden 13 is a great addition to the sports franchise. If your a football fan, let alone a SPORTS Fan, get this game. You won't be disappointed. Overall, I would give Madden 13 a

9.25 out of 10

Forum Post: Re: Madden 13 Sucks

stephon goosby — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 16:05:00 GMT

only thing i dont like bout madden is it dont have fanchise mode

Blog Post: Still Not Amazing but Pretty Darn Good

Kane Dragonheart — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 23:39:00 GMT

As a long time football fan I have always been more interested in college than pros but I still pick up Madden from time to time and this installment is pretty good. I think there are some questionable decisions that EA Sports made, removing the import draft class, but overall the game is still good. Now rather than saying good over and over again here is my break down of the game.

Game Play - 7.5/10

The new physics system in the game is great. I have noticed a few times it seemed like I was pulled into an animation but for the most part that will never happen. The hits look much more realistic now and there have been times I've jumped at how hard a hit is. That said it is still far from "real looking" in that players arms can bend in way that should break them and they don't even notice. Also after a play has ended the player trip over each other all of the time. This looks funny but it may bother those looking for a very realistic game.

The game also has poor zone coverage in my experience. There are to many open spaces and the players often times don't move out of their zone even if no one is around them or moving towards them. Man coverage however is really good in this game. The players will only make a play on the ball if they turn their head and see it which is a tremendous improvement from the sixth sense ninjas we had before. The wide receivers must also look for the ball to before catching it which has improved passing all around.

Finally the passing system has changed allowing for a bit more control than in past games. The downside is if you are anything like me you have gotten so used to the passing before you wont get much use at of the new system and when you try to use it you are likely to screw something up and throw a pick. This should happen less with more practice, I have already improved a lot, but it will be annoying at first.

One final thing is in my experience challenging a play will never work. I have challenged a few dozen plays and not once has a play been over turned and when going through the replays my self I know only two or three plays could have stood as called.

Sound 5/10

Well it is kind of nice to have the new announcers but we all know how repetitive they were before and this game is no exception. I like to run the football and each game I hear the line "it's all about winning the war upfront and you win the war by running the football..." at least three times a game, usually more. Other than that the usual issues are still there, you just barely get a first down they say that fourth down is coming up, the defense tackles you in the backfield it's all the halfbacks fault, a receiver makes a spectacular one handed catch will diving through the air into the end zone it is a great pass from the quarterback, and so on.

Now the reason I give sound a score of 5/10 rather than 1/10 is because all the other noise. It's the same P.A. that has been in the games for years but you don't fix what isn't broken right? The crowd noise is great, the stadium music is a cool addition, and the on field sound effects are still great. Overall if you turn down the two idiots it is kind of like going to a game in person and sitting in a luxury box, I guess; I have never got to sit in a luxury box but I imagine that is the closest the game gets.

Graphics 9.5/10

I'm an optimistic person so I'm holding the perfect 10/10 rating for when players can not reach through each other. Now the number of limbs popping through players is down dramatically, I would guess easily over 60% (maybe 90% if I'm feeling brave), but it does still happen occasionally. Overall the lighting system is solid, the players look great, stadiums look amazing, and the announcers are kind of creepy, EA was spot on for that last one. There isn't really much to say after that though, you will just have to see it for yourself to really decide if you like the graphics.

Presentation 8/10

The main menu is a little different but I think it is an improvement once you get used to it. Honestly though the main menu is just something to get in your way while you try to load up your connected career or ultimate team but that is the way it has always been. I don't play online so I can not say anything about the multi-player menus but if they are anything like to other menus they should be solid.

The connected careers menu is really good. The main page gives you headlines from the previous weeks games including big game scores, players of the week, non-PoW but guys who still had a great game, injuries, trades, re-signs, and the occasional mention of a solid player coming up in the draft. The fake Twitter feed is my personal favorite part of the menu. It is basically the same thing as the headlines but it is different NFL analysts "tweeting" them which is kind of fun.

You can then scroll through to the my career page which shows your legacy points, a scoring system to tell you how your career compares to the all time greats, as well as your experience points and some weekly goals. You can choose to view the milestone goals as well but for the most part they are basic things like gain 500 yards, 30 first downs, win three Super Bowls, and so on. Most of the time you can accomplish those goals with out even meaning too.

The next connected careers menu is is the weekly one, I don't remember it's name off the top of my head, but from it you can do your weekly practice, play your game for that week, scout players for the draft, and any re-sign or trade negotiations will appear here. When you accomplish different goals they also pop on this screen for you to see, as well as your ability to progress players.

Next they rest of the menus are condensed into on page with multiple things to access. You can view player/team statistics, depth chart, rosters, injury reports, trades, NFL records, players of the week, pro-bowl voting, yearly awards, and so on. It is a little cramped here but once you learn where everything is it you can zip through the different menus to find what you are looking for quickly and easily.

The biggest flaw is that an Offline career does not auto-save so if you accidentally back out to far you could lose a week or more.

