RaychelSnr's Blog
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?
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.
# 17
joefrommo117 @ Aug 29
I agree that it is headed in the right direction, but I disagree that it is a great game right now. Play CCM for a while and there are glitches and freezes all over the place. There are a few glaring issues even in gameplay. Still, for the first time in years, it's actually fun to play Madden. Now they just need to take care of the glitches, continue to refine the engine and presentation, and expand on CCM.
NCAA 13 was disappointing, but over the past few years, NCAA has been hands-down better at presentation and atmosphere. EA clearly made an effort to reverse that this year.
NCAA 13 was disappointing, but over the past few years, NCAA has been hands-down better at presentation and atmosphere. EA clearly made an effort to reverse that this year.
# 18
THE YAMA @ Aug 29
The funny thing is, Madden is finally on the right track, about one year away from the next generation of consoles. Let's hope they continue to build when the new consoles come out, instead of take a step backwards.
# 19
SamoanSteelerFromAus @ Aug 29
Its definitely heading in the right direction but I understand the cynicism from a lot of players because this foundation should of been layed a few installments ago. It's hard for some of us to jump up and down praising the game when we've been extremely dissapointed for years and in the back of our heads we KNOW how good this game could be RIGHT NOW if they didn't eff around so long putting in features then stripping them or simply just not putting the effort in.
Personally i still carry resentment because I know if the license wasn't bought, we would have a better madden in our hands right now and better nfl games from other companies... but more importantly I know 2k would have the most amazing nfl game out as we speak because I always found their engine superior.
I'm optimistic about the franchise but like I said, this has been owed to us for some time now so they won't have me throwing them a parade for something there obligated to do since they eliminated the competition.
Just my thoughts. Peace.
Personally i still carry resentment because I know if the license wasn't bought, we would have a better madden in our hands right now and better nfl games from other companies... but more importantly I know 2k would have the most amazing nfl game out as we speak because I always found their engine superior.
I'm optimistic about the franchise but like I said, this has been owed to us for some time now so they won't have me throwing them a parade for something there obligated to do since they eliminated the competition.
Just my thoughts. Peace.
# 20
SamoanSteelerFromAus @ Aug 29
PS.
I could NEVER call a game with mediocre line play in the trenches "great". Even the thought of it makes me sick.
I could NEVER call a game with mediocre line play in the trenches "great". Even the thought of it makes me sick.
# 22
Retropyro @ Aug 29
He didn't say it was better than The Show. Where in the article did he say "Madden 13 is better than The Show"?
# 23
swift kincade @ Aug 29
No its not. i had the game less then 24hrs and already i am getting servers are temp down. i want ea to send me a check for 60 bucks.
# 24
bigsmallwood @ Aug 29
No....Madden is not back. I respect your opinion and others as well but an NFL game missing so much and one that has so many issues after release is not a complete game nor is it back. I think most of you are wishing for it to be back more so than EA actually delivering.
# 26
kingsofthevalley @ Aug 30
Agreed. Game is pretty sweet I must say. Now give me my draft classes and editing back and you won't hear another peep out of me.
# 27
Wasabi808 @ Aug 30
What genre? The pro football genre? Yeah, you got it correct there lol. I don't get it, there seems to be a large majority that feels that the game is incomplete and people are getting tired of the same old saying, "they'll get it next year". I'm waiting for someone who writes these reviews to finally take a stand and say enough with this "they'll get it next year" bs. We've been going through this year after year with this game. These reviews seriously seem to butter it up all the time. For me, leaving out offline co-op/multiplayer franchise was just a major oversight. A staple for the Madden franchise for the past 10 years or more left out for what sums up to be a gimmick that's by what a lot of people feel, is incomplete. Why are we being forced to go online if we want a multiplayer franchise, especially when the servers are not entirely stable, especially at launch.
I'm not a fanboy or an EA *****, I just want them to get it right, it's been too long. Every year it's basically, let's work on this part of the game while other areas of the game get totally neglected or left out entirely. Literally one step forward, two steps back. I haven't bought Madden for the past 3 years, I was eagerly awaiting this title until I learned of no offline co-op/multiplayer franchise. This was just a huge letdown for me, I'm glad there are people who do enjoy it though, I really am.
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I'm not a fanboy or an EA *****, I just want them to get it right, it's been too long. Every year it's basically, let's work on this part of the game while other areas of the game get totally neglected or left out entirely. Literally one step forward, two steps back. I haven't bought Madden for the past 3 years, I was eagerly awaiting this title until I learned of no offline co-op/multiplayer franchise. This was just a huge letdown for me, I'm glad there are people who do enjoy it though, I really am.
# 28
bigdoc85 @ Aug 30
I am enjoying Madden this year. It just feels and plays better -- it's FUN! I hated Madden 11 and 12.
# 29
Doogie09 @ Aug 30
Hype...hype....hype.....I'll sit on the sidelines and give this whole CCM a year to mature. Maybe M14 will be the time to say "Madden is back!"
# 30
NINJAK2 @ Aug 30
Good read. I agree M13 is on the right track but I disagree that average to adequate line of scrimmage(LOS) play is understandable at this stage. Fans of this series have been complaining about line play for years and the introduction of IE is no excuse for it not being better than it is. It is said that the majority of football games are won/loss at the LOS and it makes no sense that line play still trails 2k5 imo. I'm not happy with some of the decisions they made regarding coach mode, camera selection and other issues but I feel this is a step forward for the franchise.
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And yes there's a lot of areas that can still get better. But for me personally.......the main thing I'm loooking for is 32-team offline season mode again.
C'mon EA!!.........this is sorely needed back.