The Official Madden 13 HYPE!! Thread

Madden NFL Community Event #3

Hey Guys, I just returned from the latest Madden NFL CE held in Orlando at EA Tiburon and the Sheraton Hotel in North Orlando Florida. This is the 2nd event I have attended this year for EA SPORTS Madden NFL series this cycle (out of 3), the first was in early February while the game was just coming out of the concept stage. I was going to write up a short blog after the February event but knowing that everything was pretty much concept only (minus a few things that were actually in game at that point), I figured it would be best to take the wait and see approach as to how much actually made it into the game. “The proof is in the pudding” so to speak. Well I am happy to report after this past week that nearly everything they promise to get in, will make it into the final version! Some of the items they hoped to get it made it, while others didn’t due to time constraints. Now obviously I am under strict NDA as to what I can reveal (basically I can only go into further detail on what has been released at this point). Let’s go into a little more detail on some of the stuff you already know about. I got around 45 hours of hands-on with Madden NFL 13 last week. Keep in mind that ALL of this stuff will still be tuned several times before it goes Gold (probably at the end of July) so what I saw may change slightly.

Upgraded Passing System, Trajectories, Hot Routes… all that fun stuff

This is a huge item for many of you (myself included) so let’s hit this topic right off the bat. The Passing system IS as advertised. Pass trajectories have been added so make sure you put touch on your throws when you need to. This has ELIMINATED the so-called super line backers. HOWEVER, if you throw a bullet pass directly to a linebacker with a receiver a few yards (5 maybe) behind him, you will possibly get picked off. I just wanted to put that in there for the folks who refuse to use actual passing windows like they are supposed to (and have to in the NFL). Use common sense and the pass will get there pending your QB can make the throw.
“Throwing a receiver open” is HUGE! It is a great feeling to see a receiver well covered and being able to aim the throw to where only he can catch it. Can you say back shoulder throws?!? That’s right, it is in there. I threw maybe 10-12 touchdowns using back shoulder throws, either at the goal line or in the end zone. Beautiful! Leading a receiver or throwing to a spot works very well (once again, if your QB can make a good throw) but is very much dependent on the user. It will take you a few games for sure to get used to the intricacies of the new system.

Hint: You had better learn how to user catch

Hot Routes have also changed somewhat. You now have the original fade route from past editions of the Madden NFL series, and once you get within 15 yards of the endzone you have the “Jump ball” fade from the last 2 years. Also, the slant out has been removed as it was one of the most glitch riddled parts of the game. It isn’t on the NFL passing tree so it’s gone! It has been replaced by the Z-Out which is an excellent addition to the hot route table. The hot routes for the running backs have also been changed, you now have the ability to call swing routes and also “Blue Routes” also known to be check routes. These routes tell the running backs to check for the blitz pickup then go out in the pass pattern. This is a great addition versus a blitz heavy defense.

Defensive Alignment and Read and React Defenders
The offense isn’t the only part of the game that got some work. The defense got (in my opinion) the best game play upgrade this year. Defensive Alignments are back and better than ever. Gone are the days when you come to the line of scrimmage (LOS) and read zone or man coverage and audible to the corresponding coverage beater. The “Best on Best” principle, or matchup zone, now places your best cornerbacks on the best receivers, even when running a base zone coverage. No longer can the offense come out in tight twins and see what base coverage scheme you are running.

Hint: When you are on offense, you better learn how to actually read a defense and fast.

Also in this year is the “Read and React” defensive coverage. Now, this was one of my biggest concerns from the first community event in February. Back then, the DB’s tended to turn their hips late on the trail and follow technique which allowed the receiver to get a few unnecessary steps on them (especially on the deep ball). I am very pleased to report that this is no longer the case as of the builds we played. The DB’s get their hips around just when you would expect them to and it is really a smooth transition. Great CB’s such has Revis, Bailey, and Haden play lockdown man coverage which makes “throwing the receiver open” very important to offenses but in essence it is still not a good idea to throw their way.

Hint: Do NOT throw on Revis, trust me on this

Quite possibly my biggest pet peeve from Madden NFL12 is almost completely gone, that being defenders making crazy no-look interceptions. This year the defenders (and receivers) have to see the ball to make a play on it which is huge. The only exceptions to this defensively seem to be when user control is involved. However, user catching on both sides of the ball has been made more “friendly” but it also seems that it is not as guaranteed as last year. Once again some more tuning should eliminate the “user no-look pick” as per the feedback many of us presented at the community event. With the DB’s not seeing the ball (when their back is turned), is when you really start to see the ability to throw off the route and go up and get it with your receiver.

Commentary

Jim Nantz and Phil Simms have been brought in to replace Chris Collinsworth and Gus Johnson. While I will miss the crazy sayings of Gus (he is running like he stole something), I will not miss the different audio levels and stitched together (almost painful) commentary. I’m gonna be honest with you, last year I turned commentary off after the first month for the first time ever. Some of that was due to the fact that I highly edit my YouTube videos and its sounds bad like that to have commentary skipping around, but mainly I turned it off because it was noticeable in game and almost distracting. That is a bad thing in my opinion.
We did have commentary in the builds we played in our community event last week. We also had 16 TV’s going at once so it was somewhat hard to discern which game you were actually hearing but the commentary was smooth like butter. Nothing stood out to me that said “wow…that’s horrible”. It was refreshing to hear actual organic commentary that doesn’t detract from the gameplay experience. If I would have brought my headset, I could give you a much better impression on the commentary itself, but alas, like I said there were 16 stations going at once. I think this will be a monumental upgrade over what we have had since Madden was born in the 1980’s.
Well that about does it for what I can actually discuss. Look for more MAJOR improvements when the June 4th announcements are made. Dynasty League Gaming will be coming out with some exclusive content (blogs, videos, interviews) during E3 detailing all of the announcements that are coming out. Get ready for the revolution.