Madden 13: Infinity Engine and Notable Changes from Last Year's Game
The first things that jump out at you while playing the Madden 13 demo are the realistic physics and collision system. Players' bodies react to every instance of physical contact with other players and the field.
It makes for some truly amazing moments, but it can also create some crash test dummy moments. It isn't anything that turns the stomach, but in this early stage of the physics engine, it rears its head from time to time.
Overall, the physics are the best new feature in regard to gameplay, and the good far outweighs the bad in this respect.
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Here are the other notable new things I detected in theย Madden 13 demo as well a video sharing my impressions and some gameplay.
Commentating and Crowd Noise
Phil Simms and Jim Nantz are an improvement over the commentating from last year. Gus Johnson is far more lively in real life, but he simply didn't have enough variance in the dialog recorded, and the emotion was mismatched in many places.
That said, Simms and Nantz aren't perfect in the demo. There were a few instances where Simms incorrectly blamed the QB for a WR dropping an easy pass.ย
Things like that could be fixed in the retail version, as we don't know how far along the demo build was in the process. Even as it was in the demo, the commentating and overall audio were improved.
The fans have much more realistic responses to the action on the field. There are easily distinguishable groans on failed third-down conversions, sacks and picks. That is something that wasn't there before.
Visual Appeal
The player models are similar to previous versions, but details to the uniforms, the motion-blur and the animations make this the prettiest Madden ever.
Replays are amazing to watch in most instances. The pile-ups are true pile-ups.
When a ball-carrier goes down in a heap of players, the players rise to their feet one at a time, as they are literally stacked on top of each other.
That may seem small, but it adds a great deal to the realism and visual appeal.
I've played through about six games of the Madden 13 demo, and I've come away very pleased. I can't wait to get my hands on a retail version to play with all 32 teams, and give the Connected Careers mode a spin.
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