Video Review - Madden NFL 13

Why does the fumble yards say 65534?

i prefer igns review because their reviewer knows something about football

It's sad that the last Madden game I bought was 09, and this still looks practically indistinguishable from that. Moreover, the feel of the gameplay in 09 is not a million miles away (in terms of feel and gameplay; obviously not graphics) from the first Madden I ever played, 97 on the Saturn. EA really need some serious competition to force them to up their game, otherwise they are going to get away with releasing yearly roster updates and charging for a full new game. Personally, much as I love US football, I won't buy another Madden game until genuine, significant improvements are made.

predictably embarrassingly unaltered, unrealistic, and flawed.

its a SMALL step up from last year 

Thanks for the review - kept me from wasting $50.

This is EA Sport's cash cow.  In today's game industry environment where ANY kind of risk is avoided by the big studios, it's no surprise this game is the same old same old.

I like the new interface and commentary, but unfortunately, this is what a monopoly looks like. EA has almost zero reason to really try to out do itself until that contract with the NFL runs out.

This review couldn't be more on point if he told the absolute truth about it in a court of law!

Get connected careers offline fixed while you have EA's attentionBrianU; I tweeted @EAMaddenNFL and Im hoping if others tweet them in a similar fashion they will get this info the the right people and we can save CCM this year! The Issue: If you start a game in Play Now with the exact same teams, settings, difficulty and gameplay sliders then start a game in CCM with everything the same it plays radically different. There is no challenge in CCM games. The computer is unable to rush for more than 1-2 YPC in CCM as long as you call the appropriate play. You can sit back and let your CPU teamates defend for you the CPU rushing attack is going no where. This even occurs if you set the difficulty to All-Madden, User sliders to 0 and CPU sliders to 100. It almost looks like the CPU RB moves differently. They do not use moves or run at holes. They cannot get past the LOS on outside runs. They make poor decisions all around when it comes to running the ball that prevent them from gaining more than 50 yards a game total as long as you are decent and play smart. The biggest flaw is how they run directly into players on the other team, like they have no awareness or vision. This causes them to gain 1-2 yards on most runs up the middle or negative yards on outside runs. This does not ever happen in Play Now and is why they are able to put up 150+ rushing games. Play Now games have the best gameplay of any Madden this generation using the exact same settings. Players break off huge runs. Teams put up 150+ yards of rushing offense. The sliders and difficulty matter in Play Now and do not in CCM. Examples: -Play Now- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSBrBZ5qOas -CCM- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV7PKvGtjvM EA Devs: https://twitter.com/Josh_Looman https://twitter.com/JDewiel https://twitter.com/mysportsphotog https://twitter.com/Donny_Moore Threads of reference: Jarodd21s Madden 13 All-Madden sliders http://www.operationsports.com/forums/madden-nfl-football-sliders/570439-jarodd21s-madden-13-all-madden-sliders.html" http://www.operationsports.com/forums/madden-nfl-football-sliders/572683-play-now-vs-ccm.html"Play Now vs CCMhttp://www.operationsports.com/forums/madden-nfl-football/572999-get-ccm-ai-fixed-now-while-we-have-eas-attention.html<media=youtube>CV7PKvGtjvM</media>https://twitter.com/Josh_Loomanhttps://twitter.com/JDewielhttps://twitter.com/mysportsphotoghttps://twitter.com/Donny_Moore***this was severely edited see the link for full post***

To sum it up, DON'T BUY IT!

I actually defended this game because I had played a game before hand and thought that this game was not madden 2012, and therefor the improvements seemed "nicer" then they really were. Because it feels different, just enough, it makes it feel fresh, but that is really not true, the more you play, the more game breaking bugs present themselves... Horrible DB AI, and them running half speed and allowing long play after long play.... they also bump in run without you asking them to, and get beat horribly fast and give up long plays... The Running game is NOT improved! They dynamic player interactions actually take away from the game because now, the slightest bump from your own teammate sends you running crossways with the ball dangling from 1 extended arm with it behind his back at some point chooses to act like this was a game of ping pong instead of realistic simulation football... this game is bad... Its just different bad... Any pleasure you get from this game is because you like football that much... I can not play this game without at least 10-15 game breaking issues surfacing that suspends belief at the highest a simulation title possibly could without being sued for fraud!

PS... play a LE/RE for 1 full game and see how many time your character end up on his face or azz for NO FREAKING reason, I mean instantly engaging with the OL sends the DE into a free falling animation as if Orlando Pace and Toney Boselli's baby on steroids was not the rated 81 Tackles that handle user controled DE's like they were test crash dummies.

