As someone with literally no Madden experience at all, I didn’t really know what to expect when I installed Madden NFL 17 onto my PS4’s hard drive. My only previous experience with a game based on football came from NFL Blitz 20-03. A great, entertaining game, to be sure, but I don’t think I ever ran a single running play, there were no penalties, and it took thirty yards to get a first down – not exactly the best representation of America’s most popular sporting event. I was a football fan (Go Steelers!), but I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. I did, however, know all of the complaints.

"The Skill Trainer features more than 80 drills and tutorials and will teach you pretty much everything you could ever want to know about football. Have no earthly idea what Cover 2 means? Curious about what a Slant is? This mode is for you."

Madden 17 opens with a game between the Washington Redskins and the newly relocated Los Angeles Rams, with both teams trying to sneak into a Wild Card spot for a shot at the Super Bowl. Putting aside the fact that the game seems to be giving both of these franchises far more credit than they deserve, and that if you’re winning (you play the Rams), hilariously conservative Rams coach Jeff “7-9” Fisher tells you to go for a two point conversion, this does a good job of teaching you how to play.

After that, you’re dumped into Madden’s Skill Trainer, which is sponsored by Gatorade, because of course it is. The Skill Trainer features more than 80 drills and tutorials and will teach you pretty much everything you could ever want to know about football. Can’t tell your Defensive Ends from your Wide Receivers? Have no earthly idea what Cover 2 means? Curious about what a Slant is? This mode is for you. It will take a while for the uninitiated for get a grip on the sheer complexity of American football, as the game is basically chess played with human bodies, but Madden 17 teaches you as well as it possibly can.

Once you’re familiar with the game, you’re free to jump into Franchise mode, online play, Ultimate Team, Draft Champions, or just play an exhibition match with the teams of your choice. You can even choose to play using custom playbooks and edit your roster. Alas, there are no historic teams, and you can’t create your own custom team from nothing, but there’s a lot of customization options to play with.

"If you’re like me, Franchise mode is where you’ll be spending most of your time. It can be a bit grindy, and rather dry, but it does a good job of simulating what it means to run or play on a football team."

Ultimately, how you play Madden will be determined by what you value. If you’re into simulations, you’ll dig Franchise mode, which allows you to play as either a coach, owner, or player. Ultimate Team is a mode where you collect cards that represent individual players by completing challenges, while Draft Champions allows you to draft a team and take your battle for gridiron dominance online.

For most people, Ultimate Team will probably be the main draw, because of the challenge content and continual updates. It’s EA’s biggest moneymaker – they really, really want you to buy the various bundle packs, and you’ll basically have to to get the best players – but you can do pretty well without them if you do the challenges.

If you’re like me, Franchise mode is where you’ll be spending most of your time. It can be a bit grindy, and rather dry, but it does a fairly good job of simulating what it means to run or play on a football team. Players gain experience for completing drills and playing games, which can be spent to upgrade a number of stats. The game also reacts to your progress with updates, tweets, and news items from prominent football personalities, which will keep you engaged and is a good way to track both your progress and that of other teams, even if there really is no story to follow when you opt to create a player. There’s also, strangely, no option to make a defensive player in franchise mode, which, while understandable (you’d spend a lot of time doing nothing), is a bit disappointing. Offense or bust, guys. EDIT: This is incorrect. There is a tab to will allow you to play defense. I just didn’t see it. I apologize for the error.

"EA has spent most of their in-game upgrades on the run game and the defense, and I’m happy to report both work very well."

You can also invite friends and set up a league that can handle everything from the draft to championships, and even move franchises to different cities. The downside is that you cannot play a season outside of franchise mode, making it a necessity for anyone who wants to carry their team to the big game.

Speaking of the game, it plays very well. You’ve got control over pretty much everything as you call plays, and I was never left wanting for options, or unable to do something I thought I should have been able to. EA has spent most of their in-game upgrades on the run game and the defense, and I’m happy to report both work very well. New onscreen prompts will alert you when to use skill moves when running the ball, all of which are conveniently mapped to a single button. You can spin, juke, dive, stiff arm, and hurdle, among other things, and each move will be more or less effective depending on the player you’re using. It makes the run game a lot of fun, and the run game quickly became a key part of my offensive arsenal, despite how easy it is to pass the ball.

New details for the offensive and defensive line also comes in to play nicely. Running with teams with excellent offensive lines like the Vikings and the Cowboys is easier than most, while playing the otherwise excellent Seahawks will make you scramble to mask their o line’s shortcomings. The same level of care has been taken with the defensive line. Players now have gap assignments that make it easier to shut down offensive plays, and you can focus on yours while trusting the AI to take care of the rest. This, coupled with the ability to swat down passes, makes both defense and offense more engaging to play, and you legitimately feel like you’re playing chess against the other team pre-snap, angling for just the right play.

