Madden Social: Adrenaline Junky, Meet Fantasy Football

In an era of fantasy football and exploding statistical obsessiveness, it's surprising to think EA has only just now settled on bringing Madden Social into the world. Though it may have tarried, the interconnected Facebook and iOS app due out this fall offers a pretty smart balance of fantasy player trading and actual Madden gameplay.

Like most Facebook-based games, Madden Social is a simple turn-based game for two players that don't have to be online at the same time to play together. The game is heavily focused on offense, so players will take turns trying to guide a drive into their opponent's endzone.

When you're on defense the stats and arrangement of your players will matter, but everything else is automated. Played over Facebook, the game is shown as a top-down view of the entire playing field. You'll choose what players you want on the field and which plays you want to run, and then the computer does all the math simulating the outcome. You can also keep multiple games running while you wait for player 2 to log back on to Facebook.

When played on iPhone of iPad, you'll be able to control actual plays. There's a virtual analog stick if you want total control of movement, though you can ignore it and focus on simple swipes for jukes or stiff-arms. You can also choose which receiver to throw to by either tapping them on screen or hitting one of five virtual buttons in the bottom right corner of the screen.

It's a simpler version of the action-oriented version of Madden that's been available on iOS for a couple of years as a purchaseable App, but Madden Social is free to download and connects you to those that have a statistical obsession with football but may not be interested in actually playing the second-by-second simulation.

Facebook developers have larded the media with talk of asynchronous gameplay for years, meaning both players don't have to be connected to the game at the same time to play with one another. Madden Social pushes asynchronicity in another direction, allowing players to compete strategically while potentially playing very different games. I may prefer the chessboard presentation of Facebook and you may prefer the adrenal improvisations of the iOS version, and Madden Social translates one style of play to the other. It's not just playing at different times, but actually playing in different ways to best accommodate the platform.

The game economy is driven by buying or unlocking new plays and new packs of player cards to improve your team over time. You'll start with 25 random players, which you'll have to assemble into a team, and by winning games or pulling off big plays you'll earn coins that can be used to buy new player card packs. You'll be able to buy one-star, two-star, or three-star packs, each coming with five player cards of increasing skill, depending on how much you want to splurge. There's also an Auction House where you can sell your player cards you don't use anymore.

The playbook is also fairly limited at the outset, but you'll be able to buy new plays, or just earn enough coins to unlock them over time. There'll be another kind of consumable -- energy units -- that limits just how much you can play without taking a break, though if you become insatiable Facebook will gladly sell you more units. Playing one entire drive will cost you one energy unit, and though the game is still being balanced, at present you're scheduled to get roughly one energy unit every 15 minutes.

Madden Social doesn't connect to the console versions of the game, which might have been another way of entreating long-time fans to noodle with the Ultimate Teams or Online Leagues from the office or on the bus. Yet, what it does do is offer a simple and surprisingly unique experience to bridge people's common interest in football through a medium flexible enough to support different preferences of play.

For years, game fans have said things like "it's just not your type of game" to answer complaints from those interested in a game but thrown off by a particular kind of gameplay. We all like playing games in our own way, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't play together.

Madden Social seems like a small but worthwhile step toward making that approach commonplace. With Smart Glass, Wii U, Vita/PS3 connectivity, and a plethora of Android and iOS devices out in the world I think there could be real advancements made breaking out of the single-platform, singular-gameplay model that has so far dominated our understanding of what a videogame can be.

Madden Social doesn't have a specific launch date yet, but it will be released sometime this fall.

Michael Thomsen is a freelancer writer based in New York City.

Source : ign[dot]com

Madden Social: Adrenaline Junky, Meet Fantasy Football

In an era of fantasy football and exploding statistical obsessiveness, it's surprising to think EA has only just now settled on bringing Madden Social into the world. Though it may have tarried, the interconnected Facebook and iOS app due out this fall offers a pretty smart balance of fantasy player trading and actual Madden gameplay.

