Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Trending
  • Gamescom 2025 schedule
  • Gamescom
  • Battlefield 6
  • New Games for 2025
Don't miss these
Madden 26
Madden NFL Madden 26 preview: Scott Hanson delivers ESPN NFL 2K5 half-time show vibes at long last
Madden 25
Madden NFL Madden 26: Everything you need to know about the new NFL game
Madden 26
Madden NFL Madden 26 review: "The finest entry in a decade by some margin"
College Football 26: a player running while holding the ball
Sports Games College Football 26 preview: EA says “We listened” with 2,800 new plays and 300 coaches
FC 26
EA Sports FC EA Sports FC 26 has surprised me by forgoing a gimmicky selling point in favor of smarter, smaller tweaks: "Gameplay is always going to be the most important thing"
College Football 26
Sports Games College Football 26: Everything you need to know about the upcoming sports game
Madden 26
Madden NFL All the new Madden 26 QB Traits and what they do
FC 26
EA Sports FC EA Sports FC 26: Everything you need to know about the upcoming football sim
College Football 26
Sports Games College Football 26 review: “Thanks to rivalries and dynasty, this is the greatest show on turf”
Madden 25
Madden NFL The best Madden 25 sliders and how to use them
Madden 26
Madden NFL The best Madden 26 sliders and how to use them
Madden 26
Madden NFL Madden 26 best playbooks for elite offense and defense
Madden 26
Madden NFL All the Madden 26 X-Factors and Superstars in one guide
Madden 26
Madden NFL Madden 26 best players list and 99 Club guide
Madden 26
Madden NFL Madden 26 best teams list and all team ratings
  1. Games
  2. Sports
  3. Madden NFL
  4. Madden NFL 13

Madden NFL 13 new features - preview of audio, gameplay and presentation

Features
By Richard Grisham published 14 May 2012

From rebuilding its commentary to overhauling gameplay, Madden NFL 13 is going deep

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Another year, another Madden

Another year, another Madden

Youre wrong.

However Madden NFL 13 turns out, its undergoing a radical redesign everywhere audio, gameplay, presentation, and more. As weve chronicled here, here, and here, EA Sports Tiburon Studios are going all in this year, and are being loud and clear about it.

The big target for Madden 13 is innovation, audio designer Matt Bialosuknia told us when we visited Tiburon for a hands-on preview. A really high-end, elite broadcast presentation is what were doing this year.

This is the most excited Ive ever been with what were doing with gameplay, designer Larry Richart echoed. The amount of changes weve made is the most in this console generation.

So with that in mind knowing more announcements are coming at E3 - here are the improvements were the most excited about so far.

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
All-new commentary

All-new commentary

Over the course of last year, the team recorded more than 80 hours and 9,000 lines of Nantz and Simms dialogue, boosted by the latest technology as well as techniques like piping in crowd noise to better simulate game-day conditions. Weve gotten some sneak previews, and so far it sounds terrific.

We were nervous about starting from absolute scratch, Bialosuknia told us when he talked about the decision to rebuild commentary from the ground up. But we added a significant number of people to our team with a goal of best-in-class audio, and from the very first recording session we were confident we would get there.

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
Treasure trove of on-field sounds

Treasure trove of on-field sounds

For example, specific quarterback cadences the Blue! 32! Hut Hut Hike! before every snap have now been captured for most of the real NFL QBs for use in the game. When Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers step to the line, youll be hearing their actual voices barking out the signals instead of a generic one. And thats just the tip of the iceberg.

As we sat in the audio rooms and NFL Films played us what they had, our jaws were on the floor, said Bialosuknia of his time at NFL Films. We wanted to bring everything back with us. These hits especially we would cringe when we would hear a 250 lb. guy and a 300 lb. guy collide at full speed. Its got a very unique and intense sound to it and thats going to be a big piece of our sound design.