Final Thoughts

Initially it may seem like a lot has changed but once you start exploring the game you'll realize everything is still there. The new announcer annoy me but I just tack that onto the realism because real life announcers annoy me. It is a solid game but I have played so many of EA Sports's football games I have very high expectations at this point and at best I can only give this game a 7.5/10 rating.

Blog Post: Madden 13 Wii U Impressions

Matthew Kato — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 16:23:00 GMT

Nintendo's next-gen console is here, but how does Madden NFL 13 on the system stack up to those on the current platforms?[Excerpt]

The fact that the Wii U released with games that were already released is a good and a bad thing. It's good that the system is supported out of the gate with marquee titles like Madden NFL 13, Mass Effect 3, and Batman: Arkham City. However, that's little solace if you've already played these titles.

The Wii U version of Madden 13 does has some exclusive features, but also drops some of those in the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions. Nintendo console owners finally get a full fledged football game that doesn't use finicky motion controls, but this game doesn't stack up to those versions on the other systems.

THE GAMEPAD

Selecting plays on the GamePad is attractive, but it isn't any more beneficial than the normal method. Its biggest – and perhaps only – advantage is the hot route creator, which lets you draw in routes on the GamePad for receivers while you're at the line of scrimmage. In my experience, the routes transfered pretty well into the game, with receivers following – for good or bad – what I had drawn. On defense, this translates into being able to set up specific coverages for your players, such as blitzing or dropping back into coverage.

Other than designing custom hot routes on the fly, the GamePad features three GameFlow suggestions, the option to call a timeout (you can also call one by hitting the select button), all the plays you've set up in your gameplan, and a full playbook. The GamePad only offers three GameFlow plays, while the other console editions let you cycle through more. Perusing through the full playbook or making substitutions can drain the play clock quickly, and a slight lag can slow you down even further, so beware taking a delay of game penalty. If you are always pressed for time, perhaps the best option is to go into the settings and select the conventional playcall style in the game options menu. This disables GameFlow and drops you right into the formation menu when calling plays.

Other GamePad particulars include the ability to call audibles and SuperSim plays from the screen. Formation, coverage, and line shifts must still be done with the traditional onscreen menu. I wish that EA Tiburon used the larger GamePad screen to present relevant info about the GameFlow plays other than just the play names, such as which formation they're from.

You can put the GamePad into Detached Mode, which allows you to play the full game just on the GamePad, but this must be done before a game starts. Madden NFL 13 supports the use of only one GamePad, although you can play head-to-head online with another person using a GamePad. The non-GamePad players in a local multiplayer session have to make due with using either a Pro Controller or the traditional Wii motion controller/nunchuk setup. This latter configuration does not use motion controls.

WHAT'S MISSING?

Many gamers might find the GamePad alluring, but don't forget that this version of the game is also missing some key features. Immediately noticeable is that the gameplay does not utilize EA Tiburon's Infinity physics engine, which is included in the PS3 and Xbox 360 editions. Although the engine on those platforms still needs work, the fact it isn't here means that the title on Wii U feels like Madden NFL 12. The Ultimate Team and Online Team Play features are also missing, although Connected Careers and online franchises remain.

When playing the game, you'll also notice that the graphics are decent, but they lack the high sheen of the other systems. Unfortunately, the frame rate is simply bad.

Finally, various online amenities such as text chat and the ability to send game invites to friends who aren't playing the game at that exact moment are missing. These omissions put the system behind the competition in Wii U's already lagging online feature set.

Wiki: Madden NFL 13 Guides

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 03:14:00 GMT

Guides for Madden NFL 13

Blog: Madden NFL 13 - Wii U

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 20:56:00 GMT

Blog Post: The Worst Game I've Ever Bought

Willroast — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 17:59:00 GMT

If I were able to, I would give this game a Zero. Madden 13 is easily, by FAR, the worst game I have ever had the misfortune of purchasing. The only silver lining is that I only wasted $30 (instead of $60) because I split the cost with a friend. The game is literally unplayable in my opinion. I'll list some of the many shortcomings of this game-

1- NO FANTASY DRAFT. Every year since at least 2002, my friends and I have looked forward to getting together to start our franchises against each other and try to take our teams to the Superbowl. The most entertaining part of this whole process has always been a complete 32 team fantasy draft including all of the players. I'm not talking about making unbeatable cheat teams but rather a fair draft of 50+ rounds. The strategy involved was deep since you had to decide when to fill positions, consider player age, and decide what your priorities were if you wanted to have any chance of being able to compete with the other teams. Well, there is no fantasy draft in this game. I feel that it was completely irresponsible that none of the reviews that I read (including HERE at GI) included this huge bit of information. I am shocked that Game Informer dropped the ball so egregiously here.(Edited To Add- well, it looks like the braintrust at Madden at least listened to some of the complains about this stinker of a game- They just announced that they will be patching in the Fantasy Draft sometime tomorrow. Now I would give this game a 1.25 instead of the original .25)

2- Almost ZERO 2 player play unless you play online with 2 games (NEW games NOT used since EA forces you to have a 1-use code to get online because EA is that greedy), 2 360's, 2 TVs, and so on. You literally can ONLY play one-off exhibition games if you want to play with friends on the couch. Considering that the basic tenant of sports games has always been the ability to play the game against friends LOCALLY, I am amazed that EA completely cut it out of the game. The only reason that I can see for them doing this is the obvious money grab to force people to buy multiple non-used copies of the game. This is another terrible oversite looked over in all of the garbage positive reviews, including here at GI. It's almost like these people are on the EA payroll not mentioning such HUGE omissions from the game!

