A Few Thoughts on Madden 13... - RGiles36's Blog

RGiles36's Blog

A Few Thoughts on Madden 13...

Posted on September 3, 2012 at 03:09 PM.

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If you've read any of my recent posts on M13 on the OS forums, you know my feelings on the game have been pretty mixed. I'd like to expand on some of my random thoughts in this here space.

When I came back from the community event, I called the Infinity Engine a "game changer". I still feel that way, very much so in fact. I've seen a number of plays fold out in a way that was previously impossible pre-Infinity Engine. I even find myself watching televised football games and saying, "Wow, THAT now happens in Madden." I think IE works as well as advertised, and I'm excited about its potential going forward.

My thoughts on Connected Careers have been mixed. It's unfair to make a declaration on the mode because there are certainly some forthcoming title updates that may change one's outlook radically. I do like many of the additions including weekly practice, scouting, schemes, weekly/seasonal/milestone goals, etc. The CCM home page featuring top stories and the Twitter feed are done very well also.

That said, there was a thread on OS several weeks ago speaking to the 'closed nature' of CCM. To a degree, 'closed nature' feels spot-on. One of the knocks on franchise mode of old was that you sort of felt disconnected from the rest of the league (at least as an offline franchise player). In CCM, with the exception of the home page, it still feels that way. The league schedule is buried in the menus as well as the place where you would view stats.

I'm also not a big fan of being forced into a particular role. For fans of online leagues, having a 'role' is not new. You control your team, and your team only in a league setting. For offline franchise players, it's more of an adjustment. I'm not one of the guys who will typically control more than one team anyway, but I do like to play other games on the schedule or even play against the team I've built every once in a while. CCM as constructed makes it troublesome to do this.

Last thoughts on CCM: I know one of the goals of CCM was for it to set the standard on what career modes would emulate in other sports games. While that's awfully ambitious, the very things that make CCM different from other careers mode are the same things people want back in the mode (editing players, fantasy draft, playing as other teams, co-op modes, etc). So going forward, I'm curious how different CCM will be from existing career modes as the features that people want in the game are eventually put back in.

Overall though, Madden 13 is a decent game -- although I think it could be argued M12 offered more in small details. From the camera angles in the broadcast presentation to the emphasis on player authenticity (body type, equipment, etc), M12 did a superb job in several areas of detail and it doesn't initially appear that carried over to M13. Forthcoming title and roster updates could change my outlook on the details, so it's certainly something I'd look to re-visit in the next several weeks.

Comments

# 1 Dazraz @ Sep 3

Excellent write up. Totally agree. I would actually say that Madden 13 is the most insular game in the series if you are playing offline. There is a sense of yours being the only team that is doing anything in the league, making adjustments & progressing throughout the season. As an online game Madden 13 delivers. Many, myself included, still play Madden the Offline route & it's here that the game has regressed.I don't expect EA to release any title updates to address these issues but hopefully they will address the numerous bugs affecting the game. I for one like to use the Broadcast Camera but this is not possible in CC in its current state as whenever you select this camera that game reverts to the Standard Camera.
A lot of people are claiming this to be the best Madden ever. I would only go as far to say this could of been the best Madden ever.

# 2 RGiles36 @ Sep 3

Well said Daz.

# 3 eaglesfan21 @ Sep 3

hey can anyone tell me whats goin on im playing an offline career and each game i play its not letting me play i have to sim to next play or sim to human controlled play just to kick a extra point i thought after 2 or 3 games id get to start playing its still simulating wtf!!!!

# 4 Still2REal @ Sep 4

WOW! Quite an honest assessment coming from a Game Changer. The unaffiliated applaud you..but then again I would expect nothing less from ya Chief