If you ever wanted to see how the pairing of minimal effort and a free-to-play model could decimate a play experience, NFL Pro 2013 may be the greatest example to date in any genre. It's a disaster in nearly every respect.
NFL Pro 2013 has the real-life teams, but not the players, stadiums, or schedules, instead substituting laughable fake names and generic faces for the identical-looking player models. But that's not nearly the worst of it. As a wildly cynical freemium offering, you'll have to use your limited in-game currency to purchase even basic plays in the middle of a game – anything but short passes, straight running plays, and basic defense schemes. When the free bucks expire, prepare to spend real cash or else stagnate in your strategy and game approach. And that business model applies to unlocking additional teams, energy points to keep playing, and even basic options like quarter length.
Consistent play can unlock some features for good, but there's no real reason to stick around that long. The bland animations are repetitive, the first-person QB camera is unresponsive to taps, and there's no long-term mode to warrant such investment. NFL Pro 2013 may be a free download, but it's remarkably disrespectful of your time. Last year's decent Madden NFL 12 is miles better than this dreck, and while it's rosters may not be current, at least it offers most of the real players you'll see on Sunday.
The bottom line. Almost as damaging to the NFL as the referee lockout, NFL Pro 2013 is an unqualified mess.
iPhone, iPad touch, or iPad running iOS 4.0 or later
It is possible to finish a game.
Essentially everything. Limited in-game currency used to access most basic features, including in-game plays; have to use real money when it runs out. Doesn't have the real players. Responsiveness issues. Visually poor throughout.
RobK
October 27, 2012 at 8:51am
Some of these companies are just shameless with the in-app purchases. I hope they realize that there is a whole segment of people (like me) who won't buy ANY APP with in-app purchases unless it is a blockbuster hit... and even then I usually won't go so far as to actually make an in-app purchase.
