OS Roundtable: Madden NFL 13 Demo Impressions

[Dogslax41]

Quote: Originally Posted by hurdinator

Fingers crossed. Why include something that bad?

Could be something as simple as the fact that the animation of the kicker looks a little wonky with rtp and they wanted to hide it a bit to trying to artificially make it difficult to kick with an odd camera since kicking is so automatic again.

[briax87]

Some of the points you guys made regarding the commentators could be a bit better explained. Each year, it's the commentators who take the hit for poor in-game commentary, be it too dull, too excitable, or always saying the wrong thing. The audio team should be 100% responsible for the commentary, regardless of who is in the game commentating.

We've all seen how the commentary teams have changed in-game over the last 2/3 years, and each was as bad as the previous. This is all on the audio team. They should be able to build up a list of situational plays for the commentators to talk about. Everything from playoff scenarios to personal player info, history and stats, from amazing comebacks to shutouts. The commentators are being brought in to cover all the scenarios that are laid out in front of them by the audio team, it's just that they're not given enough situations/scenarios to cover.

[belmarez]

Can't play my dynasty.

[goduke30]

Quote: Originally Posted by Big FN Deal

As far as I know, no but the point is if EA could use the NFL Network like that in one of their NFL video games, I don't see why the couldn't with the other IF they wanted to. I think all this competing network stuff is bs and they just wanted to do it with their own branding instead of the NFL Network. SMMFH

I think I saw a connected careers picture of Adam Schefter posting a tweet on the connected careers so there could be some connection between all cbs,nfl network and espn . CBS= Presentation, NFL Network analysts. and the game being partnered by espn but either way I thought one thing was awesome. I felt like I had to fight at the goal line to get in the end zone on rush attempts cause they dont really use foward progress this year this is the first year in a while that EA both have solid football games now if they give ncaa 14 the new physics engine polished up they will take over sports gaming

[shavane]

Its Madden it has a lot of quirky issues but it is sooo much better than previous Maddens. More importantly it is a much needed giant step in the right direction. I'm not sure if the people reveiwing it are even what we would consider Madden heads or if your like me a football junky who breaks every game down. With that being said it is almost as good as 2k football and better in some ways.

I've played every edition of Madden, 1st and 10 tecmo bowl, 2k, etc but this is easily the best game and its only still the demo.

[D.S.T.X.B.]

I haven't pre-ordered Madden since 08. I'm about to pre-order now.

[Hooe]

I don't understand the "same old Madden" criticism levied by many in the article when viewed in the light of "it's a sports video game". What other sports video games series are consistently knocked with this criticism? Was NBA2K12 knocked for being very similar to NBA2K11? Has THQ and Yukes ever been knocked for basically releasing the same gameplay every year with the WWE (formerly Smackdown vs RAW) series? Has The Show ever been knocked for being simply an evolutionary step of its previous iteration? Did anyone criticize Forza Motorsport 4 for being fundamentally the same driving simulator as its predecessor?

My point is that it's a fair criticism to apply to all those games, but I don't hear it nearly as much for those as I do for EA football. Sports video games are by their nature evolutionary and not revolutionary; I don't understand why anyone would go into a sports game anymore expecting to have their socks knocked off by something that plays completely differently than the year before it. That's not how these games are built, and everyone who is discerning enough about sports games to join a sports video game message board - let alone be a credited producer of content for one - should know that.

Heck, it goes beyond sports video games to video games in general. Was anyone knocking Modern Warfare 3 for having the exact same controls and exact same gameplay as Modern Warfare 2? Did anyone ever knock the Rock Band games for having the same rhythm-matching gameplay as each of their predecessors?

In my opinion, the impressions offered in the article should have been much better phrased and much more detailed. We all know we are getting a Madden football game. There are certain implications that come with that that everyone knows. Tell us what the new issues are, tell us what legacy issues have and haven't been addressed, tell us what the game actually does well and doesn't do well. To stand behind the opinion of "it's Madden; you like it or you don't" - peppering that opinion with high-level statements such as "legacy issues" without offering any specifics as to what they are, what was attempted by the team to address them, how those changes have affected gameplay, etc. - isn't exactly being bold; that's not an interesting opinion in the context of a sports video game special interest web page, everyone who views this site already knows that much. The closest we got to that in this article were the opinions offered by Jayson Young and Kenny Glover, and I don't feel like they necessarily offered balanced opinions.

To be specific, I find it disappointing that no one got into some of the specifics in the Madden demo that legitimately help the series - the new passing mechanics from NCAA (having been better tuned), the excellent crowd audio, how fluid the game is, the general responsiveness of the controls (particularly compared to NCAA Football 13 retail), any mention of the new Kinect preplay controls whatsoever, and so on. From a journalistic standpoint, I don't see how you can talk about the Madden NFL 13 demo without so much as mentioning any of these things.

For a website "dedicated to sports gaming", this impressions article simply could and should have been much better.

[Armor and Sword]

To the above poster. I understand where your coming from in regards to an editorial point of view. But these "legacy" issues have been talked about ad nausem over the last decade.

99% of us know what these legacy issues are.

IMO the staff here just said what I would say 70% of the impressions thread voiced. I think the consensus opinion is:


1) Play by play - highly improved and a true breath of fresh air, well executed in comparison to previous Maddens

2) Infinity Engine - A nice step in the right direction. On the demo it is clumsy though post play as well as triggering awkward moments with touch tackles, and yoga like movements from players (for lack of a better term), however with some fine tuning for retail it has a lot of potential to be really good.

3) Total Control Passing - is great, and the passing game is far better than years past. All the new trajectories make passing the ball far more intuitive.

4) Defense - Still the same, no real impactful changes. Suction blocking on the OL/DL is ver prevalent. The lack of true control on defense is apparent when trying to play as a DE/DT "Legacy Issue"

5) Penalty System - still the same lack of robust variety. I did have Defensive PI called on myself twice...so I have some hope the new IE will trigger some PI penalties. But the sheer lack of variety is very "un" sim like and still a "Legacy Issue"

6) Player weight/Momentum/Foot Planting - non existent. "Legacy Issue"

7) Signature motions/movements - this area of the game is where Madden has a huge area of opportunity and would go a long way in immersing the player into a virtual NFL world. This needs to be worked on. Games like NBA 2K and The Show nail this.


Madden is fun. Always has been for me. I really like Madden football, so long time fans will probably like Madden 13. But it is not revolutionary like the staff said, but evolutionary.

I think everyone is waiting for Madden to break out and feel like a totally new experience. And that is what happens when you only have one NFL game. Simple fact.

So you either are a "Madden" person or not. And this has been the back and forth for over 7 years now.

If this were the same franchise mode as last year......I would be passing. But since they are taking a shot at being "revolutionary" on the mode side of things....Madden is a purchase for me this year. CCM has a chance to be a very good, deep franchise experience. This is where this game has a shot to be great.