Madden NFL 11 Is Done: My Final Impressions

		The release of Madden is a momentous occasion each and every year. Not just because it's the only NFL-branded game of pigskin available, but also because -- for many of us -- it signals the beginning of the NFL season. I've spent the last two weeks playing the finished review build of Madden NFL 11 and I can say that those looking for a great game of football needn't look any further once August 10th rolls around. There's a lot to like in Madden NFL 11, especially if you skipped out on this year's NCAA Football game. The amount of gameplay changes is impressive and permeates just about every aspect of the game. From the new strategy pad that houses your hot routes, coverage audibles and other abilities to the new dual analog stick control that lets you pivot your player's upper body to glance off hits and gain extra yardage, there's a lot of nuances that weren't in Madden NFL 10. I have no doubt that some gamers will complain about some of these changes (such as the aforementioned strategy pad, which requires an extra button press to change an assignment), but the bulk of these additions do a great job of adding extra layers of depth to the gameplay. IGN Video: Madden NFL 11 PlayStation 3 Gameplay - Introduction Video IGN Video: Madden NFL 11 PlayStation 3 Gameplay - Introduction Video Madden Intro Video Probably my favorite and most-used new feature is the improved blocking. It's great to be able to trust your pulling guard or surging fullback to lay the proper blocks when you expect them to do so. Talented defensive linemen are still going to be able to shed blocks every now and again, as they should, but all in all you're going to have a much easier time trusting your lead blockers than you have in the past. Of course, according to EA Sports marketing, it isn't the blocking that should excite you. Instead, it's the new GameFlow playcalling feature. This enables the artificial intelligence (AI) to handle all of your playcalling on both sides of the ball. You can use a feature called Gameplanning to organize a set of plays that the AI will pull from, but at the end of the day GameFlow is going to be calling your plays unless you elect to go the full list of plays as you've done in past years. Using GameFlow means that games essentially fly by. You can finish a game in 20 minutes where before it would've taken 40. I still found flaws in the default GameFlow settings as the AI routinely called long-bomb streak plays even when I was in the red zone, but all I had to do to fix it was organize my own playbook (and yes, you can have multiple playbooks) within the Gameplanning feature to remedy the situation. The other big new addition is Online Team Play that's actually fun. This one I really love. I wrote a preview on it yesterday, so check that out for information and videos. Just know that it's great and works better than you could've imagined. All that said, there are still moments of frustration that creep into Madden's design. First of all, ball physics could've been better. Watching the ball bounce around the field and on different parts of a player model looks very artificial. All too often the ball will get caught on a piece of a player's body and will bounce around unrealistically. Also, as I've experienced in just about every Madden game in history, defensive backs are pretty incompetent when it comes to making interceptions. I'm not saying that it doesn't happen (I've thrown plenty of picks myself), but there are certainly too many situations when one of my professional, NFL-quality defensive backs would have an interception right in his hands, only to have the ball drop to the ground. If I make a mistake in the passing game, I should be punished and the same goes for the CPU. IGN Video: Madden NFL 11 PlayStation 3 Gameplay - NFC Pro Bowl Offense IGN Video: Madden NFL 11 PlayStation 3 Gameplay - NFC Pro Bowl Offense NFC Pro Bowl Offense Video Another fact that's certainly going to enrage Madden diehards out there is that the Online Franchise, Offline Franchise, and Superstar modes are all untouched from last year's game. In fact, the Franchise Mode even had the NFL Network's weekly show and halftime presentation removed from this year's game (or at least I haven't been able to find how to turn them on). I understand that the main goal was to streamline the experience, but I think some will miss the presentation element. Thankfully there are quite a few new presentation touches to talk about. Close-up shots of enthused crowd members are great to see and Gus Johnson brings a lot of excitement to the commentary, even if it technically is as fragmented as ever. I'd really like to see EA Sports develop some new technology to deliver commentary, as this has been a problem for some time. You still get enthused remarks coupled with subdued statements that just don't fit together properly. I think those people concerned with a better gameplay experience above all else will be pleased with what Madden NFL 11 brings to the table. GameFlow coupled with all of the gameplay refinements that NCAA Football enjoyed make this year's title a real treat to play, but if you want a bunch of added features to Online or Offline Franchise mode, you're going to be sorely disappointed. Keep an eye out for our review on IGN.com as we inch closer to Madden NFL 11's August 10th release date on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2, PSP and iPhone.

Source: Madden NFL 11: My Final Impressions - Xbox 360 Preview at IGN

ima get it but i wish NFL2K was still around so these a**holes would work more harder at the game ( madden)

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I like how the receivers are more aware on the field this year(sideline catches, squaring up for the ball, etc), but other than that the gameplay is basically untouched from last year.

DB's still dropped way to many Int's like last year's game...

in the demo i had 4 picks u suck lol just playin

nah f**k that. he does suck.

madden 2010.5

Yeah, thats exactly what it is

DB's dropping INT's that hit them square in the hands is on the user, righhhhhht?

And for the dude with 4 INT's stop playing on rookie.

Madden been trash for atleast 4 years.

wtf only reason why i still play this game is cause online franchise. they need step that s**t up

I was really dissapointed with the vids that were released and reading up on the changes I wasn't impressed but I can honestly say I am having fun with the demo.

The passing game is finally fixed players actually make great attempts at sideline catches something that wasn't working great in previous versions, now you can really work the short passing game and don't have to just resort to swing passes or slants to do so I can actually work the sideline, the route running seems improved. Also the passing seems to be more accurate when the WR is open the ball will get to him I like that. The running game feels very fluid and I can see the changes they made with the blocking, not perfect but its a big improvement the auto turbo feature is definitely something that can work as long as theres no issues that surface with it.

Defensively man to man coverage with a skilled corner is great, the way the DB plays the ball and knocks it lose is very realistic looking, the in air tackles look way better than that stupid animation they had last year, the actual coverage is pretty good I see some issues with zone tho. Blitzing and pass rushing feels good actually looks like they are rushing the passer and not sucked into the OL and suddenly get free.

playing the demo has got me hype for release.

my biggest problem is the crowd noise and audio, they need to patch this because it just sounds weird when it goes silent and you hear the players yelling with a reverb behind them and no crowd noise, the crowd should be constant and loud unless your home and your on offense.

how comes da clock runs down like 10-15 second after u pick a play,i have accelerated clock off,nebody else hav this happy with the demo

it would be tight if there was no cap in franchise mode since there's no cap this season..

I like it better than last year. Gameplay is smoother and less bulls**t; Great graphics and everything; Killin the competition with Sanchez & the Jets on All Madden; 789 YDS; 14TDs; 0INTs (5-0) Lets go

why is the franchise mode in Madden 2005 still better then it is now???

Yeah I noticed how the ball be juggling around and s**t too damn often.s**t like that just waiting to be picked off

Anybody notice that NO penalties are called...AT ALL? I have yet to see one in the game.

Everybody got different opinions but I must say after getting used to it, I like it alot now...
and the ability to take the Strategy pad off which I already mastered is a nice option...

It's basically Madden 10.5 though... Im cool with that but nothing done to online franchise at all? NOT COOL... None of the s**t u would see in an offline franchise because that looks like crack....

Cmon EA. Boring ass online franchise options....

The NFL Network 'The Extra Point' show is still there, you press Y or Triangle when your at the franchise mode main menu. I played a few full games with different teams and so far, it has failed to impress me. I got the game for free and I still think it was a waste of a Verbatim.

NCAA Football 11 > Madden 11

gonna cop regardless