In typical Madden fashion they took away features so they can add them back as innovations in the years to come. This time it was editing players and fantasy draft, which is pretty much a game breaker. Without fantasy draft, playing with friends becomes difficult as it is hard to find evenly matched teams in the same division without the benefit of being able to draft everyone yourself. Player editing although less important is still annoying, since people have come to expect the ability to be able to move a player from left to right defensive end or outside linebacker to lineman and vice versa. Of course, had Madden done any research whatsoever they would have known how important many users find this feature.… Expand

There's no reason to purchase this game if you have Madden 12. They have taken out franchise mode and almost all of the great features the previous Maddens had. EA is making it rain for all of these paid reviewers who give it an 80+ score.

I almost think I have played this game before.

Rented today, this is basically another roster update. If you want to buy a roster update and a one year subscription to online play, this is actually just for you. Not anything wrong with that, either. It is just due to the elongated console generation that these games seem really dusty. Plus, it is almost like EA has a solid hold on the NFL for some reason, I forget why.… Expand

All I played was franchise mode, so in its absence Madden 13 is useless to me. Why does EA seem so out of touch with the fans? I am regretting buying this game as it used up my game budget and there are other games I wish I had gotten instead. So disappointed!

Madden 13 took what i loved and destroyed it. I played franchise mode and created a bunch of friends and put them on random teams. Now the new connected careers left all that out. what is the point of having the option to create players if you can't use them in connected career coach...I wasted 60 dollars, if i knew i couldn't create players and use them, i would have never bought this game and keep madden 12.… Expand

Finally, the game play looks and feels like it should (did it really take this long to get back to what worked in 2000??). But that doesn't even begin to make up for the illogical and unbelievably backwards decision to gut franchise mode. I have purchased this game for years and I respect those who prefer to play online, but franchise was a staple mode....you will hear that connected careers is still franchise mode, but look here...THAT IS NOT TRUE. You cannot edit players, you cannot import draft classes, you cannot control multiple teams...let me repeat YOU CANNOT CONTROL MULTIPLE TEAMS. Meaning...you and your friends cannot be in a franchise together. You can be in an online "league" but you cannot play games of other teams. Even in an offline career or franchise you cannot play any other games except your team's games. I used to like to play all of the big matchups every week to get a feel what it was like to play with different stars...GONE! For a league that sells itself on its stars it would seem to make sense to allow players to play different games on the schedule. Nope. Enjoy playing as your one team with your one created player. NCAA much better...this is an unbelievable disappointment.… Expand

THERE IS A FRANCHISE MODE. I figured I would bold that up front since some people don't seem to understand that. The new career mode Connected Careers did not replace it. It encompassed it. If you start a coach in connected careers it IS franchise mode. You control the whole team, choose the players, progress the players, go through the draft, hire free agents, cut players, etc. Aside from that you can also start a player and play the mode like superstar mode in the past. The mode is well designed gives a fresh feel to the game.

On the gameplay side they have made numerous improvements. The physics engine is the most obvious one. It isn't perfect by any means and you will occasionally see weird moments but for the most part it works well. The passing trajectories have also added some good depth to the gameplay giving more control to your passing than in years past. Add to this the usual slider set that you can find in the settings and if there is anything you don't like about gameplay it is easy to adjust to your liking.

Overall Madden 13 is a fantastic step in the right direction. After all the years of gimmicks and copy and paste games the madden team under its new management is finally trying and has released a game that not only updates the roster but the formula that makes up football games as well.… Expand

Holy cow.
The physics in Madden 13 is the most sophisticated collision detection system in a real time simulation. Period.
I have been in awe every snap, and every tackle.
Beyond the amazing, lifelike sim, Madden 13 has kept every worthwhile innovation from previous years in tact.
I also enjoyed my first taste of connected careers with my brother on the other side of the country this morning.

