Madden NFL 13 First Details

[BDSooner72]

It seems Madden and NCAA Football do NOT have identical control schemes - the pre-snap controls are different in each game (line shifts, audibles). I'm not really annoyed by that since I preferred Madden's pre-snap controls and was disappointed they weren't used in NCAA Football this year.

If you go into the settings you can revert to the Madden 10 pre-snap option and they will be the same as NCAA.

[Jason]

I prefer Madden's pre-snap options. Too bad NCAA doesn't have an option to switch to Madden's pre-snap controls.

[Jason]

I'm starting to get excited about Tuesday's Madden release. EA has already announced the first patch will be available two weeks after release (9/11).

[BDSooner72]

Well then here is something to wet that appetite.

Connected Careers 101 with Josh Looman (17 minutes)

http://www.ign.com/videos/2012/08/23/madden-nfl-13-connected-careers-101


Looman vs Greg Miller (IGN)

http://www.ign.com/videos/2012/08/23/madden-nfl-13-bears-vs-lions-lets-play

[Jason]

They need to adjust the speed of the game - even on "Very Slow" it feels too fast to me. Also, why did they remove the first-down markers from the play screens?

[BDSooner72]

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/08/24/madden-nfl-13-review

Closing Comments
Madden NFL 13 does something the Madden franchise hasn't done in years: it makes me want to keep playing. Yes, the commentators will repeat themselves and funky animations are going to pop up, but the game as a whole is so good. The TV presentation, the refined gameplay, the more lifelike physics -- it all adds up to Madden NFL 13 being something truly special.

9
Presentation
This looks, feels and sounds more like an NFL broadcast than any game before it. The main menu hub puts everything at your fingertips and makes it feel like one unified product.
8.5
Graphics
The crowd is still pixelated and there can be wonky handoffs, but physics are an excellent addition and the game looks stunning in motion for the most part.
9
Sound
The commentators will repeat themselves, but the new adlibbed style sounds more natural. Love the orchestral score running through the game. Stadium and on-field sounds add realism.
9
Gameplay
EA added a lot of tweaks that might not jump out at you, but they make the game feel better than ever. The new experience point system for Connected Careers allows you to build your perfect player.
9
Lasting Appeal
Different Connected Careers with friends should keep you going to see what players and dynasties you can create.
9
Overall
Amazing


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGbOL6nCdkY#ws

[BDSooner72]

More reviews - most are very positive

http://www.vgrevolution.com/2012/08/madden-nfl-13-review-to-infinity-and-beyond/

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/madden_nfl_13/b/xbox360/archive/2012/08/24/madden-turns-the-corner.aspx

http://www.mercurynews.com/entertainment/ci_21392427/review-madden-nfl-13-game-fans-have-been-waiting

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/24/madden-nfl-13-review/

http://communityvoices.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/arts-entertainment-living/the-game-guy/34137-madden-13-the-best-season-in-years-review

http://www.g4tv.com/games/xbox-360/66055/madden-nfl-13/review/

http://www.gametrailers.com/reviews/x811ic/madden-nfl-13-review


Gamespot not as much - same guy who gave NCAA a low score

http://www.gamespot.com/madden-nfl-13/reviews/madden-nfl-13-review-6393175/


More to come so I am just going to leave the link for metacritic

http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/madden-nfl-13/critic-reviews



Off to download ze full version with my handy dandy season pass.

[Jason]

Off to download ze full version with my handy dandy season pass.

Must admit that I'm a little jealous right now.

[BDSooner72]

Just finished downloading getting ready to play in a few minutes.  Going to put a whipping on the Cowboys with my Steelers.

[BDSooner72]

1st game just for grins I played on the default settings (Pro  bumped to 8 min) and annihilated the Cowboys 63-35.  Mendenhal had 450 yard and 8 TD's.  Ben still had 200 yards passing on a ton of play action passes.