"The best addition, however, is Play the Moments, which appears in Franchise mode. This sims the game to key moments – third and longs, scoring opportunities, goal lines stands and the like – which shortens your average game to about 20 minutes without sacrificing exciting events."

The best addition, however, is Play the Moments, which appears in Franchise mode. This sims the game to key moments – third and longs, scoring opportunities, goal lines stands and the like – which shortens your average game to about 20 minutes without sacrificing exciting events. Obviously, this works better with better teams, like the Steelers, Patriots, Packers, or Seahawks, where the game is less likely to throw a hideous pick around midfield, or stall on a drive when you’re waiting to play. Cleaveland fans beware, but it’s still fun

There’s a number of other small changes: kicking has been retooled, and works fine, but isn’t anything to write home about. The new commentary, provided by Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis is quite good, but it runs into the issue of repetition. After playing a couple games with the Steelers, I began to hear the same remarks about Le’Veon Bell’s college-to-the-pros body transformation, often multiple times. This is just the nature of sports games, and EA has promised multiple free commentary packs as the year goes on, the first of which is already live.

There’s also the things that are just plain weird: Bill Belichick not being the head coach of the Patriots (his choice, but the lack of The Hoodie is noticeable), the odd commentary flub, players running through the stands, etc. And it still isn’t a looker, happy to occupy the weird gap between kinda bad and uncanny valley good. These are, however, very minor qualms and do very little to take away from the fact that Madden NFL 17 is a celebration of football at its best, a sim that captures the joy and excitement of the game that has captivated a nation. I may not have known what to expect going in, but I couldn’t be much happier with what I got.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

ESPN host and analyst Trey Wingo sits down with associate producer Ryan Ferwereda to discuss just that. Ultimate Team mode is “a free-to-play game mode that perfectly combines Madden NFL Football, fantasy football, and player trading cards. Earn, buy, auction, and trade players to build your ultimate team of NFL legends past and present and make your run for an NFL title.”

Developed by EA Tiburon, it’s currently slated for a late August release for all major consoles.

With a new passing system, along with the new “read and react defensive AI system”, NCAA Football 13 promises to deliver the most realistic college football experience outside of the actual gridiron.

In addition to previous titles, there are 430 new pass animations. There have also been three new subdivision teams added: UMASS, University of Texas-San Antonio and Texas State University.

The title is developed by EA Tiburon, and is available for Playstation 3 and XBox 360.

EA Sports have released new videos for Madden NFL 13 & NCAA Football 13. Check them out and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Madden NFL 13 & NCAA Football 13 are being developed in Orlando, Florida by EA Tiburon. Madden NFL 13 delivers world-class presentation with an all-new living front end, dynamic in-game transitions, a live ticker, and drastically improved usability. Revel in the pageantry of college football game days with NCAA Football 13. Featuring new team run-outs, mascots and pre-game traditions along with significantly enhanced audio and new trophy presentations, NCAA Football 13 will deliver the passion and excitement of college football to fans across the nation.

Tired of seeing Tiger Woods always on the cover of his own game.  Well now you can choose who will be chosen to be on the cover of the next Tiger game Tiger Woods PGA ’13.  All you will have to do is like the page on Facebook and then choose between a number of different golfers to show their face on the cover of the next game.  You have your option of choosing between, Dustin Johnson, Rocco Mediate, Jim Furyk, Ricky Fowler, Bubba Watson,  Zach Johnson, Hunter Mahan, Ben Crane and it is all up to you to decide.  Go to the Official Facebook Page to Vote.

The latest trailer for the new Tiger Woods PGA Tour’12 – The Masters shows off a whole bunch of new golfers and courses as to be expected as time goes on.  Some new golfers in the game  include Zach Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Francesco Molinari, Edoardo Molinari, Rhys Davies, and Bubba Watson. They will be playing at the Atlanta Athletic Club, TPC San Antonio, The Royal Melbourne Golf Club and The Dunes Costa Navarino courses, just to name a few, but there are tons of more courses in the game. Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’12: The Masters will be available for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii.  The game will be released on March 29th in America and April 1st in Europe.  Check out the latest trailer below.

