Tag: Madden 13

Madden 13 – No Editing Players Could Destroy Much of the Hype

While it hasn’t been officially ruled out for Madden 13, it has been stated that much of editing players outside of the XP System we mentioned a few days ago isn’t going to be an option when Madden 13 is released.  So, it remains to be seen if it is a certainty that it will be removed this year… however, in regards to what this means for the gaming community it is three-fold.

  1. EA Sports has once again ‘removed’ something that was in past iterations of Madden NFL.  Which baffles almost everyone that pays the slightest amount of attention to the game.  The reason this is so baffling is because EA Tiburon is constantly reinventing Madden.  When will they decide that this game is powered by their dedicated community and the edits they make to everything from ratings to playbooks (also not editable this year).
  2. Relying on Donny Moore for roster updates and his subjective ratings changes that vary depending on who had a good game from week to week.  The Ratings Czar is going to be on the spot this year if they don’t allow roster and ratings edits.  Not to mention the fact that this once again keeps offline gamers out of the loop entirely.
  3. A promising amount of hype is being overshadowed by what is looking more and more like regression on the part of EA and their dedication to allowing the end-user any sort of autonomy with their game.

Madden is still looking like a game to put on your ‘must have’ list in late August, but this latest news is troubling on many levels and it doesn’t bode well for this game from the perspective of roster-editing.

E3 Recap – Games To Keep An Eye On and Games To Give The Stink Eye

It was a great week for game fans of all ages last week, but that doesn’t mean that some announcements didn’t disappoint us.

There are some games that have great demos out there right now and there are also some games that shouldn’t have demos (because they are that terrible).

Keep and Eye On:

Spec Ops: The Line (Respawn Entertainment/2K) – This game plays smoothly and feels like a modern military version of Gears of War (executions and all).  In playing the demo there is something left to be desired from gameplay that seems slightly uninspired.  There isn’t a lot of holding your breath in worry that an army of baddies is coming to put you down.  However, the multiplayer gameplay looks like it could prove to be enjoyable, if not at least something different from Call of Duty’s first person syndication every year.

 

 

Madden 13 (EA Sports) – Finally, Madden has come out of the E3 gates with something to talk about other than their yearly subjective roster update.  Real-time physics, connected careers and a new XP system of progressing your players in career modes is a breath of fresh air that every football gaming fan will appreciate.  There are some tuning issues they are still working on for much of connected careers (which is to be expected); but hopefully they can use the next month or so before the game goes ‘gold’ to fix these things.  Don’t expect perfection off the bat, but you should expect some new joy in how Madden actually plays this year.

 

 

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Konami) – Finally, something playable was present at E3 and did it ever live up to the hopes and dreams of Metal Gear fans!  Raiden was a character that upset many of the Metal Gear ‘purists’ (elitists…myself included) but when Kojima decided to make Raiden into an awesome Cyborg Ninja from Hell in Metal Gear Solid 4?… I was convinced that Raiden was cool enough to be a desireable character.  At this point, MGSRR is looking more and more like Ninja Gaiden put into the shoes of Metal Gear and it looks amazing.

 

 

Hitman: Absolution (Square Enix) – One of the favorites to make people gush over the wonders of Agent 47’s ability to silently make enemies hunker down in fear.  This is proving to be a game that you should be very excited about.  The gameplay is solid and the story of Agent 47 is usually an intriguing one.  Let’s face it, Hitman is a game that really has its set of fanatics and then the rest of the gamers that want to get their fill of digital violence.  The beauty of Absolution is that it seems to have a better feel and look than Blood Money.  There is a fine line for the Hitman series to walk right now but it is avoiding our list of stink eye games… for now.

Give the Stink Eye To:

NCAA Football 13 (EA Sports) – Talk about giving a game a fresh coat of paint and sending it out for the user to beta test.  NCAA Football 12 was decent, but with major flaws on release day that weren’t patched for over a month and a half (player tendencies after re-naming rosters, etc.).  NCAA Football 13 changed throwing trajectories but didn’t implement real-time physics like Madden 13.  They have the same button schemes this year, but after that similarity NCAA falls to the field with a thud.  The menu interface hasn’t changed and the game doesn’t seem to look different at all.  The demo is out there for you to give it a try – but it could be a 1GB file you regret downloading in the first place.

