If you are having trouble running the ball in Madden 13 we have a quick 2-minute tutorial that should help you out. Keep checking in with NoobTubeTV for more updates on Madden 13!
Category: Vids
Madden 13 – What Makes This Game Amazing (Part 1)
We have been focusing a lot of attention on some of the primary gameplay and AI interactions in Madden 13 over the last 24 hours. Now it is time for a couple quick reasons for you to look at Madden from the stand point of it simply being a great experience.
Don’t Skip The Intro Video
The first thing you usually do in a sports game is skip the introduction. Usually it is some sort of random highlight collection from the sport you are waiting to play digitally. You won’t want to skip over the one in Madden 13 when you first boot it up and maybe not ever. It is that good and with that said, here it is for your enjoyment.
Connected Careers Storylines Don’t Just Involve Current NFL Players
As I started into the regular season with my Browns Coaching Connected Career I decided right away that Brandon Weeden wouldn’t be the starter for the long term and set my sights on the #1 Prospect out of Weeden’s alma mater – Oklahoma State’s Stephen Diaz. I was excited about the prospect of going after what some were calling the next Andrew Luck, but then something happened when I advanced to Week 4. There was a headline that said “Violation Issues” and I was thinking that I had misread the headline. I hadn’t misread anything and now all of a sudden Diaz was no longer on scouting list and I was left wondering what the hell I could do to get the scouting points back that I had spent on him. 
It was a great feeling from the perspective of having a real living league… for the first time ever you will really have some stories to pay attention to in Madden and trust me, you will want to make sure you diversify your scouting points to multiple players. Just in case someone has an issue with violations.
Sim Sports Gaming Vs. Casual Sports Gaming (Remember The Titans)
We have been focusing on Madden 13 and football gaming quite a bit over the last few months. One of our more recent articles was about the complete subjectivity in what makes someone a “Sim” sports gamer. After considering my own personal views and then looking at my own advise to the NTTV community (…have a good time and play the game however the hell you want to…) I was left to wonder what the other people within the sports gaming community thought about this rather trivial but somehow vital prescription for how games should play and be played.
it was at that point that I came across this post on operationsports.com from community member, Big FN Deal –
“…I will suggest this again, for all the good it will likely do. We are all aware that the game is not tuned for optimal realism, it is tuned for a “fun”/realism balance. So they should release two separate optional tuner sets, one “balanced” for casual Madden play, the other for the “hardcore” tuned for optimal realism. …” (click the link for the full post)
What made my mind explode was the mention of the word ‘FUN’. In case you don’t remember what that is; it was that thing you used to do when you were younger and playing games that made you laugh and enjoy the moment because you were just having a good time. You wanted to smile your way through whatever happened and breath in that fresh air of innocence.
Then something happened… you can’t pin-point it, but chances are good that it happened when you started playing high school sports and the coaches started screaming at you and you thought every moment was live or die. You stopped wanting to have fun and just wanted raw, unadulterated, anger inducing competition. You stopped smiling. You stopped playing the game for fun. It became a chore to even go home and relax with a game of Madden football because there is NO WAY someone can rocket catch in real life!
The Definitive Movie Reference
This clip can be viewed from a two sports gamer perspectives/comparisons…
1- Casual Gamers That Play For Fun (The Players) VS. Sim Gamers That Play Strictly For Realism (Coach Boone)
or
2- Madden Fanboys (The Players) VS. 2K Fanboys (Coach Boone)
Hopefully you are laughing at this point, because you are supposed to be… if you are angry, that is okay too. Just remember to think back to when you used to have fun. Once upon a time when there was no such thing as a ‘patch’ for the 100-Yard pass in Tecmo Super Bowl.
You Can’t Teach Speed – Outsmarting Your Opponents
Whenever I talk to jaded gamers about playing games like Call of Duty, Halo or any other online shooter they usually tell me that the game is too fast. While I agree that online First Person Shooters (FPS) are rather fast paced you also shouldn’t let this stop you from playing the games you’d like to enjoy. As we get older we tend to lose a lot of our quick ‘twitch’ reflexes (especially in gaming). Look at athletes or any other person that relies on their physical abilities early in their career only to have to switch to a more cerebral approach later on.
