It’s Friday. Sophomore Clayton Freidman just got home from a long week and is looking to relax. He searches for a video game to play. For him, the choice is easy. Madden 13, the best-selling NFL football game on the market, came out just before Christmas. “I play it whenever I get the chance. It is my favorite game,” said Freidman.

Madden is a great way to connect with and compete against friends, “I love beating my friends. It’s a good feeling,” said sophomore Nic Leininger. This year, EA sports added some new features to make Madden more realistic and easier to play. The 13th edition of the game adds 20 new dropbacks for quarterbacks and 430 new catch animations to make the action seem even more real. The new game also adds new commentary. In previous years Cris Collinsworth and Gus Johnson commentated the game, the makers of Madden 13 decided to add a new hosting pair, Jim Nantz and Phil Simms. “I like the new commentary. It makes the game much more exciting. There are more lines, too,” said sophomore Braden Hause. This new pair recorded 82 hours of commentary and over 9,000 unique lines to make the game more enjoyable.

Since NFL team rosters are constantly changing, Madden provides roster updates almost every week so users do not feel like the game is out of date. “They made everything more realistic and the updates are much better than previous years,” said Freidman. Madden is the perfect way to connect with your favorite NFL teams and to make every day feel like Sunday. Grade: A

–Liam Megonigal, The Patriot Press