Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As a longtime Madden player (have played/owned every iteration since 99), this year's version of Madden is perhaps the most over-hyped one since the move to the current gen of consoles. After years of gamers complaining about the lack of innovation between the yearly releases of Madden, EA finally took a swing at things for the better. Unfortunately, even with the new Infinity Engine and Connected Careers Mode the exclusion of a full fledged Franchise Mode from years past is sadly game breaking for this gamer. Pros: 1. The Infinity Engine is a solid step forward for the franchise, and should only get better as the series evolves in this direction. This is the best part of Madden 13, and can only be truly appreciated once you play it. Comparing the gameplay engines from Madden 12 or even NCAA 13 is almost a night and day difference. 2. The gameplay itself is probably the best its been since Madden's been on the current consoles. Multi-player matches (co-op and online) in particular should be the best its been in this generation. Past annoyances like Psychic DBs, eternal pockets for QBs, or impossible across the body off balance throws are out or at least toned down. 3. For as much as I dislike it, Combined Careers did well in including the different ratings for players depending on scheme. The Twitter/Social dashboard is at least interesting, if a bit clunky. 4. Trade logic within CCM seems to be harder, a positive in my book since it takes out trading a FA you just signed for a first round pick. Cons: 1. Well, as the rest of my Amazon reviewers have noted Franchise mode as we have come to know and love got the boot. The new mode, Combined Careers, is a combination of past year's Superstar and Franchise modes. Unfortunately, Coach mode (which is supposed to be the evolved Franchise mode) is sadly lacking. 2. Lack of editing players/rosters: no longer can you edit player numbers, ratings, or really even have that much control of your roster. For example, in my current CCM I have 3 players with the number 82 in the wide receiver position, a minor annoyance that the user cannot address since editing is completely gone. The inability to change ratings makes a bit of sense(so no one can just turn anyone into a 99 overall rating) if Progression actually worked. Unfortunately, I had a rookie LB win both Rookie of the Year and Defensive MVP...and lost rating (78 to 77). Finally, you no longer edit player positions and thus are stuck with whatever EA classifies the player as. Want to turn Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis back to DE's for the return of your new 4-3 Colts defense (in 13 they are 3-4 mirroring the real life switch)? Good luck, you can't. 3. Lack of a Fantasy draft - not a big one for me, but I know at least two of my friends refuse to buy this simply because of this being left out of 13. 4. Lack of a co-op Franchise - unless you and your friends are willing to shell out $60 per person (plus XBOXs/Live subscriptions) you can no longer have your friend play within your franchise. As it is, I can play/compete with my friends/roommates on one console in Madden 12 or NCAA 13 but not in Madden 13. 5. Inability to import NCAA13 draft classes - not a surprise to anyone following the Madden hype train, but disappointing none the less. 6. Being forced to go online -at the moment of writing this review all the benefits of the CCM are found by choosing the online (always connected to EA servers) option. Online gamers will get tuning updates days to even weeks before offline gamers. Perhaps the biggest hindrance to this would be anyone who has actually had to connect to EA's servers before, they are notoriously buggy and finicky. In my NCAA 13 dynasty I constantly lose connection to the EA servers, a minor annoyance in that game, a game breaking feature in this one. Because of the way online CCM is set up, any time you lose connection to the EA server you lose all progress in whatever you were doing...4th quarter up by 3 as the underdog in the Super Bowl? Tough luck, you are going to have to play that entire game over again. Conclusion: While the loss of Franchise Mode (and the inability of Coach mode in CCM to replace it) is a serious one in my book, there is some appeal in this game. As it is, people who play Madden for the multiplayer quick games will enjoy this game. People who get Madden for the Franchise play will find it sorely lacking until/if they ever patch it.