3- Cartoony graphics that are a HUGE step back from the last few years' games. NOTHING about this game looks real; From the terrible tackling animations that look like the players never actually touch, to the ridiculously long and unrealistic end of tackle animations where the players needlessly stumble all over each other after the play, to the choppy motion. This highly-touted Infinity engine is complete garbage. The in-game play looks like last-gen stuff.

4- Broken gameplay. I have never seen so many running backs trip before contact or duck their head before contact in a game. In previous Madden games, when something like this happened, you knew it was because you accidentally pushed the wrong button, but in this game, it happens all the time even when you know that you didn't even try to push any buttons at all. Also, as expected, defensive secondary have eyes in the back of their heads and can jump as high as a house.

5- It's needlessly complicated. Much like the generally disliked Madden 2004, this game tries to turn football into an RPG. While the gaining and spending of experience points does sound fun from the outside, the actual implementation is awful. Since each and every player on your 53-man squad earns XP at their own pace, if you really want to control player progression, you will have to go through every single player every single week. This is absolutely unessessary. Yes you can let the computer do this stuff for you, but we all know that letting the computer make decisions like this in a Madden game is a bad idea. Simply going back to Madden 07-09 would be a much better move than trying to turn 13 into a RPG rip-off.

I really could go on, but my venom has died down a bit so I'll stop. the bottom line is that this is far and away the worst game that I have ever purchased and I was sorely disappointed to find out that even 30 minutes after purchase, I could not return it even though the lack of a real offline 2 player mode, fantasy draft, and regressing feature set clearly is a case of false advertising. Shame on Game Informer for whitewashing their review and neglecting to mention the glaring ugly negatives involved in this game.

Forum Post: Re: Game-breakers for Madden 13

thomblaylock — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:56:00 GMT

I couldn't agree more with Blake. I like to build theme teams: no one over 250 pounds; only people who spent time in prison; all missionaries; no one over 6 feet tall; only people from New York; etc. Sometimes you end up with Tim Tebow as your left Tackle. I just finished a 6-5 and taller season. I wanted to do it in Madden 13 with Brook Osweiler and the rest of the crew. Seriously try to find a serviceable HB to use with these rules, but it's fun as hell to really have the New York Giants. EF YU Looman for ditching the most fun part of the game for me.

Blog Post: Ea is Ike and im Tina Turner

shadowBack — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 02:29:00 GMT

I notice GI only reviewed the game for xbox. Way to let me down. The ps3 version is riddled with glitches. In career mode if you play on all pro 80% of all punts will only go 15 yards even when the kick meter reads perfect. Theres a problem with the computer registering when a player steps out or is tackled out of bounds so it keeps the clock running. Ive noticed this more than a handful of times. There has also been three separate times ive sacked the QB and he fumbles but the computer refuses to acknowledge he fumbled and stops all players on the field like it was an incomplete pass. O line blocking is a joke. More times than not your blocker will not even attempt to block a defender, instead he will stumble toward the center of the field. Corner backs and linebackers have psychic abilities on the all pro setting jumping routes while the ai for your receiver isnt given these abilities thus he doesnt fight for the ball. If you switch to an easier setting like pro you can burn the computer every time. So im either winning in pro buy a score of 60 to 20 or im loosing in all pro 60 to 40. Id hate to see the underhanded cheats in all madden.

With all these problems i cant stop playing because when you do make that great pass and catch or that long TD run its very satisfying. The physics engine makes you want to watch every replay until youve got about 15 hours of playtime clocked in then you realize the replays cant be turned off [at least i havnt figured out how to]. These replays happen after 90% of all plays and they have some what decent camera angles problem is their cut into two or three sections making it very disorienting. I wish they would keep one shot from hike to tackle and allow player control. The replays take 6 to 7 seconds before the computer gives you control again and theres no button that ive found that can bypass them from ever starting.

Presentation is decent but when you consider it still falls short in every aspect except graphic to 2k5 it makes me want to yell "F$$$ EA" at the top of my lungs. Think about it. 8 years latter and 2k5 still has better commentating an actual half time and post game show with highlights. Im serious when i say this, EA's lack of innovation seems criminal. Theres something monopolistically evil about the whole situation. Anyway.................

Ive played two games player vs player and didnt notice the punt or kicking issues so maybe its just single player. PLayer v player could be the saving grace for this game. But much like single player it takes a good 10+ hours to see if its glitchy or not.