You can download a demo for the game to on PSN and XBLA.  Here is a full list of confirmed course and golfers so far:

Confirmed courses:

• Augusta National Golf Club
• Augusta National Golf Club Par 3 Course
• The Dunes Course at Costa Navarino
• Atlanta Athletic Club
• TPC San Antonio
• The Royal Melbourne Golf Club
• Pebble Beach
• St Andrews
• TPC Sawgrass
• Waialae
• East Lake Golf Club
• Celtic Manor
• TPC Scottsdale
• Whistling Straits
• Liberty National
• Greenbrier

Confirmed Golfers:

• Tiger Woods
• Rickie Fowler (new)
• Bubba Watson (new)
• Zach Johnson (new)
• Jim Furyk
• Rocco Mediate
• Anthony Kim
• Boo Weekley
• Chris DiMarco
• Natalie Gulbis
• Paula Creamer
• Francesco Molinari (new)
• Edoardo Molinari (new)
• Paul Casey
• Ian Poulter
• Justin Rose
• Nick Dougherty
• Henrik Stenson (new)
• Rhys Davies (golfer) (new)
• Suzann Pettersen
• Adam Scott
• Camilo Villegas
• Vijay Singh

Word on the street is that a demo for Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’12: The Masters will have a demo available on March 8th for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. You will be able to play the first five holes of the San Antonio Oaks course in the demo and much more. The coolest part though is that by completing the demo, you will be able to skip the Amateur Tour and go right to the Nationwide Tour in the retail version as well as giving more experience points in the full game once it is out. Pretty cool feature, wish they would do that with more game. The game will be released on March 29th, 2011 in North America for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Wii.  Worldwide release is on April 1st, 2011.

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Tiger has courted controversy this year with both poor personal conduct and poor golfing. Luckily, this does not extend to his gaming exploits. PGA Tour 11 introduces a number of new features which not only add further realism but also some much-needed challenge to the proceedings. You can still set the game up in such a way to make birdies and eagles easy to pull-off, but if you prefer a realistic putt you’ll find the new features (such as the focus system, variable wind, and optional true-aim control setup) more than have you covered. Not all of the changes and additions to this year’s game are as significant as these, but most of them are welcome, and given that PGA Tour 10 was so great it’s impressive that its successor can be so easily recommended.

Tiger is still the best Pro-Golfer on the game, but players may find more satisfaction in creating a Custom Golfer.

Players can choose from >25 professional golfers and several novelty characters in PGA Tour 11. While Tiger’s great ratings for power, accuracy, control, and putting make him the obvious best choice, it’s far more rewarding to play as a custom golfer. Not only because digital camera support makes it easy to get your face in the game, but also because custom golfers improve as you earn experience, whereas the stats for other golfers are fixed. You can accumulate EXP across several modes and purchase stat increases & better equipment. The only downside to playing as a custom character is that you have to choose one of 20 rubbish nicknames for spectators to cheer for. Nothing quite detracts from the sense of occasion as you sink a winner on the 18th hole at St. Andrews like hearing some moron cheering for Big Dog, Blammo, or Playa.

After creating your custom golfer, you’re encouraged to complete an eight-step program tutorial that does a great job of curing your addiction introducing you to some of this year’s bigger gameplay changes – while also rewarding you with a decent number of experience points. The most significant addition, which features a number of times during the tutorial, is the concept of player focus. This ingenious system adds a layer of strategy to every shot by limiting the use of player aids. You start each round with a limited amount of focus, and you expend a portion of it anytime you: hit a ball at more than 100 percent strength, apply spin to a ball while it’s in the air, temporarily reduce the size of your targeting circle with the new accuracy boost feature, or use the putt preview. The only way to replenish your focus, which doesn’t happen quickly, is to play shots without using any assists. It’s a superb setup, because it forces you to take advantage of these arguably overpowered aids only when you feel you really need them, rather than using them as crutches for every hole. This raises the question of why this limiter hasn’t been implemented before now.

The new Focus feature makes for a more challenging game.

The final tutorial encourages you to play a hole using the new true-aim control system, which makes the game even more difficult and realistic. The basic controls are unchanged, so you still swing the analog stick back and forth as if it were your club, but most of the aids disappear. A single arrow on the horizon shows where you’re aiming; scattered markers are the only indicators of range and elevation; and draw & fade are applied by changing where you strike the ball rather than using a secondary targeting circle. Another neat touch is that you watch your shots play out as if your head were following the ball. True aim isn’t for everyone, but it’s a great option nevertheless, and since you can use it while playing on any of the four difficulty settings and in almost any mode, there’s no reason not to try it.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 has so many different modes of play to choose from that the menu screens can seem overwhelming. For example, simply hitting “Play Now” takes you to a second menu where you can choose from a dozen traditional modes (including stroke play, match play, bingo bango bongo, four ball) and eight minigames (including capture the flag, target, closest to the pin, T-I-G-E-R). All of these modes are fun and are great for practicing different aspects of your game. Most are best enjoyed by 2-4 players, but there are a few that work just as well when you’re golfing solo.