Don't listen to these people who are saying the franchise mode isn't there. After playing the game for a total of 5 minutes I discovered the coach career is the new franchise mode. These guys play it for 3 minutes and flip out because they are use to the same reprocessed crap that game out for 2011-2012. Madden '13 is fun and fresh.

Another year has passed and another moderate Madden game was released to us. Changes that EA has advertised wasn't nearly enough to gain back the trust of all hardcore football fans. For starters the physics engine got a bit of a face lift and some new animations were thrown in too but encounters glitchy game play (example: body parts bend and twist in weird ways). The problem is that you can see that it's the early signs of a working in progress idea that might or might not succeed and we are the ginnie pigs, which doesn't sit well with me as it seems to me we continue to do this dance every few years with EA. Other new ideas are, new connect career which basically took out franchise mode and allows you to play offline or online as a player or coach. Personally I liked the old franchise mode but I've accepted this new idea and rolled with it. Graphics got tweaked again but no significant changes were added. The commentary once again got changed instead of evolved. It has two new voices (Nance & Sims, CBS crew) and has really not changed the way they say the same things generally and spout off wrong words at important times during game play. Presentation now looks like the CBS Sunday football presentation. Nothing special just more flash from EA instead of quality content of depth. There are some good things from all of this. The Career mode now have tweeter (fake of course) included, with tweets by football experts in your season. Oh and yes the rosters were updated.... Folks this game is an improvement from last years game but has a long way to go if it wants to be considered a quality football game that scores higher than 7.… Expand

Plus: : From the Stadiums to the Commentaries. Outstanding : The best graphics I seen from a football video game. < Passing > Pius/Minus: == : Infinity Engine. Hit and Miss... Sometimes it looks great. Sometimes it looks clunky and unrealistic: Needs to polished and refined Negative: Same Old Gameplay issues that plagued Madden in the past : Canned Animations still dictates. Terrible OL/DL interaction.. Defensive A.I pursuit angles.. Iceskating/ Zig Zaggin Running animations. Kinect Feature: Worthless.. Still feels like the game dictates the outcome.... The UGLY: EA and NFL Still Monopolizing the game industries.. Because YOU keep helping EA sell Five Million Copies every year, the NFL will keep extending their license to them.. Therefore, NO 2k Football.. NO NFL Backbreaker.. NO Tecmo Bowl. No possible NFL The Show from San Diego Studios(Devs from MLB The Show)... NO QB Club series... I want a make a choice for the best available to buy every year.. NOT just Madden... Oh well, When does NBA 2k13, NHL 13, and FIFA come out... Madden 13 is a pass..… Expand

Its funny how all the users giving this game scores of 9 and 10 have only reviewed one game. I thought metacritic had taken care of this problem in the past. Guess not. Make has many fake accounts as needed to drive scores up or down EA representativesfan boys!

Changes to the physics are welcome even if they're unpolished. Very unnatural movements occur every play. I can definitely see the potential of the new engine despite players bouncing around in ways that defy physics. game play alone I would rate madden a 8. The main issue I have is the horrible trading system and no way to edit rosters in career mode. The new progression system is a pretty cool idea but it seems extremely unbalanced as far the points awarded per player. Overall I think the game play has potential to be excellent in a couple years. This definitely isn't just a roster update but the new additions don't outweigh stripping down previous features that are beloved my many.… Expand

If you are a die hard Madden fan like myself you are going to be majorly disappointed with Madden 13. They have removed every feature that I truly loved. The Franchise mode that I have grown to love is gone. Instead they have add Connected Careers which will not allow you to do the following:

1. No Fantasy Draft
2. No Editing Players
3. No more having friends over to play Franchise Mode because you can only play with one team.
4. No Importing Roster from NCAA Football.
5. No creating a player and adding them to Connect Careers.