Its such a shame that this game may make me stop playing football games all together. Its hard to go back to the out dated 2k games especially once youve had a taste of a decent physics engine. The control madden gives you over player stats and team rosters is done really well. Sad thing is im starting to enjoy that more than the actual gameplay. I havnt gone online yet because i like to practice in an offline career first but after all these glitches im scared to go online and loose because madden doent know how to punt.

I equate my relationship with madden and EA to that of Ike and Tina turner. EA is Ike and im Tina. Ever year madden beats me upside my head and wallet. But i love football and Ike is the only one that can give me that love. So I put makeup over my black eye and pretend like its all good. Until it happens again and i threaten to leave. So Ike says im sorry baby heres some physics for you we can work this out and like the week football lovin sucker that i am i give him one more chance. Well Ike i can do bad all by myself. FU$$ EA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blog Post: Hay you got your RPG in my Madden game

Stephen johnson — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 01:25:00 GMT

“I used to play NFL football but took an arrow in the knee.”

NFL Security Guard

Madden NFL 13 is here for its 23rd season and for a person that has been playing the game nonstop since it came out a 3.5 inch floppy disk I can say that this years game has had the most changes to it since Madden 2000 on the Playstaion.

The biggest change to the game is the Connected Careers mode, this menu replaces most of the other menus in the game and is your main jump off for starting both player and coaching careers.You can choose if you want to start as a player or coach and then go form there attempting to get your NFL avatar into the hall of fame. You get to pick from any active player or a few Hall of Fame players. Most of the Hall of Fame players and coaches are locked until September (ie DLC you will have to pay for) At first the menu seemed to have dumbed down every thing but after a wile I was able to see how it streamlined the process. One of the cooler features that they added was the chance to improve your player or coach with XP that could be earned during practice scenarios that start off on the easy side ie score a TD to the difficult such as winning a game being 21 down. This are not game scenarios they are generated for your team during practice. This now gives you a reason to hit the practice facility during the season instead of just occasionally using it to figure out the newest nano-blitz. This added depth also extends to the players on your team. The all have certain weekly and seasonal goals that they are trying to reach in order to get more XP to improve. So far most of them are just tried to the position that they play and if they are a starter or not. Some of the season goals are just silly like one wanted my rookie QB to throw for over 3800 yards.

The on the field action is almost the same as Madden 12 but you can see some of the new physics in this edition of Madden. The one thing that I saw happen most often was players attempting to just run right into there blocking offensive linemen would fall or be knocked off balance from the impact. I also noticed during defensive line play that I was better able to beat the block and get after the QB. Very little “suction” blocking during the pass rush. Like NCAA 13 Madden added the ability to have total control over the passing game. But unlike NCAA 13 if your player did not have the accuracy to pull off such a throw your QB would not be able to complete it every time.

The rooking scouting this year is much more involved, as every draft plays out differently you have to check out the news and notes of the upcoming players with your in game fake twitter feed so you can find out which college football players have the ability to make the jump to the NFL. Not every rookie drafted will turn out the same on every team as this years Madden takes into account what style of player they are and if they will fit your scheme. Don’t try to get a 3-4 DE to play DE in your 4-3 because his rating and production will not be the same.

I will have to stay everything about this years madden in not the best but this is the best madden on this console generation and they have added a ton of futures that make you feel like this game is your one stop shop for all things NFL and they will only add to it as the lines between console and TV blur. I have to say that the state of the Madden football is ok but like team loaded with young players the potential for better things seems to be a year or two away.

Blog Post: The "New" Madden 13

Coachscorner00 — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 20:44:00 GMT

My only issue with the new madden came because of NCAA 13. I understand that they are not the same game but they are attached at the hip. NCAA is the prequel to Madden. The big issue that I have is that they took away the best part of the last 4 madden games. Being able to save a draft class and add it to Madden. That hurts fans who look for a realistic connection in the game. Just like players who play fantasy games look for their games to be more realistic, we sports fans look for the same thing. Getting connected to a player in the college game and knowing that you will do everything in your power to draft that player and watch him develop is a big deal for hardcore fans. Losing this hurt the franchise as well as lost a few fans. I know that next year I wont be buying NCAA and I already cancelled my Madden Pre-Order.

This is a giant step backwards in my opinion and I hope more fans will agree.

Blog Post: Haven't played the game but...

D Noir — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 13:39:00 GMT

I haven't played the game and only wanted to leave a comment...apparently that isn't an option. But without playing the game I can tell you one problem right away: the review has four paragraphs on stuff happening off the field, one paragraph on the physics engine, and one on passing. There you have it. I don't play Madden to be a coach and I think all the off the field stuff is getting in the way of what the core of the game should be, a football game.

I know people are going to think I'm wrong and that being a coach, running your own team, etc. is a big part of the experience, but all that should be a supplement to what happens on the field. If the actual game of football isn't good, all the ability to pick the fastest water boy in the league won't get me to play it.

So, just to sum up, until Madden puts more focus on the game of football and less time worrying about the cost of hot dogs at the stadium, the game of Madden is going to suffer.

