Madden 13: Something completely different

So I bought the latest installment of the Madden Franchise, Madden 13, on August 31st, and at last I have had a chance to scour the games new features in order to give you a bit of a review. This is of course the European version of the game I, it may well differ to the NA version, in which case I do apologise. I'll break it down into different sub-categories for you.

Gameplay

The game is now fronted by Phil Simms and Jim Nantz, both CBS broadcasters for real-life NFL coverage. The new feature includes commentary from the guys, as well as a brief 30 second clip of them talking about the match up. If the match is being played between two rivals (Cowboys versus Eagles for example) you get some good discussion about the rivalry, however if it is something of a nothing game in terms of rivalry or interest, the two will just talk generally about "the importance of matches late in the season" and "the two defences will be hunting down the oppositions QB". It's a shame there aren't more sound bites from the two, in order to make the pre-match build up more complete. The commentary in-game however feels much more complete, with evidently over 9,000 unique pieces of commentary. Having said that however, Nantz always seems to manage to throw in "The QB had so much time there, i'm sure you could have even made that pass!" at Simms.

The players now feel more real, particularly during the running game. Rather than just smashing into the line and hoping a gap appears and you'll slip through in previous Madden games, the user must now be patient in choosing their running lane. In Madden 13, if the running lane just isn't there, the running back will bounce off the O-Lineman, or lose his balance and fall over. Further, if the running back runs toward a player who has fallen over, the running back will trip if the user fails to jump over the fallen player. This makes the experience slightly more realistic, if not also more difficult.

Franchise mode/ Connect careers

I tend to spend much of my time playing Franchise mode. This year however, Franchise mode has been replaced by "connected careers". I would compare this replacement to franchise mode as more of a "Coach mode", whereby you put yourself into the game as a coach rather than a general manager. With the inclusion of EA Sports Gameface, you can take a picture of face, and have it rendered to actually feature in the game. This works with either "Coach Mode" or "the old Superstar mode".

Franchise mode used to be famously easy to manipulate in terms of trading players and getting picks. All "tricks" aside about how to create a team of all-stars, it is now much harder to get involved in trades. The game includes the option to trade draft picks for the upcoming draft and the following draft. Considering this, DeMarcus Ware, plus my 2013 and 2014 first round picks was not enough to lure Cam Newton to Cowboys Stadium. Teams can no now longer simply pay kings-ransoms for a player of their choice - if you're trading for a starter or franchise player, you can forget about trying to get him into your team. Instead you must be more calculated in your approach to trading. You must first consider which player you are willing trade away, and then trade with a team who are "in need" of a player in that position. You are given a hint of how interested the team are in your trade, but from this point there is no guarantee your trade will be successful. While this is perhaps more realistic (you rarely will see a franchise QB/RB switching teams), it makes the came slightly less enjoyable. As a Cowboys fan, I would always look to trade away either Marion Barber/Felix Jones and a couple of draft picks for a future HoF RB - those days i'm afraid to say are no more.

The game therefore creates greater emphasis on free agency and future draft picks. The Free Agency period during the off season is much more in depth and more competitive between teams and players. Drafting is also very much reliant on scouting. During the draft, teams can "trade up" while a team is on the clock, as well as there being a running commentary about who has picked who and which college they came from. This makes the Madden NFL 13 Draft experience unique, and in my opinion the best yet.

A new feature of the game is players coming out of retirement a la Deion Sanders. I was pleasantly surprised to find Kurt Warner available in free-agency - with a generous 87 rating, I snapped him up.

That'll do for now. As i play more i'm sure i will uncover more about the game, and when I do i'll be sure to post. Please comment and share if you liked what you read.