Madden NFL 13 - Xbox 360

I've never seen so many bogus and fake reviews in my life and Amazon should remove them so people can get honest takes that people that actually have played and own the game. The E.A. hate train has started again, and it's unwarranted. I've been playing Madden since it was introduced on the Sega Genesis in 1989. Mind you, I've been disappointed with Madden this gen with the exception of Madden 10 which was actually very good. 11 and 12 were actually worse. But now we got Madden 13. It feels and plays great! the new animations and physics engine is pretty tight. It has some weird moments at times, but 90% of the time, it feels very smooth and convincing. Canned animations are definitely a thing of the past. Graphics are amazing. Great life on the sidelines, great weather effects and field degradition and excellent presentation. They actually did away with ESPN, taking a big risk, they went with the guys from CBS. Sims and Nantz are at the helm and do a pretty good job. A few hitches here and there, but we got a very decent presentation. While not endorsed by CBS, it still feels like CBS is doing the presentation stuff. I love the game speed also. I actually prefer to play at a "very slow" game speed and it feels like a real game. The passing feels very organic and sticking in the pocket is key. Throwing on the run again is very risky this year and you can't make the cheese plays like you used to. Online seems veyr stable. I actually played 3 games my first night on launch day and amazingly they booted right up and I had zero lag. People complain so much about online but E.A.'s servers are actually very good compared to the 2K servers which I continue to struggle with on their NBA franchise. As for people not saying Franchise is on the game. Guess again, it's just embedded through Connected Careers and there is tons to do. Go to Connected Careers, choose "Coach" mode, and start your franchise. It's just a different approach. Lordy haters. You can also play as a Legend from the Past like Barry Sanders or Reggie White. Great stuff. So now...I have to say... First play the game before making a review.Make no mistake. Madden 13 is not a perfect football game, but it's more than likely the best Madden ever made. They listened to the fans and they got a new engine and new physics engine. It's got some issues here and there, but overall you will love it. I highly recommend it for any self righteous Madden fan.For a good solid review from an unbiased sports game site, Operation Sports has a very honest and straight up review on the game. 8.5 out of 10. I'm agreeing totally, best Madden ever made. Enjoy it for what it is, a great playing football game. If something is missing from last year that annoys you, then that's fine. But for me, I'm all for fixing the engine and making a new game before adding goodies.[...]

Ok, I'll admit that my experience with Madden up this point has been a purely social affair; 2008 Madden was the catalyst for the the greatest drinking game known to man being created by me and my friends (chugging a beer after a kick or punt return for a TD? You bet!). Then there was the roster update with 2009 that was meh (I remember that one distinctly though because Wal-Mart was giving the updated cover inserts with the game because Brett Favre was on the Jets when the game came out, but the original print was him in the Packers uniform...classic!). Next was Madden 2011 (which I never owned, but my friend did) and it was mostly business as usual.However, that was all multiplayer and social experienced Madden. I never went beyond that because I usually never had the time or desire to (I did used to LOVE the training sessions where you could do the 40 yard dash and bench press and stuff...that's about it though).My point is, I get where everyone is coming from. Some people want "A" and some people want "B" and you're just never going to get both most times. But, I played the demo after not sniffing a Madden game for almost 2 years and I felt encouraged to purchase...which I did of course. And you know what? I've enjoyed two fun (yet frustrating...just on All-Pro still, but working out kinks) games so far and I feel like there are many more experiences like that to come. Will I like Connected Careers? I don't know. Will the game become stale? Maybe. Will there be glitches and things that I freak out about not being able to do or customize? Probably. But again, the core of this franchise is football and for what it is worth, I enjoy controlling Cam Newton with the seconds ticking down in the 4th quarter and trying to score a TD to win the (simulated) game, and that's enough for me; that's worth my $60 (minus $15 Amazon credit that I will use towards the Black Ops II pre-order).Maybe I'm an optimist or I just try to find the good in things or give something a fair shake, but to come here because one or two pieces of a game have changed or been removed and rate 1 star doesn't seem legit to me (and I'm the first one to knock a star or two off of a review if it is legitimately lacking for whatever reason). Would you buy a car because you bought the same model 5 years ago and then get pissed when you realize they removed the CD player? Probably not...you would have researched and known this happened and then test driven the car and then made a decision after that instead of going online and bashing the car's lack of CD player (bad analogy...I know). :-)So, let's all take these reviews with a grain of salt and if you are on the fence, try out the demo or rent the game first and then see if this game is right for you. Just my $.02. And after re-reading my "review", it's apparent how many great memories this game has brought me so that in and of itself is enough of a reason for me to scratch the Madden itch again and take the good with the bad.