For those of you that don’t have the ‘reaction time’ for some of your favorite games, it might be time to come to terms with the fact that you are ageing. It sounds almost comical from a gaming perspective but really there are many more tactics and strategies that can help your performance than the twitch reflexes you have lost (or never had).
Plan Your Movements
Even if you have to think about your movements in a calculated manner for each match you are probably thinking more than any of your other opponents and therefore – gaining an advantage. It isn’t that someone with fast reflexes doesn’t think but they tend to operate in a more instinctive fashion. The benefit you gain from planning out your attacks is that you actually work out multiple potential problems as you advance. A prime example of this can be found in the following clip from the movie Sherlock Holmes –
Know Your Speed and Stick To It
Nothing can screw up your gaming ability more than playing out of your element. If you have an opponent in Madden that prefers to play a no huddle offense and leave you grasping for time outs or hopeful incomplete passes you shouldn’t stoop to their level when you get the ball. Slow the game down, take your time with every snap and adjustment (we will have a full feature on how to do all these things in Madden 13 over the next week).
Always make it your mission to play ‘your’ game. It is vital for you to take every opportunity to make your opponent think and sometimes overthink everything they are doing.
When playing a game like Call of Duty there are often only two types of players in a team deathmatch setting: Campers and Rushers. Campers hate to be forced out of their favorite spots and rushers hate having to stop and slow down to kill a well placed camper. It is really the ultimate conundrum when it comes to gaming and it can provide you with the ability to create a third type of COD player… a hybrid of camper and rusher. We will call it a Cramper.
One of the videos I posted back in April shows you the best of both worlds –
Need Some Help Developing Your Gaming Identity or Game Speed?
NoobTubeTV recently started offering Game Training sessions for your convenience just a few weeks ago. For many people out there the gaming world can be a rather unnerving place if you are new to the online realm especially. We offer a professional, courteous, patient and friendly atmosphere where you can develop your skills and find your desired level of gaming. For more information on our Game Training sessions, please visit the NTTV Game Training page.
Madden 13 – Live Draft Videos Show Tremendous Effort At EA
As a Browns fan one of the biggest (if not, THE biggest) days every year is the NFL Draft. A lot of people feel this way but for teams like the Browns and all of the Browns Backers out there, it is a day where we fill ourselves with hope and beer as we watch and listen for rumors of who will be taken to turn our team around. In the past, Madden’s Franchise Mode has grown to be a serviceable game mode but the one thing that has been lacking was atmosphere and purpose in the off-season and especially in the draft. This year that has changed and we are happy to embed a video by one of EA’s Game Changers (MadScientist06) that shows you what the NFL Draft feels like in Madden 13.
While there are some things that I would like to see tweaked for Madden 14 and beyond, this is one of the finest examples of growth in Franchise Mode that I have seen in years.
What I Love –
+ Limiting Picks to 2-minutes – This is one of the things that had to be done to give every pick the urgency you feel as a viewer on draft day. Sure, in reality you have more than two minutes, but in Madden it is you and your scouting expertise with a controller and a twitch reaction of pressing the ‘A’ or ‘X’ button (depending on your console). This is a great move either way you spin it.
+ Story-Lines For Certain Players – Stories are what make sports so amazing. Try to watch the Olympics or the NFL Draft without hearing about some guy who showed up one day and amazed people with his ability. Or on the flipside, remember that player that was supposed to be the number 1 pick and he ended up falling to the second round because of work ethic or something else entirely?… that is what the draft is about and it is finally in Madden.
+Twitter Feed – Bringing in personalities from the sports community was genius. I love to hate Skip Bayless most of the time and when he called MadScientist06’s pick of Corey Dallas the culmenation of “…Dumb, Dumber, Dumbest!… A TERRIBLE pick!…” This is what I have been waiting for since Madden 2005’s boos and cheers.
What Makes Me Nervous
– Draft Logic – It is one of those things that has been improved over the years, but some teams are still making questionable decisions in the draft. At one point you see the Rams taking a Quarterback – they already have Sam Bradford, but who knows… maybe he broke his arm? Either way, this is something that should be perfected over time and you will probably give some picks a strange look. You could always just say that the spirit of Al Davis is possessing people.
