Madden 11 Impressions

[jcalvert]

I really have mixed feelings about the demo. It is a demo, so it is hard for me to pass final judgement. I can see some improvements in the gameplay - specifically the non-CPU controlled running game and the non-CPU controlled defensive play (epically on the d-line and the secondary).

With that said, more than anything else, no matter how much the developers really did put into the game this year, I am left with a feeling of no competition stifles innovation. I know some of you will say that it has been that way for a while, but for me not as much. Maybe because I really took a fresh approach with Madden 10 last year, and I loved the Ultimate Team concept.

Depending on what happens with the NCAA 11 Dynasty mode patch, I could see myself flipping back to NCAA this year instead of Madden. These days I really only have time for one football, so I want a great playing game with a strong Franchise/Dynasty mode. As much as I love college football, and running a videogame option play to perfection, I think the NFL brand of football is more enjoyable. Plus as a Falcons season ticket holder, I have sort of a vested interest in the NFL.

If Madden 11's gameplay holds up, and Ultimate Team mode has been balanced, I could see me spending a lot of time with Ultimate Team; would love for that mode to offer some sort of Franchise or season-over-season stats. I suppose this is the mode I am most looking forward to this year, but I have read precious little about any improvements.

[Zeppo]

Gameflow a gimmick? Maybe. I think the idea of it is a great one, but for me it's all about how well it works with the gameplanning feature if at all, and I'm inclined to think they won't have done a very good job there. I havent delved into gameplanning at all yet, but gameflow will succeed or fail only insofar as thise things work together. I would love to have the gameplanning option end up in a more realistic playcalling screen, with plays organized more by down and distance rather than just formations. I agree with their basic sens ethat scrolling through all the plays every time isn't realistic nor user friendly, but if I'm not calling the plays myself, I'm missing out on most of what I like in a football game.

From my short time with the demo, I felt the gameflow worked a lot better on O than on D, and most of that is due to the fact that on D one really must react directly to the personel the O brings out, and with gameflow you are completely divorced from that info. That combined worth the terrible history of EAs defensive playcalling and I'm not sold. I mean the easiest cheap trick in the book v CPU is to run out 3-wides on 1st down because the EA playcalling will always have a base 4-3 on 3-4 on 1st down. LAME!!

[Danimal]

From my short time with the demo, I felt the gameflow worked a lot better on O than on D, and most of that is due to the fact that on D one really must react directly to the personel the O brings out, and with gameflow you are completely divorced from that info.

Bingo!!

The way this should of worked for defense is you're told the package the Offense is in and you have game planned defenses by package type so your picking plays from your defensive plan against a 5 wide set in 3rd and short, or an I-Normal in 2nd and Long etc.

[Rodster]

Anyone on DSP get an early copy? Would love to hear some impressions from the retail version.

[Zeppo]

Played a couple quick, 7-min quarter games with accelerated clock set to :20 runoff. The accel clock seems to give you more time now; I think it stops at :20 on the play clock now, which is nice to me as last game it was hard to even put one guy in motion to the other side of the formation with the clunky interface.

The game feels different, definitely, but I'm not entirely sure exactly how. I think I like the effects of the so-called 'locomotion' quite a bit. I miss the speed burst terribly when rushing the passer, as that was the key element to get by people and especially to finish the QB (dive was never a good idea and never as useful).

Kickoff returns are surely broken. As someone mentioned your guys simply don't block. Somehow on punts it's a little better, but the pursuit of the cover team does get too bunched up just like in this years' NCAA, where I had one game in which I got several punt rets for TDs against a weaker team. Here, I got one nice long return with D.Hall, only to fumble at the end, but this could be an issue as it could be almost too easy to break big returns the way the mass of cover players care nothing for contain.

There are things to like in the running game, especially up the middle. But maybe it's too easy to get 4-5 yds right behind the guards? Jury is out. Last year's toss sweeps are calmed down a lot, probably due to the lack of user-controlled speed burst out of the box, but they don't seem to be broken.

I've had guys get wide open thanks to broken coverages, and I've thrown a couple of picks on ill-advised throws. Seems like there may be some good balance there, but we will have to see.

The presentation is OK. It's nice to hear team-specific stuff and the Eagles' crowd sang their fight song, or at least a good facsimile, when they scored a TD. Nice stuff.

There is now an attribute called 'Old Spice Swagger' if you can believe that. Ugh.

They got rid of the stiffs at halftime, thank goodness.

Gameplanning could take me months just to put an offensive package together. It could get insane, like FM searching for players insane, where you could go on and on and on forever. It's simpler I think for me to just do it the old way - i.e., learn the plays and call the ones I want in the given situations. Maybe if I take a slow approach to building the gameplan it could work out, but boy.

It's still very apparent the football guys at EA just don't understand the 3-4. I'm a Redskins fan; the team has never run a 3-4 before, and even I know that the 3-4 rushes 4 as 'normal' by rushing one of the OLBs. Thus, why the Skins are putting former DEs like Andre Carter and Lorenzo Alexander at the weak side OLB position. Yet, most defenses called in the 3-4 rush only 3, and the idiot on the headset will talk about the 'extra blitzer' any time you dial up a 4-man rush from the 3-4. Silly, if you ask me.