Like most Facebook-based games, Madden Social is a simple turn-based game for two players that don't have to be online at the same time to play together. The game is heavily focused on offense, so players will take turns trying to guide a drive into their opponent's endzone.

When you're on defense the stats and arrangement of your players will matter, but everything else is automated. Played over Facebook, the game is shown as a top-down view of the entire playing field. You'll choose what players you want on the field and which plays you want to run, and then the computer does all the math simulating the outcome. You can also keep multiple games running while you wait for player 2 to log back on to Facebook.

When played on iPhone of iPad, you'll be able to control actual plays. There's a virtual analog stick if you want total control of movement, though you can ignore it and focus on simple swipes for jukes or stiff-arms. You can also choose which receiver to throw to by either tapping them on screen or hitting one of five virtual buttons in the bottom right corner of the screen.

It's a simpler version of the action-oriented version of Madden that's been available on iOS for a couple of years as a purchaseable App, but Madden Social is free to download and connects you to those that have a statistical obsession with football but may not be interested in actually playing the second-by-second simulation.

Facebook developers have larded the media with talk of asynchronous gameplay for years, meaning both players don't have to be connected to the game at the same time to play with one another. Madden Social pushes asynchronicity in another direction, allowing players to compete strategically while potentially playing very different games. I may prefer the chessboard presentation of Facebook and you may prefer the adrenal improvisations of the iOS version, and Madden Social translates one style of play to the other. It's not just playing at different times, but actually playing in different ways to best accommodate the platform.

The game economy is driven by buying or unlocking new plays and new packs of player cards to improve your team over time. You'll start with 25 random players, which you'll have to assemble into a team, and by winning games or pulling off big plays you'll earn coins that can be used to buy new player card packs. You'll be able to buy one-star, two-star, or three-star packs, each coming with five player cards of increasing skill, depending on how much you want to splurge. There's also an Auction House where you can sell your player cards you don't use anymore.

The playbook is also fairly limited at the outset, but you'll be able to buy new plays, or just earn enough coins to unlock them over time. There'll be another kind of consumable -- energy units -- that limits just how much you can play without taking a break, though if you become insatiable Facebook will gladly sell you more units. Playing one entire drive will cost you one energy unit, and though the game is still being balanced, at present you're scheduled to get roughly one energy unit every 15 minutes.

Madden Social doesn't connect to the console versions of the game, which might have been another way of entreating long-time fans to noodle with the Ultimate Teams or Online Leagues from the office or on the bus. Yet, what it does do is offer a simple and surprisingly unique experience to bridge people's common interest in football through a medium flexible enough to support different preferences of play.

For years, game fans have said things like "it's just not your type of game" to answer complaints from those interested in a game but thrown off by a particular kind of gameplay. We all like playing games in our own way, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't play together.

Madden Social seems like a small but worthwhile step toward making that approach commonplace. With Smart Glass, Wii U, Vita/PS3 connectivity, and a plethora of Android and iOS devices out in the world I think there could be real advancements made breaking out of the single-platform, singular-gameplay model that has so far dominated our understanding of what a videogame can be.

Madden Social doesn't have a specific launch date yet, but it will be released sometime this fall.

Michael Thomsen is a freelancer writer based in New York City.

Source : ign[dot]com

What's New in Football Manager 2013

Every self-respecting football and gaming fan has a Championship Manager/Football Manager story - like that time you almost won the Champions League with Torino but lost to a last minute penalty by a regen called Francesco Della Morte, or that other time your housemate at university took his Birmingham team to the FA Cup final and he actually wore a suit for the occasion (both of those are true, and it really was my housemate, not me, honest). It has punctuated our lives with such regularity over the years that it at times almost feels as important as football itself. It isn’t, but when there’s no football on the TV it’s a bloody good substitute.

In short, there is a reason that Football Manager is so popular: It has transcended the world of football management sims like no other game before it, and has moved from a game to a cultural phenomenon. It’s no coincidence I remember those two incidents better than I remember the majority of my university education; I spent more time playing it than I actually did studying.

