IMO, it is just a touched up Madden 12. It plays almost exactly the same, except it plays a little better. The graphics have been upgraded, the tackling has been upgraded, the lead passing has been upgraded, but it is still fundamentally the same. None of the new features make you change the way you play the game.
One of the biggest gripes I've had about Madden for years that still exists is how the running game is completely stupid. The strategy in the running game is all about gap control. There is no real concept of gap control in Madden because if a player gets touched by an offensive lineman he gets sucked in front of him. In real football you have one and two gap assignments. If I rush the left A gap and get blocked, by the center, that doesn't mean I have to now not fill that gap until I shed the block. I can get blocked and still fill my assignment because I'm still in the gap.
This to me seems like it could be easily fixed within Madden's game play system. As long as they use a lock-on blocking system instead of real time physics for the blocking, all they have to do is add a side blocking animation. If a lineman throws a block into the left side of your defensive player, your defensive player shouldn't have to turn and face him. He should just lean in that direction to push back, allowing him to easily disengage if the RB runs to his right, but he should be sealed so he can't get there if the RB run behind the lineman to his left.
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