Speaking of the idiot on the headset, I couldn't even get through one game without shutting him off. And yet the pop-up comments remain and are annoyingly obstructive to the view.

Also, I am with the camp of 'what is supposed to be better about the 'Strat pad?' All it does is add a button press to everything you want to do. It's hard enough against the CPU to make any adjustments on D, but now it's even harder with that extra button press. I just don't get it at all.

I will say the gameflow thing is nice at certain points in the ball game, especially on O when combined with the quick formation-specific audibles, but again, I really want to see how it works once I tweak up my own gameplan info, if I ever get a month off and get delve into it.

I'm looking forward to some online games if I ever get the chance. I have a feeling it will play a very good head to head game, but hey, it's Madden, so what's new?

[vader29]

Speaking of the idiot on the headset, I couldn't even get through one game without shutting him off. And yet the pop-up comments remain and are annoyingly obstructive to the view.

You could turn the pop up off in the demo, there better be a way to turn it off in the full game.

[Rodster]

You know the pop up messages didn't bother me in the demo and only for one reason because it just adds more fun factor to Madden which is why I liked last years game so much over the past several years. And that's what worried me most about M11 is whether or not it was going to be as fun as M10. It's sounding like M11 will be and all for $19.99

[Wilk5280]

you can turn off coordinator voice and text. It's two separate settings within the options menu.

[Zeppo]

So I've been playing 7-minute quarters with clock run down set to the max of 0:25, and my last game, where I pretty much used all gameflow on offense, took me just about 35 minutes. The total play numbers seem to hover a little fewer than half what they should. That is, I get just about 60-61 total plays per game, where it should be closer to 65-70 plays per team in today's NFL. Granted, I haven't had a lot of high-scoring games, so the total time might not be just right.

The one thing about gameplan now, as I've started to delve into it a little bit, is that it maybe doesn't let you set enough plays for each down and distance. But then again, maybe the streamlining isn't a bad thing, and you can always go ahead and use the normal play selection.

The other let down is that with gameplan, you get no package choices. It would be nice when you are building your gameplan for the play selection to be just like it is in-game, where you can use the R-stick for different setups (strong slot, swap WRs, TE slot, backup RB, etc) and also use the R-bumper to do specific substitutions, but alas you cannot. That means if you want to switch it up in your formationing (a classic NFL-only word! Much like 'contain' as a noun) you really can't do that with gameplan. But again, you can go ahead and use the normal playcalling if you want to in the game. I wonder if once you do package subs with either method they would then stick when you use the gameflow to call plays.

Also I'm not sure where gameplan/gameflow takes end of half or end of game situations into account very well at all.

They still have the generic cameras for highlights rather than using the excellent, well-researched real life TV camera positions they use for in-game cut scenes and replays, which is a let down.

I'm excited for OTP as I've gleaned a little from the too-quick info blurbs they give you when loading in and out of games. It seems each player can choose a group to be, on D it would be D-line, LBs, and DBs, so there's no real player lock (outside of QB), but you are limited to those groups. Or you can choose ANY, but who knows if that would be necessary outside of the QB situation.

But more exciting to me is that it lets different players choose the offensive and defensive plays. Apparently, whoever locks as QB on offense chooses the offensive plays, while whoever locks as LBs chooses the defensive plays. Back when I played a ton of 2v2 football, this ability to have separate Offensive and Defensive playcallers really set the 2K games apart from Madden, which only ever let the top player choose plays at all. So now, I'm even more jazzed about the possibility of 2v2 or 3v3 if I ever get the chance to try it with friends. It does seem there is some kind of party matchup action, so maybe we could jump in as a party of two or three and take on another party, which could be cool as well.

[Rodster]

Nice impressions Zeppo !

[XXXIV]

Nice impressions Zeppo !

Dude! Dude!...quit encouraging him

Seriously though...Im with the Rodster...Nice Zep.

[Rodster]

Nice impressions Zeppo !

Dude! Dude!...quit encouraging him

I'm weak man, my copy arrives Tues morning.

[XXXIV]

Nice impressions Zeppo !

Dude! Dude!...quit encouraging him

I'm weak man, my copy arrives Tues morning.

Nahhh not so much weak as a football gaming fool...I do relate

[Murph]

IGN Review: http://ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/36265/ma ... 80610.html

8.5 Presentation
Gus Johnson coupled with the cool new Super Bowl presentation and replay elements help bring the look of this year’s broadcast closer to Sunday than ever.
8.5 Graphics
Player details are solid and the animation work on the field just keeps getting better and better every year. Moments of slowdown during some graphical transitions are a downer.
8.0 Sound
Gus is a great addition, but they need to re-work the technology running under the hood so his dialogue isn’t so fragmented. Soundtrack could be more imaginative.
8.5 Gameplay
It’s a great game of football at its core, some of the AI decisions are more annoying than helpful. The added offensive firepower might please mainstream players, but it will upset hardcore fans.
7.5 Lasting Appeal
Madden’s typically deep Franchise Mode has been totally left out in the cold. Online Team Play is great, but it’s not the rock hard, never-ending activity like Owner and Franchise Mode once were.