So what’s new about FM2013? Well, lots actually. There are two new game modes in addition to the usual Football Manager and Online modes. The first, Challenge, drops you into a variety of different scenarios and challenges you to make a success of them. Some of them are interesting, some of them less so, but I imagine they’d be of great intrigue to FM completists, or for players that are looking to break up the rhythm of how they play the game.

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There has now clearly been an admission at FM Towers that somewhere along the line, the game became a bit too complicated and time-consuming for the casual gamer.

The second merits more attention: Classic Mode. There has now clearly been an admission at FM Towers that somewhere along the line, the game became a bit too complicated and time-consuming for the casual gamer. Obviously, the players who grew up with the game are now older and probably have more demanding jobs and/or a family and so don’t have the time they once did to dedicate to a computer game. The Classic mode scales back a lot of the detail required of the main game, and also in turn makes it more accessible to the newcomer. This is a shrewd move by Miles and the team, Classic is the mode I will likely play more often than not now, despite having played FM for years. There is only so much time one can spend filtering out qualifications of prospective new coaches (another new feature of the main game).

In the main game, there are some nice new touches that really do make a difference: the assistant coach comments throughout a match add another veneer of authenticity to proceedings and make the hiring of a good assistant even more important. The ‘body language’ feature during a game gives you even further insight into your players and allows you to make more informed decisions tactically.

Aesthetically, the game looks sharper; the windows slide in and out when you hit continue and there is an option to split-screen the match coverage with stats. The match engine itself is more realistic; the movements of the players are better rendered and the surrounding paraphernalia like stadiums, benches and match officials seem somehow more complex and therefore more immersive.

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The beauty of this FM though is that yes it’s deeper and more complicated, but you can tailor your game-playing preferences accordingly.

The astonishing level of detail of what seems like just about every player in world football is still a mainstay of the game and really is worth pointing out. It is a mark of how consistently good these games have been over the years that all of us take for granted the depth and detail on just about every player playing professionally in the western world (and beyond) that seems to exist here. We are no longer surprised by this. We expect it. And yet again, it's delivered.

The beauty of this FM though is that yes it’s deeper and more complicated, and the level of detail in training now is enough to throw your Andre Villas-Boas-sized dossiers into the fire in despair, but you can tailor your game-playing preferences accordingly. The Classic mode, the option to use your assistant manager should you need to and the adding of a new Director of Football who can pick up a lot of the more menial jobs mean it really can be adjusted to how much time you have to dedicate to it.

Football Manager 2013 is out on November 2nd, and we'll have a full review on Monday 29th. Keep your eye on the ball.

Luke Moore is a writer and broadcaster and the co-founder of The Football Ramble. He has contributed to regularly to BBC Radio 5 Live and has featured on Radio 4, ESPN, The Guardian, Betfair and, of course, IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Football Manager 2013 Release Date Announced

SEGA has revealed the latest instalment in the Football Manager franchise will release on November 2 worldwide.

If you can't wait until then though, the company is offering keen players who pre-order the chance to get into the game earlier.

Anyone who pre-orders a physical or digital copy of the game will receive a code that will grant access to a single-player beta version of the game about two weeks before the full game becomes available. This beta will remain playable until November 5, and all saved games and progress made during the pre-release period will be fully compatible with the final release.

Speaking about the decision to offer earlier access, Sports Interactive’s studio director Miles Jacobson said, "Our fans are very good at letting us know what they want and the one thing that’s consistently at the top of their wish list is an earlier release date. While we can’t, strictly speaking, offer them exactly what they want, this Beta version is the next best thing… a fully playable Football Manager they can get their hands on around two weeks before the finished game hits the streets."

Football Manager 2013 will be available on PC and Mac from November 2, and includes new features such as a Classic mode and short-term challenges.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

SEGA Announces Football Manager 2013

SEGA has revealed the latest game in its Football Manager series, Football Manager 2013, developed by Sports Interactive.