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
Throw the receiver open

Throw the receiver open

Teams are passing the ball more than ever in the NFL, Larry Richart told us at our hands-on session. We wanted to emphasize that, and now you can throw the ball to open areas of the field. Say you have a slot receiver on an In route against a Cover 2 defense; normally, you couldnt complete that pass. Now, you hold up on the L stick to lead your receiver down the field to the open area between the two safeties and itll convert it to a Post route.

The most intriguing aspect of this is that it should benefit casual players as well as hardcore fans, as its always been easy to see open areas to throw to, but tough to get the ball there.

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Play-action passing gets legit

Play-action passing gets legit

This is a big hit with our community, Richart explains. The first thing we did was speed up the quarterback. He now gets away from the center and turns for the fake much faster. Weve added more block and release routes, too. A couple of months ago we talked to (former NFL Head Coach) Brad Childress, who explained that you typically dont have all 5 receivers going out on play-action; offenses dont do it for a 2-yard gain, theyre trying to pull in the defense and go for the big play. Also, the running back will block first. If theres no one there, hell release to his pass route. Lastly, the QB can abort the handoff if theres a blitz coming.

Well see how well this turns out in the final product, but full disclosure we were actually able to throw a touchdown pass off a play-action pass during our hands-on session. Hallelujah!

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Passing trajectories negate leapinlinebackers

Passing trajectories negate leapinlinebackers

This year, youll be able to do it, Richart told us. Last year, there was a lob pass, medium pass, and bullet pass. This year, weve added over 20 new pass trajectories and speeds, and have tuned the amounts for each. For example, you can throw medium lob passes to get it over those linebackers without fear of the so-called moon ball thatll get the safeties to come over and clobber your receiver. Similarly, a lob swing pass out of the backfield is now much lower, just enough to throw it over the defender for the receiver to catch it with plenty of time to get upfield.

We had a chance to test out the new mechanics and agree theyre looking stronger. In fact, we even threw some passes over the middle ones wed been trained never to throw in last years game with some success.

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
You gotta see it to get it

You gotta see it to get it

No more, says Richart.

Passing icons will be faded for receivers on certain routes until they would be expecting a pass in real life, he explains. Were trying to eliminate the snap and fire where the receiver is able to magically catch the ball. Its set up on a per-route basis, based on whats happening at the moment. Its not an open indicator, though, just a way to ensure the user knows that timing matters.

On defense, a new read-and-react system eliminates the psychic DBs, he continues. If a defender doesnt see whats going on, hes not going to be able to react to it.

This is indeed welcome news to Madden fans old and new, as nothing is more frustrating than a perfectly thrown ball that gets picked off by cornerback whos staring the other way.

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Disguising the Defense

Disguising the Defense

You always hear the announcers talk about how its a chess match between the coordinators, Richart says. In last years game it was really easy to tell. This year, if you put a man in motion, we have the zone swap. The players will still follow the man, so you dont know until you snap the ball what defense theyre in.

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
More than a new coat of paint

More than a new coat of paint

Were going for world-class presentation, and that starts from the beginning, presentation designer Patrick Bellanca told us as he walked through all the updates. From the moment you put the disc into the tray, Madden is fresh. Theres a whole new user interface and 3D intro that brings you to the new main menu, tons of new lighting upgrades, motion blur, and tuned depth of field. Plus, were going to bring our broadcast crew to life in a way that weve never done in a Madden game before.

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
Looks promising

Looks promising

While theres still much to reveal and 3 months until its late August release its obvious that theres been a massive investment of time and money in Madden NFL 13. Whether or not it all comes together remains to be seen, but our initial sessions with the game were promising. As regular players of any sports game know, even the best titles faults start to show themselves after dozens of games. Tiburon has listened to its vocal community, beefed up the development team, and attacked Maddens weaknesses with surgical precision. Were certainly rooting for it to be the best one yet.

