Madden NFL 13 News Post

OS Roundtable: Our First Impressions of Madden's Features

12:44 PM - May 7, 2012 by MMChrisS

We recently asked our staff what they thought of the initial feature releases of Madden NFL 13. Read their impressions of the tweaked gameplay and presentation after the jump!

Read More - OS Roundtable: Our First Impressions of Madden's Features

Game: Madden NFL 13Reader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Wii U / Xbox 360Votes for game: 70 - View All

Madden NFL 13 Videos

Member Comments

# 1 jmik58 @ 05/07/12 01:16 PM

Good points and I'm glad that skepticism is winning out over fanfare at this point. My biggest concern is the implementation of what EA is calling "Read and React" defense. All I've hear about is that they've tweaked the DB's. However, "Read and React" is a concept that should be applied to ALL aspects of how the defense plays. Everyone on that side of the ball has keys to read and must attempt to react accordingly. Reads and reactions occur multiple times for defenders througout each play. EA hasn't addressed the concept other than eliminating psychic DBs. It feels and smells like a typical EA "over-hype". They give it the sweeping generalized name (Read and React Defensive AI) that makes you think it applies across the board, but in reality they may only be delivering on 10% of the true concept. This would be extremely disappointing to me. I feel there is little that could revolutionize the way we play football games other than correctly implementing Read and React Defensive AI across the board. If you make the defensive players "think" like they do in real life, you've got the closest thing to "real" that we've seen in football gaming.

# 2 jpdavis82 @ 05/07/12 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thevaliantx


	I stopped reading when mention was made of the 'skating' (aka "no foot planting animations") in Madden 13. No thanks, same old, same old.

Man I wish EA would fix that "Skating" issue so you guys would shut up. It's not the same old, same old just because they didn't take care of one thing. Such a childish way of looking at it. This team is well on their way to giving us the game of football we have always wanted and some people expect them to get all the way there in one year. It's never going to happen, I don't care if it's FIFA, 2k, The Show, you name it, no game is going to ever implement every feature you want in a year's time. Those games have been through years of development to get where they are and some would say nba2k went backwards this year after 2k11. Maybe EA hasn't done things the right way with Madden in the past but just grow up and get over it.

# 3 SageInfinite @ 05/07/12 09:44 PM

Good read. In agreement with their thoughts.

# 4 bkrich83 @ 05/07/12 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpdavis82


	Man I wish EA would fix that "Skating" issue so you guys would shut up. It's not the same old, same old just because they didn't take care of one thing. Such a childish way of looking at it. This team is well on their way to giving us the game of football we have always wanted and some people expect them to get all the way there in one year. It's never going to happen, I don't care if it's FIFA, 2k, The Show, you name it, no game is going to ever implement every feature you want in a year's time. Those games have been through years of development to get where they are and some would say nba2k went backwards this year after 2k11. Maybe EA hasn't done things the right way with Madden in the past but just grow up and get over it.

The good news is, since he's given up on the game already, we won't have to listen to him rehash the same crap over and over again.

# 5 Smoke6 @ 05/07/12 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpdavis82


	Man I wish EA would fix that "Skating" issue so you guys would shut up. It's not the same old, same old just because they didn't take care of one thing. Such a childish way of looking at it. This team is well on their way to giving us the game of football we have always wanted and some people expect them to get all the way there in one year. It's never going to happen, I don't care if it's FIFA, 2k, The Show, you name it, no game is going to ever implement every feature you want in a year's time. Those games have been through years of development to get where they are and some would say nba2k went backwards this year after 2k11. Maybe EA hasn't done things the right way with Madden in the past but just grow up and get over it.

Sorry bro, but this is not a feature and its a key part of every sport known to man. With proper foot planting in madden, it would be a whole new ball game imo. This is nothing to shy from or "I cant wait til they fix it cuz im tired of hearing about it" type of issue. Many of the reasons madden is so disliked because it makes the game not feel authentic as you can stop and change directions on a dime even without stopping!

Good read tho!