A range of improvements to the game's existing elements have been announced, including an improved 3D match engine, new staff roles such as specialist coaches, enhanced training and worldwide leaderboards.  Additionally, the game will make full use of the Steam system’s network functionality, increasing the ease with which games can be set up against other managers.

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In recent years it’s become clear that there’s a large group of people who would like to play Football Manager, but simply can’t devote the time required to get the most out of the game.

Alongside all this is the introduction of the all-new 'Classic' or FMC mode, which promises to offer a streamlined managerial experience for those players who wouldn't otherwise have time for a full season. By only focusing on the nuts and bolts of taking a team to the top, players should be able to play out a full season in just eight to 10 hours.

Sports Interactive studio director Miles Jacobson explained, "In recent years it’s become clear that there’s a large group of people who would like to play Football Manager, but simply can’t devote the time required to get the most out of the game.

"We decided, therefore, to try to find a way to accommodate players with limited free time, without significantly diluting the experience. We believe that FMC achieves this beautifully.

“I would, however, like to stress to our many, many fans around the world that the introduction of FMC will not impact in any way on the game that they’ve come to know and love. For those who still want the full, ‘hands-on’ experience, FM13 offers exactly what they’re looking for – a bigger, better and even more immersive version of the world's greatest football management simulation.”

FMC mode can either be played as an open-ended career, or through the new Challenge mode that was first introduced in the handheld version of Football Manager 2012. Challenge mode tasks players with overcoming a particular scenario which is designed to test his or her management skills over a set period of time. These range from achieving success with a squad of kids to getting your team from the bottom of the table to the top within half a season.

FM13 will ship with five challenges with more made available over time. FMC mode will also offer ‘unlockable’ features which can be used to make the game a bit easier, such as removing the need for work permits.

Football Manager 2013 will be released on PC and Mac before Christmas 2012.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant and regularly struggles to manage, as well as cope. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Football Manager 2013 New Modes

Football Manager 2013 is said to mark "a seismic shift" in the series, and one of the ways it's doing this is the brand-new classic mode, or as it's being referred to at the studio 'FMC'.

For the first time in the franchise's history, the mode gives players a "less time-consuming way for players to approach the game". It simplifies the game to a degree, allowing you to focus on winning the league.

“The introduction of FMC is a major step forward in Football Manager’s evolution,” says Miles Jacobson, Studio Director of Sport's Interactive. “In recent years it’s become clear that there’s a large group of people who would like to play Football Manager, but simply can’t devote the time required to get the most out of the game – in fact, now that they have families and other commitments, even some members of the SI team have found themselves in this position. We decided, therefore, to try to find a way to accommodate players with limited free time, without significantly diluting the experience. We believe that FMC achieves this beautifully."

Now you'll be able to play through an entire season in eight to ten hours. You can also embark on an open-ended career or play the game's new challenge mode – it'll test your managerial know-how with real-world circumstances usually over the length of half a season.

But if you're a devoted fan of Football Manager, don't worry. Nobody is diluting the experience you love. Jacobson goes on to say, “I would, however, like to stress to our many, many fans around the world that the introduction of FMC will not impact in any way on the game that they’ve come to know and love. For those who still want the full, ‘hands-on’ experience, FM13 offers exactly what they’re looking for – a bigger, better and even more immersive version of the world's greatest football management simulation.”

The game also boasts a new improved 3D engine, new staff roles including the introduction of those bothersome 'Directors of Football', refreshed interactions with the media, and worldwide leaderboards.

Football Manager 2013 will be out on PC and Mac sometime before Christmas 2012.

Daniel is IGN's UK Staff Writer. He supports Blackburn Rovers, who are mainly rubbish. Follow him on IGN and Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Madden NFL 13 Review

Madden NFL 13 is an excellent football game. You could point to the gameplay improvements, the new physics engine or even the adlibbing commentators as to why the game works so well, but the truth behind the success comes down to the sum of the parts. Madden NFL 13 looks, feels and sounds like what we all watch on Sunday, and I can't stop playing it.