Blog Post: Madden 13 you've done it again!!

gregzoller90 — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 06:56:00 GMT

The game's flashy intro would have made more sense at the beginning of this current gen, we've seen the sparkle now we wanted substance from EA. The new equipment options for the players is the best I've seen ever, quarterbacks can finally wear jerseys that are true to form. There's a wider selection of cleats to be worn and the player models look fantastic. The commentators are second rate at best, ignoring what NBA 2K12 did last year and settling for a non-brand duo their interactions(between Simms and the other puppet) get old really fast. You can't edit players during career mode, and you can't load an edited roster to the mode. In fact the only place you can use edited rosters is in exhibition mode, I'm not complaining about ratings so much as the fact that if you want your player to look like his real life counterpart it can't be done. If a player sports one look week one and another in week twelve there's no way to mirror that in the game, the way the player looks in career mode year one that's the way he'll look in year eleven. The soundtrack has been a part of Madden that I've always looked forward to, this year there's no soundtrack other than a selection of generic unknown orchestrated tracks. I miss the NFL films tunes those would have fit so good, if they wanted to cut costs and not use licensed music they should have opted for them. In short the game is decent and not much more, it's like a water down demo or an unfinished product. It would be best if you guys buy the EA season pass this year and try out the sports games before going to the store and spending sixty dollars on an item that WILL disappoint you. The game is not suited for all players, specially if you are looking forward some of the parts that made this series half way enjoyable. It's disappointing to find out that after putting up with their short comings all these years they find new ways to let their consumers down, in this tough economy I won't be spending my money on Madden anymore.

Blog Post: Madden Turns The Corner

Matthew Kato — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 21:48:00 GMT

They say football is a game of inches, and this is true for Madden NFL 13. Fans judge the series by so many details that it’s hard to point to any one in particular that makes or breaks the game. This year’s title attempts to cover a lot of ground for the franchise, and the outcome is akin to a QB throwing for 400 yards and still not winning the game. A lot went right even if it wasn’t a resounding victory. In the case of Madden 13, there is such a thing as a moral victory.[Excerpt]

Connected Careers is a brilliant mode that in one fell swoop makes the online franchise feature set the same as the normal offline one, introduces XP to upgrade players and coaches, bolsters the stagnant Superstar mode (including being able to call your own plays), and injects year-round drama into your franchise.

The XP system is great because it lets you progress your players in the areas of your choosing (the CPU also does a decent job if you auto-upgrade), while also incorporating natural player progress/regression and rewarding great performances and hard work at practices. It’s a well-done system that invests you in your team in a way that makes sense. My criticism of the XP upgrades is that they could do a better job of letting coaches influence their team. Assistant coaches, coordinators, and training/scouting staffs would add an extra dimension to coaching.

EA Tiburon also overhauled scouting and free agency, with the former vastly improved from last year. I like being able to choose which attributes and traits to scout, and with the scouting upgrade (a must-buy) the draft actually functions. The entire draft process is fun because of the little surprises that pop up during scouting and Trey Wingo’s draft-day audio profiles on draftees. Maybe a potential draft pick goes back to college or drops due to character concerns. Stories like these and many more (in one playthrough, Kurt Warner came out of retirement) surface in a news hub that’s augmented by media tweets, and they add a texture to each season which has been missing in past franchise modes.

As much as I like Connected Careers, some things are missing or unnecessarily frustrating. The lack of an overarching calendar makes it hard to know how many scouting periods are left before the draft and how many times you can bid on players in free agency. Furthermore, you can’t see all of a player’s info when you try to sign or trade them, and other useful info is needlessly buried (although there is a SNAFU in the Team Needs screen that lets you see the actual overall ratings for some potential draft picks). Restricted free agents, variable contract structures, practice squads, and other franchise features are still absent. For some reason EA even removed the Combine and pro days.

If there’s one glaring mistake that brings Madden 13 down, it’s the new Infinity physics engine. It sometimes makes good on its intent to bring more realistic physics, varied hits, and multiple contact points on the body, but the effects of player collision are inconsistent. You never know if you’re going to unexpectedly trip during inside runs, and the new physics system can make players look sloppy, with arms flailing, legs buckling, and players flopping on the ground. The tackles sometimes feel pre-determined, and suction blocking and tackling still occurs.

The saving grace of the onfield experience is the new passing game. Similar to the host of improvements included in this year's NCAA, Madden's new passing game is a big boost and one that fixes the super-jumping linebackers of the past. It opens up the field to QBs, allowing them to pass to areas of the field that previously were off limits, but it's not too powerful. Although you can pick on defensive backs who don't see the ball (via the game's new head tracking), you have to be very careful not to throw an INT when you see a DB who is peeking in the backfield.

Both Madden 12 and Madden 13 are incomplete experiences, but in different ways. The former wasn’t a good game, whereas this year’s title introduces several aspects that need to be improved instead of scrapped. New passing gameplay similar to NCAA 13 opens up the field for QBs, and the XP system is a benchmark for the franchise. We haven’t seen the best Madden has to offer, but it’s a lot easier to rebuild when you have the right pieces in place.