[Rodster]

So for those who have it, is it as fun or slightly better than last year?

[GTHobbes]

Wow...IGN gave it an 8.0, and OS gave it a 9? I never thought I'd live to see the day.

[MizzouRah]

I went ahead and ordered my copy from Amazon with release day shipping. I played the demo some more this weekend and it's actually quite fun.

Anymore, I let the CPU do most of my work via dynasty and what not, the same with NCAA, I let the CPU do the recruiting, so most of what I care about is actually with gameplay and it's grown on me.

Plus, I should get quite a challenge playing with the Rams.

[Zeppo]

So for those who have it, is it as fun or slightly better than last year?

I've enjoyed it quite a bit here in the early stages. I think the improvements to gameplay are welcome, but I had a ton of fun with last years game as well. It's very hard at this point for me to know whether any real money plays v CPU are out there, or whether the things that seem worse (kickoff returns) will get fixed. For me right now i think its more fun in gameplay v cpu than last year, but i have yet to play v human.

As a rabid NFL fan I'm just happy to have McNabb on the skins and all the updated player attributes, even though there are plenty of player ratings I disagree with. I guess what I'm saying is even though I don't regret for a second buying the game, I'm not sure you really want to listen to my opinion at all.

[Rodster]

So for those who have it, is it as fun or slightly better than last year?

I've enjoyed it quite a bit here in the early stages. I think the improvements to gameplay are welcome, but I had a ton of fun with last years game as well. It's very hard at this point for me to know whether any real money plays v CPU are out there, or whether the things that seem worse (kickoff returns) will get fixed. For me right now i think its more fun in gameplay v cpu than last year, but i have yet to play v human.

As a rabid NFL fan I'm just happy to have McNabb on the skins and all the updated player attributes, even though there are plenty of player ratings I disagree with. I guess what I'm saying is even though I don't regret for a second buying the game, I'm not sure you really want to listen to my opinion at all.

Thanks Zeppo !

[TCrouch]

Wow...IGN gave it an 8.0, and OS gave it a 9? I never thought I'd live to see the day.

That's bizarre.

[MizzouRah]

Good review from Bill.. glad my copy is on its way.

http://www.gameshark.com/reviews/3589/M ... Review.htm

[GTHobbes]

Good review from Bill.. glad my copy is on its way.

http://www.gameshark.com/reviews/3589/M ... Review.htm

I thought it was a pretty strange review, beginning with the first sentence:

"Madden NFL 10 was a revolutionary release in the history of the franchise."

I didn't think last year was a terrible game by any stretch, but "revolutionary"? Really?

And just once, I'd like to see someone review Madden by talking about how there are still no in-game saves (even though they were in Madden 02), and how Madden's tackling engine looks awfully outdated when compared against Backbreaker or even 2k football from 5 years ago. Or give Tiburon some grief for leaving these areas of the game alone and spending valuable development time instead on things like Madden Arcade, Madden Ultimate Team, and paying for scouting reports and player boosts. Now THAT I'd consider to be a good review. Instead, all of these reviews rattle off the new things in the game (GameFlow, locomotion) before summarizing:

"So you have a game with improved gameplay, a somewhat listless set of new features, and a novel twist to playing online with friends. Is that enough? As much as I want Team Madden to tighten the screws on its franchise modes and ship the game in a state that plays more like real football before altering in-game settings, it’s impossible to deny that Madden NFL 11 simply plays a better game of football than its predecessor. For many, that will be enough to warrant another $60 purchase. Grade: B+"

Anyways. That last paragraph pretty much says it all.

[MizzouRah]

In game saves would be nice, but nothing I would ever consider as a "negative" in a review.

Considering Madden has been crap, at least for me for the past.. heck, 3-4 years. Seems like they are finally doing some things right. I've played the demo a bunch and watched many videos of the game this year and I really like some of the running/tackling animations.

To me, the game seems more organic this year and I feel more like I'm determining the results, as I didn't feel that way with the 10 demo last year.

Considering how much you love Backbreaker though, we are clearly two different football gamers.

[dougb]

GT I took Bill's point that 2010 was revolutionary from the standpoint of that franchise - given how staid and lazy development had been it was a pretty low bar to pass. From a gameplay perspective 2010 was quite far ahead of the past next gen iterations of Madden.

Now regarding in-game saves - their continued absence drives me absolutely nuts! It's just inexcusable that they haven't implemented those in the game and I consider that a major negative. I think a fair number of people have been asking for this feature for quite a while and why they can't be bothered to implement it is a real puzzle.

Best wishes,

Doug

[GTHobbes]

Fair enough, fellas...and to be fair, it sounds like Madden fans rate this game at least a B+ (and probably higher), so it's important for me to remember that things I care about in a football game are not necessarily what others (including reviewers) find important.