Madden NFL 13

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The last madden I bought was madden 10, and only now have I deemed a madden worthy of purchase. Many things have changed this year, mostly for the better.

Connected careers is one great addition. Many people are complaining that features have been removed but this is not how I have found things. Having played full seasons as both a player and a coach, I have been much more engrossed in the experience. As a player there is the allure of season goals, hall of fame recognition and player progression (which makes this superstar mode much more playable and purposeful). As a coach now you can be fired which adds an element of pressure, and goals adapt to your success or failure to make next season more realistic and enjoyable. Free agency is pretty interesting too, as you can see who has bid for players and watch as the offers are wittled down. My only issue is the lack of notification when you successfully gain a free agent (i only found out when checking my roster). The draft is another great improvement. It feels so life-like in the way that cpu teams trade up and down picks, and the back stories behind players is a nice touch. Scouting is a huge part of the game now, if you don't scout the right players you will end up guessing on players and inevitably wind up with first round busts. Finally, the added news feed is interesting to read throughout the year, and can be helpful for scouting players, as it hints at who is playing well in the college leagues etc.

Gameplay feels different too. The new physics engine definitely has flaws - players running into each other will react no matter who they are or when this happens (even after the end of plays). It can get frustrating as a running back to trip over a lineman in the back field when you can see a huge lane opening up. But thankfully, this is rare and with more practice it becomes a rare occurence. Ultimately running is more interesting (no more guaranteed TDs by juking/trucking everywhere) and tackles often feel much more powerful and wince-worthy, which is always a plus. Tackles and sacks generally look more pleasing, and the new ball hawk interception system is fun without making interceptions overly simple.

The one problem i did have however is with defence this year. While playing as the bills, with a great d, it was still really tough to get stops, especially against superstar players (to the point that any team with a running back or receiver over 80 tended to win games against me). Eventually i found that commiting to a type of play using the left trigger was one way of dealing with it, and in a way it makes things more challenging, but it can be frustrating.

In conclusion, while many say this madden is terrible, I think it is in fact one of the best yet. I was on the fence with this but haven't regretted it at all. The graphics are great, the gameplay is vastly better and the game modes have more depth - you feel more inclined to play in your league's universe for as long as possible. With fantasy draft being added apparently there really isn't much of a reason not to get this game.

+ great gameplay, with a physics engine, means no repetitive animations
+ immersive career modes, franchise and superstar are still here! And they have improved for the better
+ it seems EA have listened and are adding fantasy draft

- defence can be a b%$, especially against speedy players
- players tripping over each other isn't a great look, and can really ruin some great plays
- i guess if i'm complaining, why wasn't this changed earlier?

Verdict: 8(.5) out of 10 - a great, slightly flawed, but largely well executed madden, if you're sitting on the fence you won't regret it

Despite it being late in the year to buy madden 13, i think its worth every penny. hours of fun for a NFL fan, but i would wait for the price to drop a little.

I really really enjoy this game. Before I go ahead and give my opinion, I just want to say I don't play online, haven't had XBL for ages.
Pros:
- running game is greatly improved from previous versions, it feels so much more realistic, the momentum-based style makes you think totally differently than the standard Madden 'employ juke move now' mentality.
- the 'news' screen when you are playing your manager/player career is AWESOME. They have a fake twitter feed where people such as Skip Bayless put up their opinions about games in the league, and there seem to be storylines about every team not just your own.
- the draft is very fun even if the method of scouting players in the upcoming draft means you really can't get much info past your 1st and 2nd picks.
- also, and this is probably my favourite aspect of the game, they made up a metric tonne of fake histories of all the new draft players that come out every year, that the draft commentato actually says! I'm in 2019 and whenever I draft, the commentator guy still comes out with fresh new tales about some of the big names in the draft, for example that one of the guys was highly lauded and looked to be a shoo in to the top 10, before his reputation as a party boy started to exceed his on field reputation and he slid down the draft.
- the fact that all your players earn XP and you can spend it developing them however you wish is fantastic
- something really amazing, it seems the AI of the computer adapts to your way of playing!!! It's like, there is film going around in the league and everyone learns your favourite plays. It's crazy, I used to run loads of plays where my WRs go up and then turn around on the spot, but the AI started to bring OLBs to undercut the route and stop me pumping the ball there. So I changed and brought in two top TEs, making them run straight up and firing the ball left or right of them depending on the safeties. It took me to a superbowl, in one game I racked up 370 yards with one of the TEs, and then in the final the AI finally cottoned on to what was going on, and Green Bay intercepted me 3 times on that exact type of play before I realised they were on to me!
- They sped up the game transition between halves and quarters, so it really is fast, which is great.

Cons:
- When you win the superbowl in career multiple times, they don't acknowledge the previous times you won it in your career. For example, I won the SB 4 times with Indy, and they repeatedly said 'for the first time since SuperBowl 41, the Vince Lombardi trophy is coming back to Indianapolis!'. Sigh.
- Also, the game designers haven't prepared for the fact that rookie QBs, you know, grow up and become multiple superbowl MVPs!!! Every time Andrew Luck comes on the field, even after having won the SB 4 times...the commentators still say 'coming into the league out of Stanford...' etc. Also, in the twitter news feed, every time I throw a good game with him, people often say 'expect good things to come from this kid' even though he has already become a Montana-esque legend o.O
- You can't make your own team in career mode. Let me repeat that, you CAN'T make your own team in career mode. After all the great things about this game, this is what prevents me from giving a 5 star.

All in all I think it's worth buying if you really love Madden, but if you absolutely have to be able to make your own team, I advise you pick up Madden 12.