There are several uniform mistakes throughout the game. For instance when have your seen the Bears wear orange pants? I will tell you...NEVER! Between the players flopping all over the field, the inability to save your settings for every game, and for not being user friendly, this is the worst Madden ever.… Expand

This years Madden comes with a lot of signs of game mechanic improvements that serve as double sided swords which must be improved in next year's installment or in patches and with a bare bones career system. Let's start with the gameplay. The new Infinity engine is an excellent addition that finally made it to madden. I try to be understanding with it, being its first showing, it does well.. but too often it results in ridiculous player collisions, and although it does work solid sometimes... The whole promise that it revolutionizes collisions and that you have to "fight for every yard" is a lie. Where a few interactions and the overall controlling feels fresh, the plays still run 95% the same as previous titles. Being generous to the new engine, the gameplay gets a 8.2/10. The presentation this year is where the game truly excels. I don't really ever care about graphics cause I don't believe them to be the key in a video game but Madden 13 truly does blow you away, the only downsides from the presentation is the overuse of the blur effect. 9.5/10 for the presentation. Career modes: The new "Connected Careers" is a nice thought and all but in the end feels half finished and bare boned. You can play as a player (Legend Mode) or coach (Franchise Mode). Legend mode carries the redundant upgrade system from NCAA 12-13 with only slight improvements. Practice mode still feels tacked on and not strategic despite the scenario system. It doesn't feel like your really prepping for your opponent but just playing a half thought mini game. Instead of upgrading the play style selection and making it more edgy or smart... EA has decided to give you the option to open the whole play book which again is only unrealistic, untrue to the game, and half finished. Franchise mode is everything you have came to love but integrates it into the perspective of a coach, a nice touch, and gives you more options to progress your players and is awesome to play online. However, connected careers overall feels disconnected with the rest of the game. To use one example.. you can't import your personalized rosters like created players into it. Careers gets a 3.7/10. Last effect: This game fails at substantiating itself in career modes unless you play online... the gameplay is overall so much better but the career modes are obviously built for online players that they forgot to make it fun for people playing offline. If you like offline modes, you will be extremely frustrated with Madden 13. Last Effect: 4/10... In the end: Madden 13 gets a 6.4/10.… Expand

Franchise Mode has NOT been removed. Please do not listen to everyone who obviously failed to properly look at the game before posting their review. Franchise Mode has been relocated under "Connected Careers" along with Superstar Mode, hence "Connected" careers. Create a coach to play Franchise Mode, or create a player to play Superstar Mode. EA has said many times that franchise is their most popular mode; They would not, and did not, remove it.… Expand

I am a giant sucker. I'm a MARK. I should have known better then to jump back on the Madden bandwagon. I resisted Madden 11 and 12 because I felt like such a dope after I bought madden 10 new which was essentially madden 7 with a fresh coat of paint. So Madden 13 stinks and I wanted it to be awesome. I wanted to love this new franchise / connected career thing that hey have this year but I cant stand it. Its frustrating and feels lifeless. You feel disconnected because you cant really do anything in it except play your scheduled games. No NCAA draft, trades are imposable, you can pick up free agents too improve your team but most of the free agents are dogs so good luck with that. Forget about editing / creating players or a fantasy draft because it doesn't exist in this steaming mess. The news ticker twitter feeds dont help. The game looks as bad on the field as it does in the menus so at least its consistent I guess. Then you have the players who flop around like idiot vertigo inflicted rag dolls. The trading card deal is not enjoyable at all for me. Probably because I got lame cards with all back up players. I'm supposed to enjoy fielding a team full of back up players? I cant stand Phil Simms or Jim Nantz in real life but they are even more annoying in madden advertising lousy pizza delivery 3 times a game. I live in Brooklyn I'm not eating mother f***ing Domino's pizza we have real pizza here. Domino's pizza? get the f*** out..... Listen, do yourself a favor this year, skip Madden 13 and stop eating Domino's pizza. Seriously, they both suck and one of them will make you fat.… Expand

Where to begin. I've been a loyal Madden fan since about its inception. I'm probably dating myself, but it's almost half of my current life span that we are talking about here. My formative years have in some way shape or form been reflected in Madden's evolution.