The crowd will cheer for your golfer, using their name or 1 of 20 nicknames.

Depending on mode you choose, you may choose which of the game’s 17 real-world courses you want to play on before you can start. Alternatively, you can opt to play on a random course composed of holes from different courses, which is a great way to get a feel for just how varied the different locations are. Classics like St. Andrews, TPC Sawgrass, and Pebble Beach are joined by five new courses this year (Celtic Manor Resort, The Greenbrier, Liberty National, TPC Scottsdale, and Whistling Straits). If you follow Golf you may notice a couple of these featured as the homes of tournaments in 2010. Extra real-world and fantasy courses are available to download via PSN or Xbox Live – the Wii port has a bumper selection of courses included on-disk instead.

Try online play and you have 10 different gameplay modes to choose from, but sadly none of the minigames are available. You can play against friends, pair up with randomers for ranked matches, and compete in daily, weekly, and play-the-pros tournaments that let you play alone and upload your scores to leaderboards. When playing in tournaments, you can see other players’ names and scores on the leaderboards next to every hole, and a news ticker lets you know when other players have done something significant, which is a nice touch.

Golf never looked so good.

New to Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 is online team play; for between 4-24 players. Player’s can choose to represent either the East or West. When enough players have joined the session, everybody gets paired up with an opponent and tees-off at the same time. You can your opponent’s shots, and the shots from any other players who are on the same hole as you. These are shown as vectors tracing each shot. Online team-play is an interesting addition to the game, but getting enough players together at the same time can necessitate extreme patience – often it means that the first players to join have to wait for more to show up. Even if you skip the spurious options that let you choose to play in certain weather conditions or with certain green speeds, you’re much more likely to end up in a four-player team game than a 24-player one.

There are more gameplay options than you could shake a 5-iron at.

Whether you’re playing solo or split-screen on the same console, the new Ryder Cup mode is undoubtedly one of the best modes if you’re not playing as your custom golfer in Career mode. Although the default course to play on is Celtic Manor’s Twenty Ten Course – designed specifically for this year’s event – you can take the Ryder Cup to any course that you like, and before you start playing you can tweak your chosen team’s roster. Because there are barely enough real golfers in the game to fill both rosters, female players such as Paula Creamer and Suzann Pettersen make the cut by default, and if you want to swap them or any of the other players out, there are very few alternatives to choose from unless you dip into the opposing team. It’s possible to select European players for the US team and vice-versa, which is strange to say the least; especially since PGA Tour 11 will let a player represent both teams simultaneously. If you mess with the default rosters too much, the game can have a problem remembering who is playing for which country and when.

Look beyond the shenanigans with the roster and you’ll find that the mixture of foursomes and fourballs in Ryder Cup mode is made greater than the sum of its parts by the fact that when multiple matches are being played simultaneously, you have the option to play as a different team member every time you move to a new hole. As the tournament employs a match play system, it doesn’t matter how many shots you win a hole by – just that you win. So, if you manage to take a two- or three-hole lead as one golfer, it might make sense for you to lend your expertise to another. After every hole, you’re presented with a scoreboard that shows where every player is on the course and whether they’re winning, losing, or tied. Winning a round by one hole is worth as much to the team as winning a round by several holes, so playing through the whole tournament is an interesting balancing act.

Could the inclusion of another golfer on the cover (a first for the PGA Tour franchise) signal a move away from Tiger Woods?

Regardless of which mode and gameplay options you pick, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11’s visuals don’t disappoint. All of the pro players are instantly recognizable, and other than some occasionally odd movements while walking, they’re animated very well. Custom players can look every bit as good provided you don’t go crazy with the editing tools, and depending on your taste in golf gear, you can make them look even better when you start spending your experience points (or real currency, if you prefer) in the pro shop. The courses are even more impressive, with dynamic lighting for different times of day, good-looking weather effects, and grass which moves in the wind along with the trees and even your golfer’s clothing. The camera doesn’t always do a good job of showing you what’s going on when it tries to be clever on the putting green [as ever], but for the most part it does its job so well that you might wish the same coverage was available for the real thing. Sadly, your ears aren’t in for the same treat as your eyes, but at least last year’s appalling commentary has been improved enough that it doesn’t demand to be turned off.

That Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 improves on its predecessor is impressive. That it improves enough to be recommendable without hesitation (even if you own last year’s game) is remarkable. Even if you have little interest in the new Ryder Cup and online team modes, and don’t see yourself playing with the new true-aim system, the introduction of focus along with a host of other less significant improvements out on the course still make this the golf game to own.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.