Half a step forward, three steps back. DO NOT BUY!
The first of these unfortunate changes is apparent as soon as one opens the game: the menu appearance and interface is obnoxious and overly confusing. It takes a while to figure out where everything is and how to get there. The tile menu layout has potential, but it is way too hard too find important tools such as "Manage NFL Rosters" and the Settings page. Also, THERE IS NO SOUNDTRACK. Instead of a new list of songs to listen to, there is a loop of some NFL orchestra stock audio that becomes so mind numbingly annoying that I turned off the menu music volume as soon as I found the settings page. Another inexplicable change they made was to deny players the option of using an alternate roster when starting a career mode game. In the past, players had the option of reshuffling the rosters how ever they pleased and then implementing their new roster into their games, including Franchise mode and other game modes. This was certainly my favorite part of the game because it allowed you to create the league as you saw it or as you wanted it to be. But now, for no apparent reason EA got rid of that feature, forcing the default roster on all new career mode games. This immediately outraged me, as there is frankly no good reason to have the system set up this way.
Furthermore, if you want to take control of a franchise you will be thoroughly disappointed by what Madden 13 has to offer. In years past, Madden games universally offered a franchise mode or even an owner mode. These game modes generally gave you the ability to shape and control your team from top to bottom. In this years installment there is no owner mode or franchise mode, there is only a coach mode. While I think the shifting the emphasis from the team as an organization to the coach as an individual is interesting and something worth exploring, it should not come at the cost of depth in the game's seminal game mode (I frankly do not understand why they couldn't have just used both). But the new be a coach mode is not lacking depth alone, as the interface leaves much to be desired. As @jtblackburn detailed in their review, navigating the trade and contract negotiation processes requires jumping back and forth between multiple screens; making any decent move requires incredible patience and non-stop screen switching. Furthermore, important information is not easy to find when making these kinds of decisions. For example, when attempting a trade, nowhere on the trade display can you locate a player's salary. What is most frustrating about this is that this information can easily be seen when making trades outside of the coach career game mode when managing rosters in My Madden. What all this results in is a strong sense of alienation and detachment from the process of franchise development, something central to the enjoyment of a franchise mode in any sports game.
The only area this game shows any positive steps is in the gameplay itself. The graphics are subtly improved (reflections in the helmet are pretty cool) and the removal of Chris Colinsworth is a pleasure on the ears. While the new announcers seem somewhat dry after the sometimes overly-energetic of Gus Johnson in last year's installment, it's certainly an acceptable trade-off. I will not speak to the physics of the game (something EA highly touted about the game) other than to say that my initial impression was that the game did not feel authentic or natural. Everything seemed random and not responsive to game conditions, though I realize this may only be my current impression because I have not played the game enough to get used to it so I will refrain from judgement in this area.
All in all I would say this game was hugely disappointing, something I have never said about any Madden game ever. In fact this is the first time I have said anything about any game, I created a gamespot account just so I could write this review to vent my frustration. Hopefully to anyone who has bravely read this pitiful attempt at a review will understand the pleading message of a die hard Madden fan: DO NOT BUY THIS GAME! I am seriously considering returning Madden 13 and re-buying Madden 12 tomorrow.