In terms of actual head to head hours that I've logged over these years, I would say it goes into the multiple thousands if not more. Many of the friendships I value to this day have been formed over rivalries centered around the many iterations EA has released. To find anyone that has experienced more of a lifelong passion for this series would be a true challenge.

For me to come out and say that this years Madden is absolute garbage would be the understatement of 2012 for me. I literally played one match versus my lifelong friend who has played against me multiple hundreds of times. We have had a life long Madden rivalry. Life long. And that was the final game of Madden for the both of us. It was so utterly unrecognizable. I personally had zero impact on one single defensive play. It was all just nothing but AI taking things over and arbitrarily deciding who won each down. I just want my money back. As someone who has been there since the Sega Genesis days, all I can say for this Madden is that it's time for this franchise to hang it up. It was a good run. Year after year there was the hope for something new, something engaging, something that fulfilled the desire of every true football fan. This version if anything, makes me honestly dislike not only EA, but football as a sport. The no fun league has transcended into a video game form.

PS WTF happened to the fantasy draft??? That was probably the most fun version for a football nerd like me. Playing GM and drafting a team all on my own. Nothing compared to that and now it's gone. It's a freaking video game, let us as gamers have the option to play out a fantasy franchise on our terms. EA took this away and left us with a game that lacks any imagination. FEA. FEA. FEA. FEA. FEA. FEA.… Expand

Madden NFL 13 is easily the best Madden game on the current console generation and rivals Madden 05 as the best of all time. At the top of the list is the new Connected Career Mode which has raised the bar on how sports games have to approach a career more from here on out. Scheme specific players are a huge addition that provides a deep experience. The all new scouting system is an awesome step up from previous years and also raises the bar in the sports genre. Infinity Engine adds a realistic element to each play by showing you something new each and every down.
While the game is excellent it is missing a few elements from past versions that may weaken the experience for some (editing rosters, custom playbooks, coach mode). These items pale in comparison to what has been added in the opinion of most. Like I stated earlier this is the second greatest football game ever, if you are looking for a realistic experience then look no further. Great game that will be in my console until the release of Madden NFL 14. Great job!… Expand

I've tried, but I can't play this game. A punting glitch makes this game unplayable if you ever need to worry about field position. Punts only go for ten to fifteen yards, so it changes the whole way football can be played. That makes this game broken and therefore gets a big fat zero. I swore off Madden three years ago because of how boring this franchised has become and playing football seasons became secondary to all their tedious mini-game additions. But, they promised me Barry Sanders, and since I haven't seen him since Madden 2000, I really wanted to see how he played and looked with the new upgraded graphics. After finding out how this mini-game works, it turns out that he isn't anything like the real Barry Sanders. Cornerbacks making one arm tackles on Barry Sanders? In the open field, no less! And this is continous throughout the game, so Barry Sanders isn't any different than any other running back leveled 90. The rest of the game? The Save System on this game forces you to manually save after each game and is unrealiable. Same overused lines in announcing, even with two different announcers, that becomes old after the first few games. Game recaps have come down to a half dozen weak twitters that say the same thing over and over and again, just with different names or teams. Tucking the ball in and taking off with your qb never works well even if you are Cam Newton. The new infinity engine does make tackling look cool and yet ridiculous at the same time. Bumping into your own lineman will cause you to get knocked down. Can't import your College player into a draft this year, and making a new character is now more limited. I have to have long sleeves for my QB even though I selected "no sleeves". Maybe that's a glitch, who knows. I did try the EA gameface editor, which is cool to see my face; however I can't get past those neon glowing eyes that I have. . Overall, EA still doesn't put the focus on the franchise season, and waste too much time on mini-games and online competition that we have here a game that doesn't give you the essense of football. The Madden Franchise is still the bottom of the pit experience for a full $60 but the lack of a punting game makes this game unplayable.… Expand

Don't listen to the MORONS that are claiming there is no franchise mode. They are both illiterate (seeing as it's pointed out that franchise is now just a part of connected careers in numerous previews of the game and in many reviews) and haven't played the game yet, seeing as it would not be to hard to find the franchise mode if you've actually played the game.

