Thankfully, it doesn't fumble like other Madden debuts on Nintendo consoles.
As for the presentation, it's good for a start-up, but more can be done with it. The animations, without the Infinity Engine in effect, are solid, and the on-field action looks good, but there's something that's so "last-gen" about it, you know? Touch-ups can certainly be made for future models. (And plus, some of those player faces need fixing something fierce. Get on a patch, EA.)
The audio consists of a strong CBS commentary team, though they do tend to repeat with given situations. The rest of the presentation is strong, with thunderous crowd noise (screw up on a play and you'll hear the boos a mile away) and great in-stadium anthems.
No, Madden NFL 13 isn't quite championship material for the Wii U, but it manages to avoid the pratfalls of previous Madden failures and comes up with a mostly good game as a result. The GamePad integration is fantastic, and the Connected Careers, while not the complete package, is sufficient for the rest of this football season. If you must be an armchair quarterback, at least you'll be happy knowing you aren't wasting arm strength.
Now, let's see what can happen for next year…
Score: 7.5 / 10