ULTIMATE TEAM UPGRADE

The mode has improved in one key area: It's easier to get into in its beginning stages. You start out by choosing a team captain from your favorite team. This player is a bumped-down version of a real-life marquee player who serves as a cornerstone for your initial roster of third-stringers, and who also determines the home/away uniforms from your favorite team. This year's Ultimate Team also offers Solo Challenges that are bite-sized games against second-teamers that scale in difficulty. These give you a chance to bank some coins early on without having to play the Cleveland Browns 20 times just to buy your first card pack.

You are also aided by longer starting contracts for your initial players (up to 32 games), an increased reserve account of 900 cards, more card packs available (including pack bundles and individual cards), and over a dozen exclusive Ultimate Team legends that first must be earned in the mode before they can be brought into Connected Careers.

Here's some offensive footage with the new passing game, physics engine, commentary, etc.

[view:1803086999001]

You can also check out our strategy guide for Connected Careers.

Blog Post: Madden Turns The Corner

Matthew Kato — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 21:48:00 GMT

THE KINECT QB CADENCE

Surprise, surprise: Using the Kinect's voice feature to call out pre-snap commands only sort of works. The peripheral doesn't always register your voice, and this is very inconvenient when you're trying to set up hot routes, call audibles, send guys in motion, etc. before the play clock hits zero. It's even more annoying when you're on defense, and you don't know when your opponent is going to snap the ball.

When you're using the peripheral, the game throws up a handy shortcut menu with voice command suggestions at the bottom of the screen (including a gauge that tells you if you voice is registering), but this is the only time you can use the Kinect. So, if you're trying to call a timeout and the Kinect menu bar hasn't appeared, there's nothing you can do.

ULTIMATE TEAM UPGRADE

Here's some offensive footage with the new passing game, physics engine, commentary, etc.

[view:1803086999001]

You can also check out our strategy guide for Connected Careers.

Blog Post: Fixing Madden

Matthew Kato — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 22:33:00 GMT

Madden NFL 12 wasn't a great entry for the franchise, and a lot of work has to be done if this year's game is to repair the series reputation. We take a look at some of the things that need to change for this to happen and discuss how Madden NFL 13 is faring in these categories so far.[Excerpt]

Every year the team at EA Tiburon has to balance its development time between fixing old problems and introducing new features. Madden NFL 12 didn't do a great job of either, which means this year's game has a lot of work cut out for it.

Here we outline a few of the main things we want to see changed for Madden NFL 13 and discuss what we know about how the development team may address these issues.

GAMEPLAY

For years fans have wanted more realistic player motion and physics, including true gang tackles and fewer pre-determined outcomes.

Madden 13: This year's new Infinity physics engine endeavors to truly represent players' physical attributes correctly and the resulting outcomes – including multiple points of contact on the body for simultaneous impacts. In my hands-on preview time with the game, I noticed some cool big hits that were different from the pre-determined outcomes we've become used to, but I didn't perceive an overwhelming change.

We want to see the elimination of legacy issues from past Maddens like poor blocking, super jumping linebackers who automatically intercept passes over the middle, poor AI ball awareness, and ineffective defensive ends.

M13: The new ball trajectories and head tracking directly address the jumping linebackers, and hopefully EA has plans for the other legacy issues, too. In particular, the poor offensive line play needs to be addressed, which includes suction blocks and the AI's inability to consistently seal the edge on an outside running player or identify who to pick up on the second level. We'll have to wait until the review to fully understand how these issues have or have not been addressed.

This series' passing game needs an overhaul to account for secondary awareness, the aforementioned super jumping linebackers, fixing play-action plays, and to give the QB more passing lanes around the field.

M13: If the implementation of these features in NCAA is any indication, Madden 13's passing game will be much improved. Having said that, NCAA didn't fix past problems in both EA Sports' football titles like passive wide receivers and both receivers and defensive backs' inconsistant ability to go up for jump balls. Will Madden 13 fix these where NCAA did not?

The Gameflow feature was introduced in Madden 11 to streamline the playcalling process. While it did this by suggesting plays, last year's game didn't provide enough context like a play's formation.

M13: This has not been addressed in this year's title.

Special teams blocking needs a complete overhaul so there are more varied running lanes and outcomes.

M13: In the few special team situations I've faced in preview builds, I noticed better punt blocking in particular, and the result was a few extra yards in some returns as opposed to Madden NFL 12.

Read on for more areas Madden NFL 13 might be addressing.

[PageBreak]

PRESENTATION

The commentary has gotten stale, and it hasn't helped that EA Sports hasn't found a good play-by-play partner for color man Cris Collinsworth. Comments haven't always been timely or relevant.

M13: Adding Jim Nantz and color analyst Phil Simms is an upgrade no matter what. Although we'd like to hear what the duo say in the booth over the course of a full season, the commentary in Madden 13 is noticably better. It sounds more like the real TV broadcasts, the two announces have a good back and forth, and there isn't a lot of dead air.

ONLINE

Players have demanded a fully-featured online franchise mode for years.

