Madden NFL 2013 Review
There are a lot of Madden lovers out there that are raising the pitchforks at EA for taking out franchise mode. This years Madden NFL 13 has received lower ratings and reviews than last years Madden which to my knowledge hasn’t happened before. Well here is what I think, GET OVER IT! Madden NFL 13 brings so much more in terms of the infinity engine and the running game that I thought was a huge advancement in the football gaming franchise. In every Madden before this year the one thing that stood out like a sore thumb was the running game. You just pick a back with great stats and run it up the middle for 4 yards with the occasional 10+ yard play. Even if there was a wall of linemen your negative play could return a 4 yard carry because of this fault in the video game. Well not anymore because with the new infinity engine you now have to have skills like a real running back to find the holes, cut corners, and not trip over your own linemen. If you even try to push it up the middle with a 300 pound lineman in front of you, your player will trip and fall for 0 yards just like he is supposed to, not push through a human shield.
Not only is the running game solved, the infinity engine now makes plays look more realistic and not bring you the same motions during every hit. For example, if Ray Lewis is going to tackle a smaller running back like Darren Sproles you would expect a different impact and motion than Ray Lewis tackling Adrian Peterson, well the infinity engine does just that. Players weight, height, power, and speed all come into play when being tackled with the infinity engine. This is perhaps the most noticeable upgrade for a Madden game and yet most gamers are complaining about one mode taken out that ruined the ratings.
Gameplay
I already discussed how the running game made a vast improvement and there are noticeable differences in the passing game as well. There used to be several plays in every playbook that dedicated Madden players could find and utilize for automatic first downs, automatic touchdowns, or easy 2-point conversions. I tried those same plays on every team and noticed that they only work about 50-60% of the time if the play is executed perfectly. This is a great improvement because it will convince those who go for it on every 4th down to hesitate and think about the punt or field goal. Same goes for the automatic 2-point conversions that can easily give an unfair advantage to someone playing against a friend. Every year Madden becomes more and more realistic and this year doesn’t disappoint.
Graphics
The graphics are realistic and confuse older people that a live game is on as usual. I don’t see a huge advancement in the graphics here compared to last years Madden, it could be that we are seeing the maximum potential of graphics for sports games on this generation of consoles or the developers at EA focused more on the actual game play. Whichever the case may be the graphics are always raising the bar for sports games.
Music
What is interesting about this Madden is the noticeable change from popular Hip Hop and Rock songs to more traditional football audio. When you are in the game menu’s picking your teams and settings the background music is as if you were about to watch a Monday night football game (which I enjoy). However, if you liked listening to popular songs in-between games that get you excited to play then you may not like this switch. Overall, I don’t think it is a bad idea what they have done with the music but perhaps a blend of traditional football music and adding in a more upbeat Hip Hop or Rock song would be best.
Madden NFL 2013 Rating
Gameplay 8/10 The running game is vastly improved and the passing game is still great. With the infinity engine upgrade this game can literally be played for hours.
Graphics 9/10 The graphics in this game are the best for sport simulation games to date.
Music 7/10 The soundtracks in this Madden are more focused on traditional football rather than modern hip hop and rock songs. Like I said before a blend of both would be best.
Replay Value 7/10 The only reason the replay value isn’t higher is because next year this game will be in the $5 bin