So second game I go to my default (All Pro  8 min) and try to use the same ground attack against an evenly match Broncos, on the road, in heavy snow.  The snow slowed Manning down, not to mention the 50,000 audibles he called in the game which ate up a ton of the clock.  Buffalo, Buffalo, Buffalo audible will haunt my dreams tonight.  Mendenhal rushed for a respectable 165 yards but had a fumble early which the Broncos took back for a TD on the first possession. We were able to go over the 225 mark thanks to some good runns by my backups because Mendenhal was injured for a third of the game and some of the time he was on the field his stats were severely degraded.  I had the game won 17-14 as there was one second on the clock and Denver had 70 yards of pasture to be able to get a TD. So I get in the Quarter, 3 deep and figure the game is won. Just standing around with a middle linebacker and Peyton throws one as deep as he can. Completely open WR catch and run for the win. 

My deep cover guy was in a FREAKING ZONE coverage on the far side of the field and for some reason he decided to follow a guy running a post and ends up positioned in the middle of the field. I really wanted to throw my controller but it was a good game of football and the running in the game was some of the best I ever had in a Madden game. I earned every yard and the game actually let me run outside and use spins, two things impossible to do in NCAA (I am hoping that is what the tuning fixed today but I doubt it). The AI RB still needs some work, they will do some oddly timed jukes when they open field in front of them.

The physics still need a lot of work but it feels different than NCAA. In some cases for the better, in others (odd collisions, cannon hits dropping a player way too fast) not so much. Standard camera it is for me, I like zoomed cameras but this was is zoomed in a bit too much and far to low to the ground. User custom cameras, developers, they used to exist.

[BDSooner72]

Still no auto-save in the game just boggles the mind.  I tried Connect Career tonight with Pittsburgh using Mike Tomlin. Skipped all the pre-season games and started off @ Denver. This game was much easier than the last, rolling to a 21-6 win. Peyton was horrible, throwing a couple picks and numerous incompletions, mostly due to my hits on receivers jarring the ball lose and he threw the ball away 3 or 4 times.

Pre season is pretty simple as a coach, cut players, practice and there were some trades on the board. I waited for the regular season and picked up a few free agents (FB/TE). Practice is just a situational that varies on difficulties and gets you player progress points.  You can sim practice and I did after the first one.  Giving player points is really tedious and I just left it to the CPU do it after the first time. You can do them weekly, every 4 weeks or at the end of season.  It upgrades the player one point assuming you have enough points. The good attributes are generally locked as you need a ton of points for them. Probably would be better doing them myself but it just to time consuming going through each player and the point system was a tad confusing and I was not really that interested in learning it. One example was a CB early on had the option of gainging a carrying point (pretty useless for that position) or stamina.

[Brad Company]

Is the CPU playcalling any better than previous editions? I've been reading some unflattering stuff about it and clock management.

[Ted]

They need to adjust the speed of the game - even on "Very Slow" it feels too fast to me. Also, why did they remove the first-down markers from the play screens?

You obviously aren't a fan of real football then because Bill Harris did an extremely in depth and accurate experiment a few years ago that showed the speed of the video game is far too slow compared to actual football and the only way to really play it was game speed slider at 100%.

[BDSooner72]

Is the CPU playcalling any better than previous editions? I've been reading some unflattering stuff about it and clock management.

Clock management is bad. I have had times in both games with Denver lining up on 3rd down and spiking it to stop the clock. In that same amount of time they could just run a play. CPU playcalling is not something I have played that close of an attention to (only have three games under my belt). I am definitely getting a bunch of sacks, especially when I am in a zone blitz. The running attack is pretty poor and they give up on it pretty quick. In both games against Denver Peyton threw the ball away too many times and in many cases none of my defenders were in range of him.

Penalties are also a rare occurrence so far. Like NCAA 13 you are almost guaranteed to see one hold on a return and one or two holds when passing the ball and that is it.

[Jason]

They need to adjust the speed of the game - even on "Very Slow" it feels too fast to me. Also, why did they remove the first-down markers from the play screens?

You obviously aren't a fan of real football then because Bill Harris did an extremely in depth and accurate experiment a few years ago that showed the speed of the video game is far too slow compared to actual football and the only way to really play it was game speed slider at 100%.

I guess I'm not according to Bill Harris. I wouldn't be considered a real gamer by him anyway because I actually enjoy my games.