M13: Online franchises get a huge boost with Connected Careers, which makes no distinction between your online and offline franchise. This is a night-and-day change for the mode from previous years.

FRANCHISE MODE

Madden 12's franchise mode was a bust primarily because of how scouting left you in the dark when it came to draft day. It also lacked restricted free agents, undrafted free agents, more varied contract structures, practice squads, and more.

M13: This year's game overhauls the scouting system entirely by letting you spend coaching XP during the season to scout players. You'll also receive a minimum amount of info on every player whether you scout them or not. Madden 13 includes undrafted free agents but not RFAs, practice squads, or different kinds of contracts like those which are back- or front-loaded. Also gone is the eBay-style free agency system in favor of a straightforward free agency period featuring multiple rounds where you can bid against other teams for players' services.

SUPERSTAR MODE

Since its inception, this player-focused mode has been largely neglected. The worst offender is the playcalling, which does not feed players good plays. This handcuffs any player who isn't the QB (who can audible out of those he doesn't like).

M13: Madden 13's Connected Careers subsumes the old Superstar mode within the traditional franchise structure, which at a minimum should add more structure and drama to playing as a player since you'll spend earned XP on upgrading your player.

Madden NFL 13 comes out for Xbox 360 and PS3 on August 28. Versions of the game will also appear on the Wii and Vita (Aug. 28) as well as a Wii U version that may be different than the PS3 and Xbox 360 editions.

Blog Post: Fixing Madden

Matthew Kato — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 21:37:00 GMT

Here we outline a few of the main things we want to see changed for Madden NFL 13 and discuss what we know about how the development team may address these issues.

GAMEPLAY

For years fans have wanted more realistic player motion and physics, including true gang tackles and fewer pre-determined outcomes.

We want to see the elimination of legacy issues from past Maddens like poor blocking, super jumping linebackers who automatically intercept passes over the middle, poor AI ball awareness, and ineffective defensive ends.

This series' passing game needs an overhaul to account for secondary awareness, the aforementioned super jumping linebackers, fixing play-action plays, and to give the QB more passing lanes around the field.

The Gameflow feature was introduced in Madden 11 to streamline the playcalling process. While it did this by suggesting plays, last year's game didn't provide enough context like a play's formation.

M13: This has not been addressed in this year's title.

Special teams blocking needs a complete overhaul so there are more varied running lanes and outcomes.

M13: In the few special team situations I've faced in preview builds, I noticed better punt blocking in particular, and the result was a few extra yards in some returns as opposed to Madden NFL 12.

Read on for more areas Madden NFL 13 might be addressing.

[PageBreak]

PRESENTATION

The commentary has gotten stale, and it hasn't helped that EA Sports hasn't found a good play-by-play partner for color man Cris Collinsworth. Comments haven't always been timely or relevant.

ONLINE

Players have demanded a fully-featured online franchise mode for years.

FRANCHISE MODE

Madden 12's franchise mode was a bust primarily because of how scouting left you in the dark when it came to draft day. It also lacked restricted free agents, undrafted free agents, more varied contract structures, practice squads, and more.

SUPERSTAR MODE

Since its inception, this player-focused mode has been largely neglected. The worst offender is the playcalling, which does not feed players good plays. This handcuffs any player who isn't the QB (who can audible out of those he doesn't like).

Blog Post: Hands On With Madden 13 & More On Connected Careers

Matthew Kato — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 06:07:00 GMT

We already told you the great news that Madden NFL 13 is bolstering its entire Franchise structure (online, offline, Superstar Mode) by combining them into one mode filled with improvements and exciting new content called Connected Careers. Today I got another look at it, and have even more news to share.[Excerpt]

Connected Careers doesn't just shuffle the deck for the game's offline Franchise, online Franchise, and Superstar modes, it changes the whole concept of what it means to have an NFL career in the game. I personally like that you can switch between being a coach (which is basically like playing the old Franchise mode – only better) and a single player (Superstar mode) at any time, and therefore get to experience both modes (you play the game the same way on the field as you always have BTW). I also can't wait to dive into the RPG-like XP/upgrade system, and am excited that finally online franchise players get the same experience as offline players always have.

Without further ado, here is an assortment of new info I found out about Connected Careers.

XP & UPGRADES: The more you play the game and knockdown objectives big and small, the more XP you get that can be spent on upgrade packages. For players, this means you spend XP on upgrading whatever specific attribute you want. The exact XP price varies on your age and the existing rating of that attribute – the higher you go the more it costs. Similarly, it can cost more if it's an attribute out of your player's normal competency.

For coaches, the packages you buy are related to a variety of bigger-picture, team-related things. For instance, you could buy an upgrade package that gives you an overall XP discount for future packages that you buy. Others might help you sign free agents or scout players. Some I saw were specifically related to bettering your chances in contract negotiations with a particular position like left tackle. There were also those that boosted the XP earning power of your QBs as a unit, while another helped if you wanted to talk a player out of retirement.