– Unlocking Ratings – I have never been a fan of Madden’s rating system being thrown out there as the end-all/be all for how a player is judged. I love that you have to spend points on opening certain ratings but in reality this isn’t a good simulation of how information is gathered (at least from a fan’s perspective).
– Scouting Still Limits You – If you take a look at NFL.com’s combine coverage, they list the stats and times of every player that participated. I don’t really think you should be able to see every rating of each player, but I should at least have the resources as a coach/owner to look on the internet and look at a player’s 40-time if he was at the combine. In the future I would like to see this presented with a ‘range’ of times if we are looking at speed. The Raiders base most of their drafts off of combine numbers while the Patriots look at their scouting over the year. You should have both options and especially the combine numbers for every player.
Keep tuning in to NoobTubeTV as this is going to be a very busy week in the world of Madden (only 8.5 days left until release day).
Black Ops 2 Multiplayer Trailer – Does It Impress You?
While it is always nice to have a change of pace from time to time, there is also something to be said for a game that withstand the test of time. Call of Duty isn’t one of those games.
Black Ops 2 looks good from the graphical perspective and will most likely ‘handle’ just like every other COD game. You can always expect tight, fast and precise gameplay from Call of Duty titles. The great part about the trailer is that it shows us exactly what we were expecting. The terrible part is… it shows us exactly what we were expecting.
The use of the ‘Guardian’ technology around the 36 second mark should make you think back to the 60 Minutes report on a ‘ray gun’ –
This is cool. No doubt about it – amazing technology is being developed by our government (and others). However, this is also one of the downfalls of Call of Duty games. They constantly push out ‘cool’ and ‘amazing’ weapons that while they might be real, tend to make the game into an annual BFG-Fest.
Between killstreaks and other numerous things that make Call of Duty the game we all love to jump on and play for hours at a time there are also some rumors out there that they are getting rid of one thing that many people have become rather annoyed with during their time with Modern Warfare 3 – Aim Assist (especially with sniper rifles). Go ahead and throw a party – you know you want to.
It is going to be a great autumn and winter for gaming and we can’t wait!
Making Madden Better – Volume 2 (Madden 13 Demo Edition)
Demo day was here and gone. Now it is time to help EA make Madden a little bit better.
Madden 13 Demo Arrives – NTTV Has You Covered!
Finding the demo can sometimes be the most annoying experience. This video will walk you through the quick journey to find one of the most impressive sports gaming demos to date.
We are currently uploading the first tutorial for Madden 13 noobs. It is based around the ‘Demo’ version of the game, but you should be ready to hit the digital gridiron on August 28th!
Our Next Generation Console Demands – Part 1
Hoping for advances in technology is like hoping that tomorrow will come. While it is a 99% certainty that it will happen, we really don’t know how it will turn out. We usually hope for tomorrow to be amazing. It is human nature to desire more and better for the future. As we get closer to the next generation of gaming, we will be talking about some of our favorite parts of this generation’s games and what we hope to see in the future.
In Game Graphics Vs. Screenshot Graphics
If you have read any of our coverage of Madden 13 and real time physics you will see that it is one of the more important parts of gaming at this point. Players and characters have ‘looked like’ their real-life counterparts for a couple years now. While EA 
Sports has taken awhile to get more face scans, it is something that will indeed improve for the next generation. However, physics and processing power are going to be more important than something just looking pretty.
Take Battlefield 3 for instance – not only do you see guns and enemies, but you see buildings and vehicles that can easily explode and remind you that some things look cool but they just aren’t ‘super real’ just yet. That is where the physics and actual graphical ‘processing’ are going to be more important than some sort of glorified screenshot that we see even this generation.
PC games aren’t necessarily held back like console games in this way. Well, they aren’t held back ‘as much’… and it is something that PC gamers are always happy to point out to console gamers. Console gamers shouldn’t expect ‘real life’ realism yet. If you take a look at the game from id Games that made everyone see just a glimpse of the graphical future of games – Rage 
certainly amazed gamers on PC and consoles alike. Even with a bunch of driver problems on PC it is still a great benchmark graphically. The issue XBox 360 users got to see as they opened the game for the first time was the fact that it came on 3 discs. While PS3 owners got to snicker and laugh because they have Blu Ray playback, XBox 360 gamers simply had to enjoy Rage with a couple swaps of the disc.
