First impressions

Wilhelm Ryan

I'm thinking of buying Madden 13 but have never owned a Madden game before (tell a lie actually, Madden '07) Anyways I dont follow the sport so I dont know who the players are (except a few big names) and do not have the slightest clue about formations. I dont follow NFl but have watched the last to Superbowls

Should I still get it considering I'm not too knowledgeable about the sport ?

smarti3 I felt the same way and had the same question a few years ago before I got really into the NFL. Yes, there are some in-depth things to the game that enhance it for the people who know all about football, but for players like you who merely want to play it because you enjoy the sport, I still think it's worth a try. At least a rent like Wilhelm Ryan mentioned. The 'Play Now' and even basic career modes are very easy to follow.

And Wilhelm, I'd definitely be up for joining/creating an online franchise. I know I'll be playing this game quite a bit and none of my closest friends play the game so that works out perfectly.

As for the original topic, my first impressions are that I am satisfied. Never have I purchased a Madden game new; I've always waited to buy them used and cheap because I know that they're basically the same as the last, so I'm always trying to save some money. I felt this was worth buying new though cause I agree that it is a step up. The graphics are fantastic. The presentation of the games are very realistic, and I haven't heard repetitive commentary (which got very annoying in the past games).

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I'm not sure myself. I'm without Live for awhile, and I haven't really done much with the game outside of the offline franchise mode.

Out of curiosity though, I did go ahead and save my game after I won the last game I played. I went through and simulated the rest of the regular season, so I could get an idea of what the off-season would be like this year. Sadly, my game froze for seemingly no reason, so I never got a chance to see what the off-season was going to bring.

Nonetheless, so far, I'm 4-2 in my Cowboys franchise. My only losses being to the undefeated New York Giants and the Baltimore Ravens. Really loving how realistic it feels this year. I actually don't mind losing; in Madden 12, I could squash any team in All-Pro; but I'd never boost it up to All-Madden because that was like getting raped by the computer. Seriously, I'd win almost every time with at least a 50-point difference. This year is a lot different, the best I've done so far is a 35-0 win against the Buccs.

quote Seproth

Playing as a linebacer, and I just fall over everyone, and regularly get ran over and tackled by teammates. Also, it's supposed to be weight based but they all fall over the place and appear to be almost weightless. It seems suction blocking is the worst thing of all though. I find my backer regularly getting blocked by backs that are out of position instead of getting sacks. I don't like that it doesn't flip the camera anymore either.

I've noticed that recently as well, especially at running back. If you run into one of your O-Line guys who's blocking a defender, even if the defender doesn't do anything to try and tackle you, you still usually fall down. I had my wide-receivers run into each other once on a slant play. It pissed me off, but at the same time, I was kind of glad. In past Maddens, they run right through each other.

quote Seproth

As a Superstar I don't understand why I'm in charge of injured players, deciding 4th down calls, or why I control the snap count *unless I'm QB. Although I do like that you can finally hear color commentary, despite the fact they regularly call backs wide outs, and corners linebackers, and talk shit about a QB checking the ball down, etc...

Yeah, I'm not sure why they did that. I do like that you can control the O-Line as running back, it helps out quite a bit. But, why am I in control of snapping the ball at running back? It's a small complaint, since the computer is still a dumbass at those kind of things. Also, I've yet to figure out as to why the computer takes a timeout at 1:01 on the second and fourth quarters. Always at 1:01, even if they just hurried the ball and are about to snap.

Another thing I don't like is that they took out fantasy draft for online leagues. That's a bit irritating, since that was what made them so much fun in the first place. Also, I wish they'd add a "restart" feature to Madden Moments. That was a complaint I had last year as well, it's a pain in the ass to go all the way back out, and back in, if you fail a Madden Moment.

Even though I hardly play Madden Ultimate Team, my friend does, and he said he had to make a new team. Pretty damn stupid. If you can import NCAA draft classes, shouldn't you be able to import your MUT from last year? All that hard work gone.

I know that a few days isn't really enough time to give an accurate or detailed answer to this but, worth getting for near £40?

Been interested in NFL for a while but only properly got into it last year, watching every game that was televised over here in England.

Latest I had was Madden '10, i'd assume much has changed?

I went ahead and gave the game a rental. I think something that needs to be mentioned for anybody looking to pick up the game is that this version has no fantasy draft. Which, for people like me who spend the majority of their time just building different types of teams, is a pretty big deal. I can safely say that I will not be purchasing the game unless a fantasy draft is patched in at a later date.

For those not as concerned about that though, the XP system for raising you players stats is a welcome addition. I do feel like some of the requirements are unrealistic of human players. 125 tackles over the course of a season is going to be pretty hard to pull off for 1 player, let alone my entire defensive line and MLB's. Not playing 7 minute quarters anyway. Luckily they also have quite a few more team oriented goals which are far more manageable.

quote finalfight

I went ahead and gave the game a rental. I think something that needs to be mentioned for anybody looking to pick up the game is that this version has no fantasy draft. Which, for people like me who spend the majority of their time just building different types of teams, is a pretty big deal. I can safely say that I will not be purchasing the game unless a fantasy draft is patched in at a later date.

Yeah, that was a bit disappointing. I liked doing fantasy drafts, both for the offline franchises and for the online leagues.

My connection at home is shit. I need a new router, and in the meantime, my connection is constantly dropping, or my Xbox just gives me shit when I try to connect to XBL. You have to be connected to the internet and Xbox Live to be able to play Ultimate Team this year, which is a bit disappointing. I'm not a huge fan of MUT, but I did like to play it once in awhile last year when I had nothing to do. But yeah, no internet connection, no MUT.

Also, I was a bit disappointed that you can only have one OFFLINE Connected Career going. You can have as many online careers as you want, but only one offline. Again, a bit disappointing, since there's so many ways to play this year. You could be an active coach, legendary coach, or make your own coach. Or... make your own player, be a legendary player, or an active NFL player. So, yeah. Really disappointed in that.

Also, I've updated my rosters twice since getting the game. However, the roster updates seem to have no effect on Connected Careers. I don't know why. >_> I guess there's going to be separate roster updates? I've been playing with the old rosters for Connected Career forever, although the rosters just updated again late last week, and I can't use those in career mode.