 

 

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (Treyarch/Activision) – This series has been played out.  The fact that they are going to the year 2025 isn’t as impressive as some people want to make it out to be.  Not to mention the fact that they are ‘bringing back’ zombie mode.  What is going to be different from Black Ops or even Modern Warfare 3?  Nothing really.

You already know what to expect if you are a COD fan and that can be a good thing if you love COD games.  Black Ops 2 is like the third Transformers movie at this point –

All of the explosions, the hot girl that replaces another hot girl (albeit, with an accent) and our typical schlubs ‘heroes’ to save the world from bad foreigners (Insert xenophobia here) and you have yourself a “Brand New” Call of Duty Game.

Halo 4 (343/Microsoft) – Did you know that another Halo game was coming out?  Of course you did.   What better way to milk this cash cow of a franchise than to continue the saga of Master Chief from a ‘whole new perspective’?

Much like Call of Duty and even Gears of War, Halo 4 is a game that has many people excited because they worship the Halo universe and think Master Chief is the greatest thing since sliced bread.  Say what you want about the books and everything else… if you love Halo you will buy this game.  After that what is there?  One of the ‘features’ listed for this game on Amazon is telling –

“The Master Chief returns to battle an ancient evil bent on vengeance and annihilation. Humanity and the universe will never be the same again.”

If you pay attention to the last sentence of their description, it is one of the most hilarious marketing ploys ever.  Consider what has happened over the course of Halo, Halo 2 and then Halo 3.  Then consider what happened with Halo 3: ODST and then the prequel Halo: Reach.  It is something of a guess, but after 5 games that gave us a great trilogy a prequel and even the perspective of a different soldier (ODST) there isn’t much more to care about is there?

It is always a funny argument to hear when a Halo fanboy and a Call of Duty fanboy come into a game store or game department… or God forbid – forums.  Both sides love to present their game as being superior in some way shape or form.  However, in the end they are both arguing over something that they both share in… being duped into buying the same game every year or two.

Gears of War: Judgement (Epic/Microsoft) – Say what you want about the story of Gears of War, it was original and the voice acting was impressive all the way through.  However, the latest announcement is bringing up the same old argument we just made about Halo and Call of Duty.  The most insulting thing you can do to a gamer is try and squeeze out more money for a prequel.  George Lucas was able to fool some people into thinking the new Star Wars prequel trilogy would be worth the excitement.  However, in the end… people still prefer to go back and watch the movies that are now nearing 40 years in age.

This announcement of a new Gears of War game is exciting for people that enjoy the Gears story and gameplay.  Unfortunately, outside of that group of people there are many other gamers that would prefer to see something original come out and blow our minds.  Maybe this is the last Epic game that will grace the 360 before they move on and develop a new series for the XBox 720.  We can only hope that this game is a final conclusion… or pre-clusion?

Madden 13 – Infinity Engine and Real Time Physics Should Mean Real Injuries

If Roger Goodell had it his way the NFL would be relegated to flag football or two-hand touch (but the latter might involve too much contact).  The issue at hand for Madden is the fact that they are marketing their newest and most important gameplay fix in years – real time physics.

What is real time physics?  It strictly means that as a player’s leg makes contact with another player in motion it will bounce off in realistic fashion rather than clipping through the other player or simply rubbing off in some strange way.

Now your players will flip, fall and bend as they should… but will they break like they should?

What might take away from this new way of players moving is when they smash their knees on someone’s helmet or fall on their head… or god forbid, get laid out by Patrick Willis and they somehow don’t get injured.  The NFL is making it more and more difficult for EA Tiburon to implement realism so long as they have the NFL’s license to make Madden with real players and NFL likeness’.

If EA wants to be a simulation, they need to include real-time injuries with this new physics engine… otherwise, they are just giving people a watered down version of football that is better left to Saturday morning kids shows.

Who knows if Joseph Addai got hurt on this play, but it could happen. In Madden it would currently play no part in his chances of injury.

