“Madden 13” by EA Sports

Reviewed by Cody Brumbaugh

Are you ready for some football? The gaming type of course.

The familiar voice of Jim Nantz welcomes you to Madden 13 along with his tagline “Hello, friends!” which makes it feel like Sunday every time you play. This is also a step up from the incessant nagging of Chris Collinsworth, who is possibly the worst broadcaster ever.

Besides the much appreciated announcer change, Madden 13 is similar to last year’s edition. It does give gamers many new abilities and modes but removes some popular game options and tools.

This year, Madden brought Franchise mode and Career mode together in an online play setting called Connected Careers. The player has the choice to make his own player or coach and use them to play in online leagues against friends. This is simply genius; now I can take my statistically maxed-out players and use them against my buddies and vice versa. It makes for serious competition and swearing at the television.

The all-new physics engine makes running the ball and playing smash mouth style more realistic. However, the defense must be using steroids because every player no matter position or size somehow has 47-inch vertical leap that make lobbing a pass over a corners head a near impossibility. Developers tried to fix this with the new pass-trajectory system but even that doesn’t help you when Ray Lewis can seemingly out-jump an NBA player.

My biggest gripe with this game is the loss of being able to make defensive assignments in a game. In previous years, players would be able to assign their best cornerback to the opposing teams best wide receiver to keep the matchups even. Changing offensive audibles mid-game was also something taken out. This takes away from the integrity of the game.

Overall, this edition is the most realistic Madden yet and sets the bar high for games to come, plus I don’t have to listen to Collinsworth’s voice for another minute.

Rating: 4 out of 5

“FIFA 13” by Electronic Arts

Reviewed by Øystein Grønvold

Good news for couch potatoes looking for another excuse to avoid outdoor activities – FIFA 13 is out.

With their recent release of the newest addition to a line of realistic soccer games, EA Sports has developed another product well worth its price. As expected, the company is still staying true to their old recipe, but they have slightly revamped the mechanics of the game as well as added a number of brand new features.

Fans of the series won’t be blown away by FIFA 13, but will soon realize that it provides a more realistic experience, starting with the first game. This time around, EA focused on the offense, allowing gamers to more efficiently break the defensive line, made possible by improvements in the movement of artificial intelligence players. Gamers new to FIFA, on the other hand, will be pleased to see that a practice feature has been added, covering most of the aspects needed to drastically bring skills up to par.

While the visual aspects of the game remain nearly indistinguishable from those of its predecessor, new major features include a “Match Day” function, where player statistics are constantly updated according to what is happening in the world of real soccer. Online modes have also improved in functionality.

Navigating the extensive menus of the game, where gamers will spend a significant duration of time, is accompanied by a number of superb, catchy, songs. Many of these are recognizable from the world of popular music – others are made specifically for the game. However, I do miss the option to replace the automated commentators with these during on-field gameplay.

Like previous games in the series, FIFA 13 is still most entertaining when played with others. Due to the competitive nature of the game, gamers often finds themselves barking out phrases not acceptable for repetition here while losing, as competitors navigate victoriously through the living room in a rush of bliss.

FIFA 13 is in no way revolutionary, but it offers a significant improvement compared to earlier titles. EA delivers on sports games as per usual.

Rating: 4 out of 5

“NHL 13” by EA Sports

Reviewed by Erick Pirayesh

As another embarrassing lockout taints the National Hockey League, those fans who need their fix of ugly white guys barreling into each other on skates can check out EA Sports NHL 13.

Admittedly, this game can’t replace the best parts of the real thing—the bone crunching hits, the smell of blood and sweat encompassed in near freezing temperatures, the sound of a poor fellow’s teeth as they clatter onto the ice—it does an admirable job of trying. In fact, the best thing the game has going for it is an astute attention to detail and realism rarely found in sports games.

NHL 13 boasts a brand new skating system based on a realistic physics engine that makes the act of skating, which is customary in hockey, more true to real life than ever before. Unlike previous installments in the series, turning on a dime at full speed is no longer possible. A player must sacrifice speed for control and vice versa.

Another improvement, which comes as a huge relief for longtime fans of the series, is an overhaul of the game’s artificial intelligence for computer players. No more defenders grossly out-of-position or goalies who only follow the player and not the puck; NHL 13 finally got this right.

The game comes equipped with two new modes; one: “NHL Moments Live,” gives players the ability to relive legendary moments from hockey’s past. It’s a positive addition that practically every other sports game has had for years and NHL noticeably lacked, and while the mode isn’t perfect, it’s a step in the right direction.

The second is “GM Connected” mode, an online game type that allows players to create a league and play with up to 750 other gamers from around the world, with everyone able to act as either a commissioner, player, or general manager. It’s a gigantic and ambitious mode that can keep hardcore fans engrossed for hours, though it requires a large time commitment and cooperation between many players that can make it tedious and off-putting to some.

In addition to these things, the game looks great. The graphics are crisp and detailed. Audio-wise, the returning commentary of Bill Clemente and Gary Thorne is quite welcome.

As with most EA games, NHL 13 is not without its flaws. Arguably, the most popular online mode “Be a Pro,” received little to no improvements. EA also tries to find multiple ways at every turn to entice players to spend more money with pointless downloadable gimmicks.

If you’re a hockey junky looking to replace the hole in your heart of no NHL season, you should really just do the sensible thing and watch football, but if that’s still not good enough, spend $60 on NHL 13. It’s a well-made, realistic hockey game that has hours upon hours of online and offline replay value.

Rating: 4 out of 5