Madden is Definitely on the Right Track - RaychelSnr's Blog

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RaychelSnr's Blog

Madden is Definitely on the Right Track Stuck

Posted on August 29, 2012 at 03:06 PM.

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Madden has arrived as a great sports gaming title...finally.

It's finally happened.

I am totally enjoying a Madden NFL game again. It has to be said, because I fear some will take the words that follow overboard and think I'm shilling for EA: the game is not perfect.But no other game in our genre is near perfect. We have hailed sports games as great when they were anything but if held to the same standard as Madden, remember all the quirky bugs MLB: The Show each and every year? What about the fact online never works in NBA 2K?

Every game has it's own set of bugs, quirks, and attempts to bend realism for the sake of fun. But what Madden has done is that it has finally lifted the rest of it's game to the level of it's peers.

Most who have read my material for the past several years know I'm one of the most vocal critics of EA football in the gaming media, and I must give credit where credit is due: Madden NFL 13 is darned good.

The Infinity Engine's importance cannot be understated. It's again, not perfect, but the ground floor has been laid on what is soon to be a series that will be competing for Sports Game of the Year awards. We can nitpick Madden to death, because the series tends to attract that type of attention here, but no game in our genre would hold up too well to that type of scrutiny.

Hard truth of the matter there.

What Madden is finally doing right is going somewhere. There are specific areas where the series needs to improve, most notably commentary, figure out how to make defense interesting, and several of the legacy issues that irk many longtime series vets (this one included) -- as well as bringing back features lost in the transition to connected careers.

It just feels different

The introduction of the Infinity Engine has finally introduced a bit of openness and randomness into the game which was sorely needed. Only the most crusty and jaded NFL gamers won't admit that the series has taken a big step forward this year -- and with good reason.

The run game especially has taken on a new life with the infinity engine, with the need to actually look for holes and not run into the backs of your linemen being a huge component on the strategy. Personally, I feel getting stuck behind your linemen is an incredibly frustrating experience as it's tough to get out of that type of predicament when you find yourself in it.

However, the run game is different and that's a good thing.

With the additions to the passing game, it too feels much improved. I noted this in my NCAA review as I longed for more to be done with the stale series this past season. The additional animations and the interaction between receivers and DBs has been worked on and it's very noticeable. I would, however, like to see even more done and for actual pass interference calls to be brought into the fold.

But small steps here.

Madden isn't perfect, but what game in our genre is even close, really?

The War in the Trenches

There was some work done with the line interaction with the infinity engine, but as Andrew Mackenzie has pointed out with his "Breaking Down Madden" series here on OS, the line play has traditionally suffered from a simplistic approach.

While the physics are better, you can definitely tell the same basic approach is intact. I'd really like to see this improved for next year as I think that type of interaction between blockers would add a lot to the defensive experience as well, as you'd be forced to play a sort of mini-game on defense each play.

But for now, the line play definitely is average/adequate, which with so many wholesale changes is understandable.

Why not NCAA?

All this leaves me to conclude one other thing. The NCAA Football series is so far behind Madden at this point -- it's kind of laughable. I am a bigger fan of the college game in real terms, but I can't even bring myself to play NCAA Football 13 anymore.

You name it and Madden outclasses NCAA.

Gameplay? Madden. Presentation? Madden. Graphics? Madden. Audio? Madden. Career mode? Madden.

There's no doubt about it, the NCAA Football series could be in trouble if it doesn't catch fire next season in terms of quality. With lawsuits hanging over it, there's serious doubts in my head about whether NCAA is a long-term type of investment EA will want to keep making even with pretty strong sales.

But Madden? Madden is on the right track and heading for better days ahead.

Madden NFL 13 is a great title, but it still has work to do.

Where to from here?

The final thought is, where does Madden go from here? What is Madden NFL 14 going to look like?

I'm willing to bet better commentary, line play, and continued presentational improvements as well as a boosted Connected Careers mode is in the offing.

Madden has finally arrived as a true next-gen title and is, in fact, technically the greatest playing football game of all time. You can make arguments that other games were greater for their time or ahead of the curve, but with real-time physics and continued improvements across the board: Madden has gone into must-play territory for NFL fans once again.

And it's about time I can say this: Madden is back...at least for one year.