 

Madden 13 – Trade and Other Logic

EA Sports has released a webcast that will blow your mind if you are a Franchise Fanatic.

Madden 13’s Connected Careers (Franchise Mode) has made this game a must buy!
  • CPU Teams will trade with eachother and offer you trades
  • Free Agency is based on making an offer and then advancing the week (you better hope your offer is legit.
  • Players will change dynamically and progress if they do amazing things in the game or season.
  • The NFL Draft is a live experience with Trey Wingo giving facts and stories of important players in the draft
  • Coaches will get fired
  • Teams will start looking for coaches after their season ends
  • Salary caps are in for Online Franchise guys
  • Connected to Facebook and Twitter

http://www.easports.com/madden-nfl/promo/madden-webcast

Madden 13 Franchise Mode Details Coming Soon

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT UPDATES ON CONNECTED CAREERS!!!

 

As of next week (June 4) there is going to be a new blog released from EA Tiburon that is going to focus on ‘Connected Careers’.  The most important part of this for Madden fans is the hope for details about Madden’s Franchise Mode and what improvements or additions have been made.

It would be simple (in theory) to just add player morale to the player traits section. It shouldn’t be an editable value, but making it a dynamic value that fluctuates is a must for Franchise Mode immersion and longevity.

Madden 12 saw a jump in quality for Franchise Mode, but there were still many bugs and glitchy occurrences that cast an ugly shadow on some of the details that really can’t be overlooked.  Some examples include –

  • Making it to the Super Bowl with a team like the Browns more than once but having the same banner showing that it is their first trip.
  • Being able to sign Free Agents for much cheaper by going to the “Free Agent” section rather than “Player Management” (where you have to pay players a more realistic salary instead of cheating them with a 1-year $620 deal for a guy that would/should demand more.
  • Schedules generated year-to-year are random and can end up giving you 6 straight home games and all your division games in the first ten weeks. (The NFL is making a constant effort to schedule division opponents at the end of every season to make late season games matter, this should be done in Madden as well)
  • Draft logic and trade logic is still busted as we covered before.
  • The lack of a decent system of Player Value that should mean you have to pay a player based on his performance rather than just his OVR.  If you have a QB that breaks every record (regardless of your sliders, his OVR or anything else) he should have a high value that essentially equates to you having to pay more to keep him around.  The current system of OVR plays too much of a role and takes much of the focus away from the Skill Ratings which should be the first thing you look for.
  • Another missing component that has been in NBA 2k and even PS2 Madden titles is morale and attitude for players.  This is something that MUST be in Madden in order for Franchise Mode to really hold any water past what it can hold currently.  Franchise Mode needs more personality and that should start and end with the personality of every owner, GM, Coach and Player in the game.
  • If you draft a QB in the first round like the Browns did with Old Man Weeden and you have Colt McCoy being relegated to back-up his morale should take a major hit.
  • Trade Demands and Holdouts – Take a look at the current situation with Drew Brees and tell us that this shouldn’t be in the game.

These are just some of the changes that must occur in Madden 13 for Franchise Mode.

A Brief Segway/Comment on The Drew Brees Situation

This holdout (which involves Brees and the Saints disagreeing on a contract extension because of a few million bucks) must end soon if the Saints hope to save any face in the months following Bountygate.  Brees led this team to their only Super Bowl Championship and now is being jerked around like he was simply a role-player.  Without Brees the Saints would be like the 2011 Colts without Peyton Manning (or worse).  Already, they are without their Head Coach and other major personnel.  The worst part really involves the current interaction between interim-Head Coach, Joe Vitt and Brees.

This isn’t Vitt’s team.  This is something that must be made abundantly clear between the players (especially Brees) and the ownership.  Payton is serving a one-year suspension which really makes Vitt look like the guy that comes into a broken home and tries to lay down the law.  The response from the players (his children) will most likely result in some sort of “Your Not My (Real) Dad!!!” interaction.

To make it short, the situation with the Saints this year could result in a Top-10 Draft Pick next year that will take over for a spiteful (rightfully so) Drew Brees.