I really went in objective and hoping they could improve the talent enough, that old engine that is still dangling from this years change looks just as bad now as it did the last 6 years

Haven't bought a madden game since 2K was removed from the shelf. 

I keep wanting the Madden series to be good again. Having been a fan since the Sega Genesis days when the idea of a full 11 vs. 11 football game was revolutionary, it used to be a day 1 purchase for me. I have purchased current gen versions, but every time I do, I seem to get through half a season and simply quit because the game has evolved so little. It's a new cover, menu and other fluff, but the gameplay has stagnated. As has been stated many times over the past 8 years, without competition in the genre, Madden has become stale.

remember how great Madden used to be  when they had

2k to compete with?

I've played madden for over 10 years and this is definitely the worst one by far. The opposing team cannot even run the ball. I played a game against the chargers and ryan mathews was 17 carries and 31 yards; while philip rivers had 14/15 completions. Why would the chargers run the football, it made no sense. Not only did rivers have 1 incompletion, but i did as well with carson palmer. And mcfadden had 200 yards every game i played. This game is garbage. They made it LOOK more realistic but in reality, its just cheap gameplay. Passing is way too easy, and defending the run is way too easy. and connected careers is retarded. Plus WHERE IS FANTASY DRAFT?!?!??

After owning and playing Madden 13 since the release I really have to disagree with the review score. This Madden is the best Madden I've ever played. I know, Madden had a lot of glory days on the last generation but this Madden feels closer to pro football then any other Madden I've played and that's why I say it 's the best so far. The new infinity engine is amazing and the size attributes make the game feel real. Gone are the day where speed means everything. D-Ends and D-tackles are no longer able to be blocked by R-Backs. Sure they can slow them down or cut block but none of this head up RB on DE anymore. Because of the D-Linemans size he just keeps on trucking through the RB just like he would in real life. There's a lot to love about this Madden and if you're a gaming football fan and you decide not to pick this game up, shame on you cause it's worth it this year. I agree more with the IGN review and I think the game is closer to a 9.0 then a 7.5.

I was one of the biggest Madden fans out there.  I still have every copy released from the Commodore 64 and SNES version through the first 2 copies released for the PS3 - all of them sitting in my DVD rack.  I haven't purchased a copy in several years, however.  In my opinion, the franchise went belly-up as soon as they moved it to the new consoles.  I was just unplayable for me.  It went backwards.  Gameplay regressed, as did my favorite part of the game, franchise mode.  And neither has ever been the same.  The franchise mode today is STILL inferior to that on the earliest PS2 versions.  A sad state of affairs........

Each year I read the reviews and perhaps check out a copy if a friend buys it, but each year I come to the conclusion that I don't want to waste my money on a game that is inferior to that which was released YEARS ago for the PS2.  I just refuse to waste my money.

I WASN'T a fan of 2K.  I didn't like their football games.  I was a die-hard Madden fan.  But I did, however, like that 2K was around and available to push Madden to improve each year.  Sadly, it appears that since that driving force was removed due to the exclusivity deal, Madden has stagnated and even regressed.

So I'll keep hoping some day I can happily spend my money on Madden again - and can once again enjoy a football game.  Each year I'll check the reviews, look at new features, and try out the new version if I get a chance.  Perhaps some day, hopefully soon, I will once again feel that Madden is worth the money and is once again something I'll have fun spending my time on.  Until then, I'll save my money and find other ways to occupy my time.........

@underoath83 You do realize the $20-pricetag for 2k5 had nothing to do with quality, right? It had everything to do with marketing. 2k Sports knew it would be tough to ultimately win Madden fanboys over since the series had been around for so long. Therefore, they released it with a cheap pricetag, because they knew people would buy it regardless. And guess what? It worked.

2k5 sold a crapload of copies and til this day people go on and on about how it's arguably the greatest football game ever made. It was well ahead of its time. There are still numerous features in that game that EA has yet to implement into its next-gen version.

Unfortunately, the $20-pricetag is exactly why we're where we are today. The NFL thought 2k was "cheapening" their brand and thus the exlusivity went up for a bid. Obviously there was no way in hell 2k was going to outbid EA. 

Yes, Madden '05 was also a good game. But it was the last great effort EA put towards the Madden franchise. Why? Simple answer: competition. Every year they claim they fixed occuring issues and every year we are left with a similar experience.