I love my Madden....read my review of Madden 13 that I posted and e-mailed to the EA Forums and customer service. Josh Crow Thabet M Aljayousi Ryan AllDay Duffy


Popped in my new Madden disk that I picked up on midnight, and was pumped to start a franchise with my beloved Patriots...and couldn't find it anywhere. So I googled it, and saw it was replaced with CCgame type. Check that out, and realize It takes 20 minutes to boot up a game in coach mode...and you can barely edit anything...and you can't even fantasy draft?!?! So I figured...ok...I'll try the player aspect of it...and go from there. So I make a RB and get pumped to play...and so far, I've gone half way through the season...and ALL I FRICKEN DO IS RECEIVE PUNTS AND ATTEMPT TO BLOCK FIELD GOALS?!?!?!? I literally spent 2 days of playing this game ONLY PUNTS/KICKOFFS AND BLOCKING FIELD GOALS... in till I decided to end my relationship with this game. I always have in the past, bought a Madden at midnight, play the game religiously with friends in franchise mode in person, or just screw around in franchise mode for months on end. This year I haven't touched it since day 2. See a problem here EA?!?!? I tweeted them my feedback, and all they said was "@zolenski Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us." I responded with if there was any plans to even consider a fix...and I received no response. It's crazy that the whole internet is on fire about features you didn't even really have to change, that you totally cut from the game. I don't play online because of lag, and because I suck against 12 year old gamers....So now I'm forced to play exhibitions in till I stab my eyes out, or read all these damn "Tweets" you shoved in my face in this god damn CC mode you made(which isn't half bad IF IF IF you left Franchise in) I chose the trade it in so you guys lose a sale with someone buying pre-owned unless you guys decide to actually acknowledge the community as a whole, as it seems you guys were more persistent this summer then ever trying to get user feedback to make this game better. I bet if you stated in May that you were taking this out completely, and the other option was just barely remotely close to it...people would have gave you enough time to wake you up from this steaming pile of garbage you spoon fed your fans.… Expand

Seriously? What is wrong with most of you? This is by far the best Madden on the current gen systems. The gameplay is great. Presentation is better then any of the previous games. I have been very critical in the past of EA and the 'Roster Update' that MAdden has been, but this game is a HUGE improvement.

Overall, this is the best Madden on the current generation of consoles. The new physics engine, for the most part, is very well done. Occasionally, you see some wonky things after the play when players trip over someone (which is actually quite hilarious). Also, it takes a little getting used to the fact that running into your own blockers can trip you up -- If you're big on the running game, it is something you'll have to adjust to. Sometimes it's a little frustrating, but overall I'll take the sense of weight and realism it conveys instead of being able to run into your blockers like you're on a treadmill.

Playing online seems a bit laggy to me right now. I don't know if it's because the EA servers are getting slammed, if it's an inherent problem with the netcode, or if it's perhaps my own connection.

The passing game is also really improved by the new pass trajectories and ball placement. I've seen a lot of people complaining about the number of interceptions. These complaints are legitimate, but in my experience thus far the vast majority of picks I've thrown were simply bad passes. If you throw into an out or crossing route with a defender close by, you're probably going to get picked off. I've played about ten games online, and I've seen one suspect INT (Ngata dropped into the secondary to cover an RB, then super-jumped to pick off a pass that I was trying to float over him). I've also seen some really cool things like having a lineman deflect a pass high up into the air, and defenders rushing to try to intercept, much like real-life. Having more control over ball placement and trajectory really makes me feel like I have superior control over the passing game, but bad passes have a good chance of getting picked off. I've also seen people complaining about the number of sacks, but I believe this, too, has as much to do with the user making a bad decision as it is the AI and pass protection. Throwing screens or checking down to your RB is much, much better this year -- I haven't had a single instance of trying to throw to the RB, only to see him run out of bounds for a loss trying to catch the ball.