This once again begs the question – Where is the personality in Madden’s Franchise Mode?  Hopefully we find out on Tuesday.

E3 Coming Soon – Is It Still Relevant?

For those of you looking for a reason to get excited about upcoming games such as Call of  Duty, Future Soldier, Madden, NCAA Football or Halo – E3 is something you are going to be watching and/or reading about over the course of June 5-7.  Otherwise, you might be disinterested.

It is a new and strange development that has happened with what was once the ‘must see’ for all gamers just 5-10 years ago.

It used to be an expo that focused on gaming as a whole with the spotlight on innovation.  However, now it seems to be more focused on the big-budget titles that will over-shadow many of the other games out there that might need that moment in the spotlight just to garner enough interest to continue in their development.

With the recent closure of 38 Studios it should come as no surprise that many of the smaller developers (even if they are owned by huge companies like Electronic Arts) are the first to get cut if they aren’t producing the highest profile games out there.  The issue that this brings to the forefront hinges directly with the tagline for E3.

“Innovation Unveiled”

The issue is that most of the innovation that occurs is from upstart companies.  Whether it is gaming, internet development or something else.  The whole process of creating apps and independent games has been the driving force behind better and more intriguing innovation in gaming.  If you consider what will happen if expos like E3 continue to focus on the big budget/’big box’ games rather than pushing innovation in smaller or less publicized games and/or developers.

Over the next couple weeks we will be focusing some attention on games that you might not know about and whether or not they should be on your list as something to look into for a fantastic gaming experience.

PS – If you want to attend E3 you will most likely be shocked at the $800-$1000 price for tickets… just to attend.

Madden 13 – Is It Worth $60 At This Point?

*We have had multiple posts about Madden since this article.  Please check those out for more details.  We will have full reviews of Madden as soon as it is released!

The improvements being made to Madden 13 are catching some eyes around the sports gaming world.  The problem is that outside of some improvements being made to make the game’s eye-candy stick out we are still waiting to hear about the much needed improvements to Career Modes.  They have already announced that there will be something that ties career modes to an interactive web-based experience.  However, the fact that Online Franchise Mode has been bare-bones for three iterations is something that really takes away from any sort of community experience.

Girls and Games Are Alike… Good looks only get you so far.

With the still struggling interactions between O-Lineman and D-Lineman rendering many plays broken (Play Action Passes, just for one example) and then coupling that with other poor AI and animations… you have many questions still left unanswered.  Granted, we still have a few months until the game is released, it is worth considering whether or not Madden 13 will be something you are better off buying pre-owned rather than brand new. Rest assured that the game isn’t something you will need to pre-order in most cases as it is often readily available on launch day.

Outside of the chance that Madden 13 blows everyone away with some sort of new gimmick that EA will remove (See ProTAK, Procedural Awareness, Tuners, etc.) it will remain as a game that should be approached as nothing more than a roster update with a slight graphical facelift.  You can find Madden 12 online for around $20 on Amazon right now; if you are having that football itch that requires Madden to fill the gap, you would probably be okay to spend $20 on Madden 12 before pre-ordering Madden 13 at this point.

The moments of truth will hopefully come around the time that E3 starts in June.  Keep in mind that in our last brief write-up for Madden we focused on the hype machine and how it can suck people in early on in a game’s cycle.  You should keep your hopes up but also keep your expectations low.  Even with the reactions from EA Tiburon’s Community Days and the ‘dedicated Madden fans’ being posted, it would be a good idea to take their impressions with a grain of salt.  Remember, they have to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements and you don’t often hear too much negativity coming from people that get preferential treatment (why would you bite the hand that feeds?).

Once we get to June and July there will be a lot more information out there that EA wants to release.  In that case, you shouldn’t lose total hope in Madden or NCAA Football just yet; but you should also keep yourself grounded if you are hoping for groundbreaking improvements.

Da Bears Madden 12 Franchise Mode – Season 2 Highlights and Recap

As much as we like to talk about what we wish EA would put into Franchise Mode for Madden 13.  As much as we might even complain about the silly nature of some of the things that happen in Madden 12…  This game is almost addicting to the point that Madden 2005 was and that is a good thing if they continue to build from this solid base.

