The demo for Madden NFL 13 was released on Tuesday and much to no ones surprise, everyone is rushing to get their first taste of football. First of all we downloaded the Xbox 360 version. Fans are given the choice of playing as either the Super Bowl champion New York Giants or the San Francisco 49’rs, all have been updated with the current rosters. I chose to play as the Giants on Pro Setting. What I noticed is that the graphics have been smoothed over throughout the gameplay to the point of appearing almost NFL Blitz levels of “cartoony.” However, when the game shows cut scenes, replays, and close-ups you have no complications identifying which players are represented. You can see Eli Manning’s trademark goofy expression beaming through his facemask like Forrest Gump before a kick-off. I hope the actual game puts a little less emphasis on the replays. I don’t need 4 different views of my first down run or thirteen views of my touchdown.

Other than roster updates, it appears as if very little has changed in the game. EA developers had promised changes to the defensive mechanics, but other than more realistic tackle animations, I did notice anything truly different in the demo. The lack of John Madden’s voice is something that is still a significant loss to the game, no offense to Phil Simms and Jim Nantz.

The passing is much better and much more fluid though. With the increased controls of passing placement and ball speed, it does make the passing game seem much more potent, Eli Manning to Victor Cruz was a thing of glory, although I was upset not to see a little Salsa after the touchdown although game makers promise we will be able to “Tebow” in the game.

While Madden 13 promises a myriad of changes that are supposed to make the game feel more “authentic”, the demo does not show off everything we can expect to see. We will have to wait until August 28th to get our hands on the various gameplay styles and online competitions, which is honestly the most important aspect for many players. Right now, it’s 4th and 2 and we all know that no matter what we think, we are all going to go for it. See you all online on the 28th.