I haven't touched the connected careers mode, it just doesn't interest me. I spend all my time playing games online, either standard or Ultimate Team. MUT this year is a definitely different, with some good changes and some bad. I like that you seem to be guaranteed a legend if you purchase a legendary pack. It was unbelievably frustrating last year to spend like $7 on a pack, only to end up with nothing. I also really like that you can buy legendary packs with 35,000 coins (if this existed last year, it would have been epic, because I had millions of coins). As far as negatives, I don't like the new collections because the coin rewards are incredibly meager. Last year, you could put together collections and get 50,000 coins. This year, the rewards are like 200 coins for a lot of collections. Admittedly, I haven't looked through each and every collection to see what the rewards are, but it appears to me that EA thought it was too easy to make coins last year. Since you can buy legendary packs for coins now (and also so you have to spend more money), I believe a decision was made to drastically cut down the coin rewards for collections. You do get a good number of coins for winning a MUT game online, though -- I made about 2,000 last night from a victory. Which means it would take between 15-20 games to afford a legendary pack. I think, overall, that a trade of collection coin rewards for being able to buy legendary packs with coins isn't such a bad deal.

Much has also been made of the new commentary and presentation. The new presentation elements are great, but commentary inevitably gets repetitive, so I don't know how much of a selling point that actually is.

Overall, as I said before, I think this is the best Madden of the current generation.… Expand

This game is nothing spectacular. The new collision system is pretty cool, WHEN it works correctly. Most of the time it just results in ridiculous looking player collisions, players falling over each other while getting up from tackles, and legs bending the wrong way. It is harder to tackle, so if you have good stick skills you can really get extra yards. The game is fun, my review isn't meant to be negative, it just feels, as usual, that they didn't really change much. Out of the box, I played it and was running the same plays as last year, with the same results, and crushing the computer. It took 0 time to adjust to 13. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms are a welcome addition. It's great to not have to hear Cris Collinsworth anymore. Overall, it's Madden, and it's always fun, but, if you were expecting groundbreaking changes, you may be disappointed. It's essentially, as usual, a 59.99 roster update.… Expand

There is franchise mode if people would actually try the game out before running their mouths. The guy complaining about the physics only played the demo because in the retail version, the physics are great. Haters. I'd normally give this game a 9 but I'll make it 10 to counteract all the morons posting their negative reviews.

Madden NFL 13 is the best Madden hands down in years. The game play feels like they really did a complete overhaul of coding or what ever developers do to create these games. 9 out of 10 things that you love from Madden 12 are in Madden 13 just renamed ex: franchise mode is Connected Careers. At the very least all the changes we have wanted for years are finally here or the foundation for them are here in 13 and I can only imagine how important Madden NFL 13 will be for future Madden releases. I gave it a 9 out of 10 because we need to leave that 1 point for improvement which every game needs even the best.… Expand

I consider myself a casual fan of the Madden series though I do get the game every year to play a few seasons with my beloved Titans. While I do see minor differences each year, this year has really struck me a big step forward for the series. I love the integration of Game Face and immediately utilized it to create myself to use as a high draft QB for the Titans in the new Connected Careers Mode (which replaced the prior Franchise Mode). I also got an online Connected Career started with some friends and it's great fun for all of us to have HB's and measure our progress. I also love the Kinect integration on the 360 as it really immerses you in the game calling plays and making strategic adjustments at the line - and much simpler than button presses.
But the biggest improvement of all is the new engine which makes every play for more interesting and unique than previous years that had canned animations. Yes, you will see some odd stuff here and there but for the most part it provides some very realistic and exciting scenarios.
The graphics look great and the statistical overlays, game presentation, and commentary are all that you would expect from a game representing the NFL experience.
Overall, this game is a keeper and I look forward to playing it out while following the NFL this year. Great job EA!!!… Expand