Other gamers might even recall having to switch discs on their 360 while playing Rockstar’s L.A. Noire. This game, while running on the same engine as Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption pushed a new era of facial structure and movement in games. Never before have you had to interpret whether someone was lying to you based on their facial expressions, but in this case it made the game incredibly innovative even if it was quickly disregarded as a 
must have title. L.A. Noire still ranks as one of my favorite titles that came out during this generation of consoles because while it was in development for what seems like forever (nearly 7 years) it was still incredibly innovative and risk taking from a graphical and gameplay perspective when it game to interrogating suspects. There is still something to be said for games that take a chance to amaze you and that will never go away.
Even with these amazing achievements in graphics, there is still something to be desired. The PS3 was marketed almost solely on ‘The Cell Processor’ and its amazing 7-Cores. Yes, it was and is an amazing processor, but the funny part of this really goes back to the fact that many developers actually stated that games were easier to develop for the XBox 360 (which had issues with their own processor – RROD). Metal Gear Solid 4 was delayed on numerous occasions and if you pay close attention to Solid Snake during a cinematic scene you will notice that his hair still moves around in little chunks. While details like a character’s hair are something that some people might scoff at, take a look at some of the things people are getting caught up about with Madden Football. (wrong facemasks, helmets and shoestrings, etc.)
Real Time Physics (aka – The Sports Gamer’s Pipe Dream)
Perhaps one of the most famous hits in NFL history is the one that Lawerence Taylor put on Joe Theismann. While this is an extremely gruesome hit (please don’t watch this video if you get queesy) – it is a fine example of something that isn’t in Madden NFL football – real time physics with real time injuries.
Perhaps one of the most desired and denied wishes of gamers is realistic ‘real-time’ physics. This basically means that if a character is moving at a high rate of speed and tackles someone going a different direction you should see a collision that makes you go “oooohhh!”. What we have been seeing instead are animations that are ‘canned’ and play out in an expected fashion almost every time.
Even if you don’t play sports games it wouldn’t be hard to imagine a fighting game or an action game that had better real-time physics. Games like Assassins Creed or Mortal Kombat could become some of the most amazingly technologically advanced console games ever made (from the standpoint of physics). However, where many people want to see this drive improvement is in sports games.
The current generation of consoles has been pushed to the limit with physics processing. Many games look good in this fashion (All Pro Football 2K8) and others look simply ‘overblown’ (Backbreaker). What we are really hoping for is something in-between that will give us true physics in regards to player size, speed and strength (with other such variables). It is our hope that someday we will be able to play a game of Madden, MLB, NHL or NBA 2K and see hits, throws, catches, shots, passes, interactions and injuries that genuinely make us feel like we are watching/playing a real game of football.
Borderlands 2 – Getting You Excited About Finding Amazing Guns… Tim Tebow Excited
If you haven’t played Borderlands up to this point, you have been missing out. You haven’t just been missing out on a great game with an open world full of baddies. You have been missing out on some of the craziest weapons you will ever see in gaming. This isn’t an over-stated point… it might be an understatement. If someone says “BFG” and “Doom” in the same sentence it is usually met with some sort of reaction that entails it being the best gun ever made in a video game.
Then again, if you have played Borderlands, you might have a certain gun that has been the greatest ever made. What makes it better? It could be completely unique to your experience! We don’t use exclamation points often, but in this case it is worth it and necessary. Borderlands is a game that gives you the opportunity to explore a vast world and in the process you will find weapons that are randomly generated for your enjoyment. What type of guns can you find? Here are a few examples –
In Borderlands 2 you should expect a lot of the the same. Tons of guns (a lot of them will be crappy when you start) but once you get rolling you will never regret diving into this amazing open world FPS.
By the way, you should also know that when you team up with friends you can trade and give them some of the weapons you have found. Who says charity isn’t a good thing? When it gets you a shotgun that fires rockets with a sniper scope and it’s accurate to that range for 400 damage?… Yeah, we are excited like Tim Tebow.
NoobTubeTV 