From the moment you hit start, Madden NFL 13 is a different beast. Rather than get dropped into mountains of disconnected menus, you're put directed to one hub screen that shows you how many players are online at that moment, gives you one-click access to your communities, and leaves your careers at your fingertips. There are different modes to Madden, but they all stem from the same place; Madden's identity crisis is over. The pop music and rappers are gone and in their place is an instrumental score driving home that this is the NFL and it's time to play football.

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Madden NFL 13 does something the Madden franchise hasn't done in years: it makes me want to keep playing.

Luckily, playing football in Madden NFL is a blast. Every time I put down the controller, I want to pick it back up and head out on the field. Madden NFL 13 is challenging this year with receiver icons that change depending on if the player is looking for the ball and defenses that aren't afraid to call me on my lack of a running game -- but I'm all about the struggle. I'm fighting for each and every yard I gain or keep from an opponent, and I'm relishing actually having to think on the field.

See, EA tweaked a whole bunch of gameplay mechanics in Madden NFL 13. If you want to be the jaded gamer and say "It looks just like last year," go ahead, but know that you're wrong. Yes, the graphics look as good as last year -- actually they're a bit better when you include the new TV graphics and the lush shade of a good Sunday afternoon game -- but there's plenty of under the hood enhancements that evolve the gameplay we all know.

There are 25 new pass trajectories so you can put the ball out in front or just above the receiver. Defensive backs have to see the ball to make a play on it so there are no more psychic swats. You can abort play action after the snap. At a glance, Madden NFL 13 might just look like Madden, but in your hands, it feels polished.

Now, a big part of that feeling is the much-touted Infinity Engine. Basically, this adds physics to Madden for the first time. Whereas a corner and a wideout would bump into each other in the air and then come down in the same spot they leapt from last year, Madden NFL 13 allows for helicopter hits and tumbles out of bounds. Contact matters and changes plays.

It sounds exciting -- and spearing a receiver out of the air so that the trainers come out to check on him definitely is -- but I wasn't impressed at first. In fact, the place I saw the physics the most were when plays were blown dead and linemen stumbled over one another or receivers' legs got tangled with defenders. Expect jankiness to stand out, but don’t let it stop you from playing. The benefit of the Infinity Engine isn't the big plays; it's the fact that the small plays don't all look the same.

In past Maddens, there were only so many tackle animations and ways a player could go down. After a while, it was easy to feel like you had seen it all. The Infinity Engine makes every hit a little bit different. Angles, weight and more matter. Watching a halfback break free of a shoddy tackle or a wideout come down just in bounds before stumbling over really amplifies how the game looks and feels. Sure, there are still wonky tackles and handoff animations, but the good outweighs the bad by a long shot -- especially if EA continues to refine the formula and deliver animations that aren't canned.

Source : ign[dot]com

EA Sports Partners Tottenham Hotspur

EA Sports has announced that it signed a deal to become the official videogame partner of Tottenham Hotspur football club.

The company has signed a 3-year contract with the English Premier League club, making Spurs the 8th club to enter into such an agreement.

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This is an opportunity for us to create a deeper connection with their passionate, global fan base, and use our game as a platform to engage Spurs supporters all season long.

EA Sports senior vice president Matt Bilbey said, "We are extremely excited to join a world class football club like Tottenham Hotspur as an Official Club Partner. This is an opportunity for us to create a deeper connection with their passionate, global fan base, and use our game as a platform to engage Spurs supporters all season long."

As a result of the deal, Spurs players will have 3D head scans performed to ensure accurate models in FIFA 13. A Tottenham Hotspur game packaging sleeve will also be produced for the title and made available as a free download, while EA's mobile game trailer is set to make appearances at White Hart Lane.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy said, "Over the course of the past few years we've seen the international profile of the Club rise significantly, especially across key markets in Asia and North America. We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with EA Sports, one of the world's leading entertainment brands, and provide them with the opportunity to reach our global fan base."

Tottenham Hotspur joins seven other English Premier League teams that have become club partners with EA Sports. The other club partners are Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Newcastle, and Manchester City.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com