It's sad to say that a whole console's lifespan will pass us by without receiving a quality NFL title. Maybe EA will one day wake up and figure it out. But as the popular saying goes amongst disgruntled Madden consumers everywhere, "Maybe next year . . . "

u guys REALLY need to stop comparing  2k and Madden we will see wat happens in a couple of years cause I REALLY dont think the NFL or NCAA will renew their contracts with EASPORTS.....but this review SUCKS BIG TIME enough said!!!!!!!!!!

Wish 2k would come back. Most realistic franchis ever. You still can chain moves togerther on Madden. 2k5 ...best football gam ever

Great review Tom. Excellent objective take on Madden 13. 

2k Come back please!

2K5 is considered the best football game ever by MANY people.  You can basically just google it and find that out.

Also, to the lady who cut in line in front of me to buy the first copy @ wally world aka wallmart, I will let you in front due to the fact this years madden is for losers who do not know a great football game if it came out of the toilet and bit you in the butt O

madden 13 does NOT bring anything that we all have NOT seen in the past editions.Players are not life like at all, The MOST I loved about madden 2013 is they removed that loud mouthed jerk of an announcer Chris Collingsworth!!!! 

Ok ... this is directed toward "underoath83" and all others like him/her.  The NFL 2k series comments are valid.  The reason people come here and make comments about it is because they are like me and many others... we are hoping for a good football game but every year Madden puts out the same crap with a new bow-tie.  We (or at least I) are not trolling ... we are upset that the NFL signed a contract with Madden and gave them a monopoly on football games! When you have a monopoly you don't have to be ground breaking because you DON'T have any competition.  They know that EVERY year they can put out essentially the same game and people will buy it.  And saying Madden 05 was obviously better than NFL 2k5 because of the price is ridiculous. They sold it for $20 to try and get people to just try it so they could see for themselves it was a great game ... but all of you Madden lifers couldn't get off of Madden's d!ck long enough to look at it.  I loved all the people who claimed Madden was better than 2k and had never even played the game.  That just screams that you'll believe anything big corporate tells you.  Sadly that is what we live in today ... a company has a monopoly (which isn't supposed to be legal in America) on a wanted commodity and they can F the customer all they want because where else are they gonna go for their video game football needs?  Other games come and go... trying to sell their game but nobody wants to play with made up teams or imaginary players ... they want their team ... their players and they are willing to pay $60+ every year for the same game!  For those of us who loved NFL 2k series ... its not just that we are voicing our anger for the absence of the game we love ... but also the absence of a competition driven product.  Something that screams "We worked hard on this game to earn your dollar" ... instead of the "We don't give a sh!t because we know that you don't have a choice" statement that is being shoved at us year after year!!!!

The NFL 2k comments every year are comical. If you already think anything EA makes is going to be inferior, why are you coming here (or to anything Madden related) and trolling it? Btw Madden 05 was better than NFL 2k5. Why do you think it started out at a $20 price tag. I'll tell you, because it was crap. The presentation was the only good thing about that game. Gameplay blew.

Same game, different year.  This is what happens when you have no competition.  Lack of competition breeds apathy and complacency....  Well, at least EA can't make NCAA Football exclusive anymore.  Here is to hoping 2K Games takes the advantage to create another college football game and force EA to compete for our money in a few years.

Question to those who actually bought the game, All I want to know is this, does the break tackling system actually work? I played the demo and I found out that it was the same ol game with slightly better animation (catching and tackling), but I couldn't break tackles for jack, Stiff arm, bulldozing (Chuck stick) isn't as effective as it was in 2k5. I say both video review from IGN and GameSpot and noticed only 2 broken tackle (IGN) but they weren't the stiff arm or bulldozing variety.   

So... the old military saying "Same S**t Different Day" applies to this game right?

All the nextgen madden have been terrible... 12 was awful... I will also keep my 60 dollars

all i want is improved franchise mode lol

Meh, it's hard to get excited about a game that hasn't changed in 10 years. I think I'll keep my $60 thank you.

This is exactly why I stopped looking at gamespot.......their reviews and opinions of games suck. IGN gave this game a 9.0 which is well deserved. Ive been playing the full version since Friday and I love it! The gameplay is much improved and it legit feels like a real football game. Best in the series as far as I am concerned. 

What a shame! Typical EA product. Innovation dies with exclusive licensing rights. I blame the stupid NFL and the NCAA for this. All they did was create a monopoly for football video games. EA has no competition, so why should they care. They take the same game and make minor tweaks and re-release it. Just wait until they turn this a F2P game where improvements are no longer necessary. It's coming. You know they are wetting themselves at the thought. RIP Madden. I stopped buying EA football games in protest of the licensing agreement.