# 6 UMhester04 @ 05/07/12 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smoke6


	Sorry bro, but this is not a feature and its a key part of every sport known to man. With proper foot planting in madden, it would be a whole new ball game imo. This is nothing to shy from or "I cant wait til they fix it cuz im tired of hearing about it" type of issue. Many of the reasons madden is so disliked because it makes the game not feel authentic as you can stop and change directions on a dime even without stopping! Good read tho!

Agreed. IMO if they change the running styles to make it so ALL the players have to plant their feet/shift momentum, I cannot explain how much better the game will play.

I do not understand how the most basic aspect of ANY SPORT, ESPECIALLY football (movement), is so mis represented. This should be the number one aspect of the game they should have worked on, as the game of football is all about angles, speed, momentum. It is mind boggling!!

# 7 jpdavis82 @ 05/07/12 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UMhester04


	Agreed. IMO if they change the running styles to make it so ALL the players have to plant their feet/shift momentum, I cannot explain how much better the game will play. I do not understand how the most basic aspect of ANY SPORT, ESPECIALLY football (movement), is so mis represented. This should be the number one aspect of the game they should have worked on, as the game of football is all about angles, speed, momentum. It is mind boggling!!

Well with this new development team I am sure they would have had this fixed already, but seeing as we are now at the end of the console's lifespan and this is the new dev team's first year on Madden and Cam Weber's first Madden, I think they decided just to wait to implement the all new gameplay engine for the next console. Otherwise it would be inexcusable for a team that is so committed to improving gameplay first and foremost and doubled the size of their gameplay team as their first move.

# 8 UMhester04 @ 05/07/12 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpdavis82


	Well with this new development team I am sure they would have had this fixed already, but seeing as we are now at the end of the console's lifespan and this is the new dev team's first year on Madden and Cam Weber's first Madden, I think they decided just to wait to implement the all new gameplay engine for the next console. Otherwise it would be inexcusable for a team that is so committed to improving gameplay first and foremost and doubled the size of their gameplay team as their first move.

Makes perfect sense. I was just saying back when this generation started, somewhere between then and now they should have invested a good ammount of money into a movement system. I understand that I am preaching to the choir but it just my mind how a game developer couldnt think of this.

When are the new consoles supposed to be coming out anyways?

# 9 Smoke6 @ 05/07/12 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UMhester04


	Makes perfect sense. I was just saying back when this generation started, somewhere between then and now they should have invested a good ammount of money into a movement system. I understand that I am preaching to the choir but it just my mind how a game developer couldnt think of this. When are the new consoles supposed to be coming out anyways?

No, you're not preaching to the choir, it was in the "rushed" version of nex gen madden before they scrapped that engine! Ever since then its been non existent.

I remember it vividly on the N64 as there was foot planting or what seemed like it back then.

# 10 KBLover @ 05/07/12 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpdavis82


	Man I wish EA would fix that "Skating" issue so you guys would shut up. It's not the same old, same old just because they didn't take care of one thing.

In this one feature it is...unless it's changed?

If the zig zag running is still there - how is it different? The WHOLE GAME isn't the same, but this aspect is.

Hopefully, though, something will happen with it. It's not enough to make me say "Screw M13", though. I'm interested in how the read/react plays out alone too much to say that at this point.

# 11 kingsofthevalley @ 05/08/12 04:05 AM

Cleats not iceskates in 2014!!!!!

# 12 dcurtisleon @ 05/08/12 05:16 AM

i all understand where you all comeing from. but you have to give both games madden and ncca a little credit for trying to get better and wait untill e3 in june to give them a judgement on. this is not the finshed product and i hope that ncca 13 bring back the 12 team or however how many teams within your dynasty mode . if they do that then i give it the thumbs up. because a lot of people want to play online with the mode like it was. as far as 2k12 its was okey but really bad no real new features and the same game play,crowd recation the same kinda dull. nhl 12 was great wwe 12 was great as well . all nhl 13 needs mulit-team be a gm mode of all32 teams

# 13 Armor & Sword @ 05/08/12 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KBLover


	In this one feature it is...unless it's changed? If the zig zag running is still there - how is it different? The WHOLE GAME isn't the same, but this aspect is. Hopefully, though, something will happen with it. It's not enough to make me say "Screw M13", though. I'm interested in how the read/react plays out alone too much to say that at this point.