Comments

# 1 B1gg Randall @ Aug 29

Yep Madden is back..

# 2 DJ @ Aug 29

I actually think NCAA 13 is a more complete product than Madden. Connected Careers is a mess, especially offline. The Infinity Engine is very hit-and-miss and the late-game CPU play calling is really bad.

Once again EA releases a game that feels incomplete. Maybe after the patch I will be able to adjust sliders and auto subs and use the Zoom camera in CCM.

# 3 inkcil @ Aug 29

We're all just stating our opinions, and mine is based off poor commentary, sloppy IE animations, a bad replay system, poor line play, CPU taking over the user-controlled defensive player, poor DB play, the worst CPU AI I have seen ever in Madden (late game play calls and run-to-pass ratio). But while the CPU fails at almost everything it does, it's still fun to play against other people because we're all excited for the new NFL season, and Madden is reaping the benefits of that excitement. So I respectfully disagree with the premise and conclusion of this article.

# 4 Sabredj @ Aug 29

I completely agree with everything you said for the most part. I understand why many things near and dear to us were left out, or purposely cut in order to take a leap forward with a new foundation to build on. However, even thought Madden is superior in all the ways you stated above, I found myself loving NCAA 13 when I played 2 games last night. Don't get me wrong, I haven't played any CCM games yet in Madden while getting a feel for it by "Play Now" games only and waiting for the final set of rosters to begin the season, when preseason is over. I may still feel like Madden is the best football game to date before too long but I'm thoroughly enjoying NCAA right now and I know I will for a while.

# 5 chi_hawks @ Aug 29

Great write up Chris. I'm going to have to think about picking up Madden before black friday.

# 6 jpdavis82 @ Aug 29

Madden is back, I agree. Looking forward to the future of Madden, in the meantime I will be enjoying the present.

# 7 onac22 @ Aug 29

I agree this is a great football game. However with all the physics work done and the DB AI work put into this year, the receivers still have that same, I run from A to B if the ball hits me I catch it mentallity. While the DBs make corrections while the ball is in the air and they play it. I just don't feel the receiver AI really attempts to catch the ball instead like I said before it simply waits for the ball to hit the player instead of the player making an effort to go get it.

# 8 liberaluser @ Aug 29

Doesn't make sense that you have to tear down better sports games to make Madden look better than it is Chris.

And I have to laugh calling this year's edition "technically" best at anything. It is actually a bit of a mess due to the 1 year reboot cycle.

So I would have completely agreed with you if you had just said Madden was on the right track and had reserved optimism for the future.

But you really went carried away with unearned praise for an incomplete product.

# 9 trey2k198003 @ Aug 29

# 3 DJ @ Aug 29 (41 Minutes Ago) I actually think NCAA 13 is a more complete product than Madden. Connected Careers is a mess, especially offline. The Infinity Engine is very hit-and-miss and the late-game CPU play calling is really bad.

Once again EA releases a game that feels incomplete. Maybe after the patch I will be able to adjust sliders and auto subs and use the Zoom camera in CCM.

Why do you belive cc is CC is a mess?

# 10 trey2k198003 @ Aug 29

i agree with the posting ea is trying and thats all ive been asking for in the past.....the franchise mode has been dying for years...i love the xp points the abitlity to progress my own players and making preseason and practice mean something for once.....ahhh and no more chris collinsworth im ok with that!

# 11 TreyIM2 @ Aug 29

@ liberaluser - How is Chris tearing down other games to make Madden 13 better?? I think this is where a possibly biased angle and lack of comprehension on ur behalf may be kicking in. Re-read what he is saying here. He's not doing what ur saying, at all.

# 12 2phatshakur @ Aug 29

Wow. Terrific read! I agree with you 100%. I too am a much bigger college football fan than pro, but NCAA is just not in the same league as M'13.

# 13 cmehustle @ Aug 29

Nice writeup. I personnaly feel Madden is right at the point where 2K10 was. It feels like one or two minor changes away from being the game that everyone wants to play. To me Madden is knocking right at the doorstep and the thing I feel that can push it over the top is refining line play and wr/db interaction. Fix the blocking and route running = superb game. That being said Im loving this years Madden and those are my only complaints.

# 14 BreaksoftheGame @ Aug 29

No customization in connected careers equals first week return for me. But I agree this game is going in the right direction.