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
CATEGORIES
Nintendo PlayStation Xbox Platforms
Richard Grisham
See more Nintendo Features
Read more
Madden 26
Madden 26 preview: Scott Hanson delivers ESPN NFL 2K5 half-time show vibes at long last
Madden 25
Madden 26: Everything you need to know about the new NFL game
Madden 26
Madden 26 review: "The finest entry in a decade by some margin"
College Football 26: a player running while holding the ball
College Football 26 preview: EA says “We listened” with 2,800 new plays and 300 coaches
FC 26
EA Sports FC 26 has surprised me by forgoing a gimmicky selling point in favor of smarter, smaller tweaks: "Gameplay is always going to be the most important thing"
College Football 26
College Football 26: Everything you need to know about the upcoming sports game
Latest in Madden NFL
Madden 26
Madden 26 rookie ratings guide to the NFL best young prospects
Madden 26
What is GAD in Madden 26?
Madden 26
Madden 26 best playbooks for elite offense and defense
Madden 26
All the Madden 26 X-Factors and Superstars in one guide
Madden 26
The best Madden 26 sliders and how to use them
Madden 26
Madden 26 best teams list and all team ratings
Latest in Features
Borderlands 4 screenshot shows someone holding a weapon forward towards the camera.
"We tend to commit to the bit": Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford talks Borderlands 4, the evolution of looter-shooters, and $80 game discourse
Valor Mortis
Ghostrunner devs abandon parkour for Valor Mortis, a first-person soulslike that might explain why the rest of the genre follows Dark Souls' lead
A mech firing a machine gun in the desert in Menace
Menace is an XCOM-Warhammer hybrid that makes turn-based strategy feel like an immersive sim, and for the first time in my life I'm playing a game that seems made for me
Metal Gear Solid 5 showing Snake and Ocelot looking to the horizon in front of more soldiers
10 years later, Metal Gear Solid 5 remains a masterpiece that was never going to live up to its own hype
Dogtooth
The new Yorgos Lanthimos movie is getting rave first reactions out of Venice Film Festival, but I think it's worth revisiting his breakout feature Dogtooth before Bugonia hits theaters this fall
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Legacy of the Forge DLC showing Henry and two allies standing looking down
I built a home and ran a business in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's next DLC, and the added role-playing guarantees I'll spend another 70 hours in my current game of the year
  1. Kaser clad in black and Victor in white clash swords in Lost Soul Aside
    1
    Lost Soul Aside review: "We (don't) have Final Fantasy Versus 13 at home"
  2. 2
    Hell is Us review: "The lack of waypoints and explicit objectives is a double-edged magical sword that pulls me deep into its harsh world"
  3. 3
    Shuten Order review: "The Danganronpa creator's new multi-genre mystery feels like a forgotten DS cult classic I would have been obsessed with"
  4. 4
    The Rogue Prince of Persia review: "I roguelike but don't roguelove this freerunner – there's just not enough to stand out"
  5. 5
    Shinobi: Art of Vengeance review: "So close to being to a pitch-perfect revival of a classic series, but just can't quite line up the killing blow"
  1. Jacob Elordi as the monster in Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein
    1
    Frankenstein review: "A classy, if somewhat safe, adaptation"
  2. 2
    Weapons review: "A twisted fairytale that bests Barbarian"
  3. 3
    The Fantastic Four: First Steps review: "An occasionally thrilling heroic adventure that sits safely within a B-tier MCU range"
  4. 4
    Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU"
  5. 5
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  1. John Cena as Peacemaker holds a gun to the head of a different John Cena as Peacemaker in Peacemaker season 2.
    1
    Peacemaker season 2 review: "Darker and sadder than the first year, but there's still a lot of fun to be had with the 11th Street Kids."
  2. 2
    Wednesday season 2 part 1 review: "Complex and exciting but weighed down by too many subplots"
  3. 3
    Alien: Earth review: "Arguably the franchise's strongest outing since James Cameron's Aliens"
  4. 4
    King of the Hill season 14 review: "Hank Hill himself has evolved into a much more open and accepting person"
  5. 5
    Eyes of Wakanda review: "A creative premise shortchanged by the runtime and Marvel bloat"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...