Yeah despite that wart and it is a big one I still had fun with Madden 12 up to a point. If the new features are implemented well (read/react AI, pass ready wr/db, pass trajectories, all new presentation) and they fixed tackling (wraparounds, multiple hits) which for is what ultimately killed Madden 12 for me, then I may be a buyer this year.

All of us would love real player movement (physics). And for some it is a must to even consider the game. I can respect that point of view. For me and many others though we can have fun with Madden despite some of it's obvious flaws

# 14 BezO @ 05/08/12 09:15 AM

IMO, no feature is worth its weight until the players move & interact like they should.

20+ pass trajectories, read & react(did Madden change the meaning of this football term?), improved defensive alignment, etc. You can't play football with twitchy players that interact more like Tecmo than anything I'd expect in 2012.

# 15 Bulls321974 @ 05/08/12 10:48 AM

I won't be thrilled a bit, because I got disappointed of EA way too many times yet...

# 16 Bulls321974 @ 05/08/12 10:49 AM

@Jayson Young: You hit the nail on the head! Very good comment! One of many reasons why "Madden" keeps disappointing me again and again...

# 17 SageInfinite @ 05/08/12 11:21 AM

Funny thing is I think Madden 10 was on the right track with the running/movement. Don't know why that was scrapped.

# 18 Illustrator76 @ 05/08/12 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tazdevil20


	I don't know Jayson Young, but I'd love to send him a case of beer. He's 100% right in his comment at the end.

What's even funnier is that you do. He played in your Madden league this year. Don't you ever check your XBOX friends list for Gamertag changes, lol. It's been quite a while.

Click here if you still don't get it.

Spoiler

# 19 Big FN Deal @ 05/08/12 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tazdevil20


	Why do so many people think a real time physics system is needed to correct the player movement? There were no RTP engines on the last gen hardware, and the player movement was 1000 times better. This issue is not fixed intentionally, because there are too many Madden players as opposed to football players. To the guy who is complaining about people complaining about this... There is an easy solution to getting people to stop complaining about it - FIX IT! It's only been a problem for 8 years. Then again, dots on the helmets and the right socks and face masks are FAR more important around here.

This is the part that concerns me about this issue. I have read a few people from the community that were down at Tiburon testing NCAA 13 say, they are trying to get it tuned more like the player movement in NCAA 11. Watching the video of NCAA 11, it does seem that player movement was tuned better then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ya-x...eature=related

After going back and looking at quite a few videos of NCAA and Madden 11, it seems that locomotion did help those games but needed more tuning. However, after the devs diminished the suction last year, it seems it enhanced the capability of players to zig-zag around contact.

Again, all the people that go down to Tiburon this week, please talk to them about maybe needing to tune the locomotion system, if it's still in there, to properly account for the diminished suction. The only way to make those quick jukes and cuts should be using the right stick, which has an inherent risk/reward because every player can't perform those moves the same and too much right stick movement can have negative effects like falling down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUT3t...eature=related

The "skating" issues aside, it seems some solid tools are there to achieve far more realistic player movement, among other things in Madden already. If the devs would just STOP placing a paramount on only achieving this mythical balance between a realistic challenge and arcade fun in a default mode and gives us two other factory settings too, one for optimal arcade fun, another for optimal realistic challenge, I think that would be far better.

In recap, three factory settings, optimal arcade fun, balanced and optimal realistic challenge, with sliders for User customization. i don't understand what is unreasonable about that or what would make it so difficult to accomplish. It has to take far more time to try to find "balance" then it does the two extremes.

# 20 UMhester04 @ 05/08/12 04:13 PM

I have to again reiterate to everyone that the player movement must be tuned for EVERY PLAYER ON THE FIELD. If they only tune the user and leave the cpu players alone we will be in even more trouble than we are in now.

To anticipate people saying that tuning all 21 other cpu players will give the user a significant advantage, this should be false if it is done correctly, because the play should be even since everyone is going off the same system. The CPU being able to react within .01 of a second to me moving to change direction and both of us being able to zig zag around is a double faulted/flawed system. We need to get this right.

« Previous12 Next »

More Links

OS Roundtable: Our First Impressions of Madden's Features