That said, this is how Season 2 panned out.

Amos High was drafted by the Bears in the first round out of Georgia Tech.  He was highly rated but still managed to fall to the Bears after they traded down.  That would prove to be their best decision yet…  Amos High went on a tear in the second half of the 2012 season and finished with 1900+ yards and 15 TDs rushing.  He would then bring home Offensive Rookie of the Year and League MVP (with RB of the Year as well).

To go along with this amazing season – Jay Cutler won QB of the Year, Mike Williams won WR of the year and Henry Melton won DLineman of the Year!

The Bears have tremendous talent on their team and are built to win and contend for the Super Bowl.  The question isn’t if they can get there, because this is the second straight year they were within one game of the Super Bowl.  Both years we have seen Lovie Smith’s team get outclassed late in the game and that isn’t a good sign for the Chicago’s Head Coach.  It is widely speculated that 2013 might be his last if they don’t break this trend.

We will be posting recaps of the Draft and some of the off-season moves as well.

Some of the needs going into 2013 are –

  1. #1 TE
  2. #2 CB
  3. #1 LG
  4. Future MLB (Urlacher is on the decline, but will retire a Chicago Bear…. No Question About That)
  5. Future RE (Julius Peppers is starting to age, albeit while still getting double-digit sacks at 33 years old, but the Bears need to be honest with themselves)
  6. #1 RG

Stay Tuned!  Updates Are Coming!

Madden 13, Black Ops 2 and the Amazing Hype Machine

Did you hear about Madden 13?!

Every pixel and every mode have been touched!  Sounds like some sort of (bad) Michael Jackson joke.

Did you hear about Black Ops 2?!

It is based in the future and it will be released just in time for you to add it to your Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa List!

Don’t get stuck asking, “Why oh why didn’t I take the blue pill?”
The hype machine is a dangerous drug that will drag you into the depths of gaming hell.

While we try to be fair and keep our jaded perspective out of everything we write there is always room for sarcasm when it comes to Madden, NCAA Football, Call of Duty and any other annual release in gaming.  In all honesty, why shouldn’t there be?  When you consider the numerous glitches that occur or even the issues that require the same attention every year that never get fixed. (IE – Broken OLine and DLine interaction or being able to clip out of maps or even mod controllers because you aren’t disciplined enough to play the game legitimately.) It is no wonder that when you get to mid-September you will see message boards light up with such vitriol and anger that you wonder if someone kicked their dog.

No, they are like the many others that get mad about spending $60+ on a game that is in its late Beta stages.  When it comes to gaming you need to make sure you have your feet and your gaming thumbs planted firmly on the ground or controller.  Don’t expect the big changes to make everything better and don’t expect to be pleased with the first, second or third patches – this is a new era in gaming that takes the games to new lows when they are released.

Madden 13 has my full attention this year as far as making true moves in the right direction.

Black Ops 2 is at the bottom of my list right now because Treyarch has been utterly disappointing over the years and Activision’s ‘new’ business model of bending the consumer over for $15-50 DLC at every turn is starting to become the accepted norm.

Take this as a warning that you should curb your enthusiasm when you start hearing the new things about any annual release making changes or fixes to their flagship titles.  Calm down, breath and enjoy the games you have before they become ‘old’ in August and November.

Da Bears Franchise Update (Weeks 2-11, 2011) – Madden 12

It looked like a great season from our first few games, but between the blowout against the Saints and a couple other games that told us a change was needed… something happened to our dream season.  The Bears have gone on a journey into the depths and are hoping to come out of the battles with a miracle trip to the playoffs that requires some help from the Cowboys, Lions and Seahawks.  The Lions would love another shot at the Bears as they have trounced them twice (as you will see in the video).

The Bears are entering Week 16 with a 7-7 record and needing to win out just to have a chance at the playoffs.  There are many needs for this team as their stars on defense are showing their age in allowing big plays.  Look for a complete run-down of the coming draft class and some guesses as to who some teams might target to turn things around.  Including a detailed discussion about who the Bears are looking at in the coming 2012 Draft!