Now we have Madden 2013, which features the new NFL 13eInfinity Engine. This new engine has made the game feel totally realistic; features such as the flow of the game, the gameplay with its tackling/passing, and in-game movement feel very true to life. If I ever looked at a sim and weighed it against its real counterpart, then Madden would be the example that I'd use. Sometimes the engine has its flaws. When there are many players in the same sequence at the same time, for example a mass pile, the engine fails to deliver realistic content; limbs end up in unrealistic positions and normal movement is replaced by motion that would cause dislocations & arms/legs breaking. However, this is the one technical stumbling block, and it's only momentary, so it doesn't distract from the awesome fluidity of the gameplay very often.
Madden NFL 13's new career mode delves into the realms of the offline and online Franchise modes together with Superstar mode, and has been labeled "connected careers". This new mode gives you the opportunity to play as either a player or coach, somewhat similar to Player Manager modes on Fifa Soccer. You have the option of creating a player in any position and mapping your face to him, which I think is quite cool. With the Kinect, EA has made the total package of making its simulator realistic and doing as much as they can to make you feel like you're the player in game. The future is in developing how to integrate personal feelings and emotions into games and EA is doing a stellar job at bringing this ideal to market.
You can also opt to select a legendary NFL player or coach, controlling the likes of Joe Montana, John Elway, and Vince Lombardi but some of them can only be accessed if you complete certain challenges and redeem your card in the Madden Ultimate Team trading card mode and that adds even greater depth and gameplay time to the title.
In Connected Careers, you can play offline or jump online and either join or create leagues of your own in which up to 32 other participants can take part over 30 seasons. There are a series of challenges to achieve in your career and can earn XP to spend on attributes each week by taking part in practice drills and games, which compares heavily to the season mode in Fifa 13, where you and your friends can have a season mode and competitively race for first position. Again, this is great for the social aspect and means when you're not playing you can have some banter with friends and talk about Madden 13 outside the gaming realm.
I found Madden to be quite an enjoyable experience. I never played a football simulator before, but after playing this I can quickly see them becoming a favorite of mine. The gameplay at times was a little bit slow and the game was stopped at many points due to a foul, and this seemed to make the game drag on when compared with other sports games. However, that's my personal view from being used to quicker paced sports, I'm sure Madden isn't slow for those who love America Football.
Madden did enough to keep me entertained through the duration. I cannot compare to the last Madden game as I didn't play it; however, after some research online it seems that the new engine mechanics have been a storm with fans worldwide. I don't see there being any other major gameplay differences just like with that of the soccer sims where only tweaks are applied each year to keep the audience entertained, but in a world where Madden is the only one of its kind with no competition, it does plenty to keep the player immersed for long durations and encompasses what it is to play an enjoyable and lasting football sim.