Coaches can also spend the XP of players. If you don't want to do this, the computer will spend players' XP by itself. You can set the progression interval to occur weekly, every four weeks, or at the end of the season when you initially set up the franchise.

Where else can you get points besides playing games and knocking down career milestones and accruing stats? On the practice field. Now, before you playback the immortal words of Allen Iverson in your head, practicing in Madden is different from what it's been in the past. Instead of running random, meaningless plays, you can pick from a variety of different practice situations of differing difficulty and XP rewards that mimic a real game. So, you can get XP for working on your two-minute offense, protecting a lead, coming from behind, and many other situations you might want to practice. During practice, the opposite squad uses the actual playbook of your next opponent, so you can go up ageist their 3-4 defense or crazy spread offense formation.

SCOUTING & FREE AGENTS: When you scout a player, although some basic information about them will be available to you, you pick the individual attribute you want to know about. The first time you spend XP to scout a player you'll get a letter grade for that attribute, the second and final time (which naturally costs more XP) you'll get an actual number. You can also scout a player multiple times in a single week provided you have enough XP in the bank.

Sometimes when you scout a player, the game will generate a random event that affects him. For instance, you might see a story in Madden's news feed that changes that player and the attributes you may have scouted. Although won't have to re-scout them if, for instance, they are injured during the combine, you might have to recheck your scouting for that player to see how their attributes may have changed because of it.

Free agency happens in the offseason, but during the season some players will want to talk about resigning so they can get that security instead of hitting the market. Coaches will get notices from these players during the week. If you decide not to start negotiations, some players may get mad and decide to break off talks. Good luck re-signing these guys once the offseason hits.

PLAYERS AND PLAYCALLING: Old Superstar mode players are going to love this. If you play as a single-player in Connected Careers, you now get to call the plays even if you aren't the QB or middle linebacker! Connected Careers guru at developer EA Tiburon Josh Looman, said they know that it's not realistic, but that they decided to do it this way because it's simply more fun. We agree.

HANDS-ON: The changes the development team have made to the passing game are noticeable. Because of the new passing trajectories and improved ball placement mechanics, I definitely felt like I could put the ball in more areas all around the field. If there was an interception I knew it was my fault, and I didn't see any of the super-jumping by the linebackers. QB dropbacks felt nice and tight, and play action was not detrimental like it was in past games.

As for the new Impact physics engine, I noticed it in a number of situations as multiple players struck a ball carrier; creating moments like we haven't seen in previous Maddens. However, there were also some times when players would get tackled a little awkwardly. I wonder if it'll be like the first year of FIFA and NHL's contact system where there were some funky falls. It's an early build, though, so there's plenty of time to tweak things.

For more on Connected Careers and the Impact engine go here, and to read about other gameplay changes, check out this preview. Kinect fans can also read about Madden 13's use of the peripheral's voice commands.

Madden NFL 13 comes out for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Vita on August 28.

Blog Post: Hands On With Madden 13 & More On Connected Careers

Matthew Kato — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 06:07:00 GMT

Without further ado, here is an assortment of new info I found out about Connected Careers.

Madden NFL 13 comes out for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Vita on August 28.

Blog Post: Signal Caller: Quarterbacking Madden 13 With Kinect

Matthew Kato — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 08:33:00 GMT

Microsoft showed off Madden's Kinect voice controls at its E3 press conference, and although I'm certainly not the signal caller that Joe Montana was, I tried my hand (or voice, rather) at the experience.[Excerpt]

All the pre-snap commands for offense and defense are available to call out via voice commands (sorry, no motion gestures), and there is also a handy onscreen bar on the bottom of the screen that list some basic commands you can call like audible, snap, and hot routes for specific players. This bar also confirms your voice command by showing the text of your command, and makes suggestions if the Kinect isn't sure what you're saying.

To start a voice command other than a simple hike of the ball (by calling "Set Hike" or "Hike"), you simply start with the base action. For instance, if you want to call an audible, you say, "audible," at which time the regular sub-menu of audible options will come up on the screen. From here you choose which play you want and say it. At any time you can simply select an option with a regular button press, so even if you use Kinect for some of the pre-snap commands, you don't have to use them for everything if you don't want to.

Hot routes are done by first calling out the player you want to change (or their player number), and then selecting a new route. Hot routing can also be done for individual defensive player assignments.

You can also perform other pre-snap commands such as calling for a hurry up offense, spiking the ball to stop the clock, calling timeout, or performing a coach's challenge. You can even try to draw the defense offsides by yelling "Hut" instead of "Hike."

I tried out the Kinect functionality, and it worked most of the time. The caveat here is that I was in a room that had some incidental noise, so it wasn't the best atmosphere for the peripheral. Still, one thing that I believe is worth pointing out is the delay between calling to hike the ball and when the snap actual gets off. There's about a two-second gap, so if you'll have to leave yourself a few seconds to get the snap off before you're called for delay of game.

Madden NFL 13's Kinect integration isn't a must-have, but at least it's an unobtrusive feature that works and which makes sense with the franchise and the sport itself.

For more on the game's new Connected Careers and physics engine, check out my earlier preview.