Review: Madden 2011

Another year another Madden. Is this the year that EA Sports gets it right? Find out after the Break

Let me first start this review out with letting every know that I am a huge Madden Fanboy. I have been buying Madden every year since it has released. So of course this year is no different. Also you should know that I have played everything this game has to offer, I have already achieved the Platinum trophy on the PlayStation 3.

The look and feel of this version of Madden is the best yet. The graphics have seen a decent overhaul, they have increased the lighting as well as smoothed out the animation. I would not say that it was major change but it does make the game look better. There are still some animation problems and some hit detection issues, which you would think they would have been able to track those down since they have been using the same code since 2008.

The major selling point this year according to EA Sports is revamped presentation. This is a very welcome addition. It is good to see them bring back the Superbowl celebrations and trying to make it more like a TV broadcast.Nothing else has really changed, the menus, opening loading scene, in game graphics those have not changed. Not in the slightest, oh I take that back one of those has a slightly different filter. So much for the presentation overhaul.

Another big change this year is their push towards simpler Gameplay. They have achieved that, this is the easiest version of Madden to date. One of their ideas was to have a “Game-flow” system that picks the plays for you, and tells you how you should run them. Think “Ask Madden” from past versions just a little flashier. They claim that plays that get called are the same plays a coach would call in that situation. Trust me when I tell you that is not the case. They seem to call the most boneheaded plays at times. Although. I can see how it would be helpful for those who are just learning the ropes.

EA sports has also messed around with the Gameplay. They have added a new “locomotion” system, which works to make the running players interact with each other more realisticly. Take for example a 230lb fullback running full steam into a 200lb safety, of course the Fullback will just run right through him. They have also added two new options, one for auto-sprint and another  for auto-strafe. I cannot recommend it enough to turn off the auto-sprint, you will have a lot more control over your runners with it turned off. The auto-strafing is good to have though on defense. Another great addition, my favorite change for this year, is the re-write of the code for blocking. Which makes running finally fun and great way to play the game.

Now this is the section where I tell you about everything that just makes no sense and really shows how lazy EA Sports have gotten. The game modes in Madden are untouched from last year and I do mean untouched. Both the Franchise mode and Superstar mode are the same exact as last year. Which is very disappointing because that was not even a good year for those modes they had already taken the best parts out of them. In Franchise mode, they did not even bother recording, new extra point footage. As you can tell by them saying brought to you by Sprint, when it clearly says in the AD box brought to you by Verizon, oops!  I had high hopes for the Superstar mode this year. I was, hoping I would be able to use the Game-flow system to the get the calls at the line. No of course not! That would make too much sense. So you are stuck playing a game with no commentary, no presentation, very little audio. No one wants to do that.

I am trying to keep it civil here, I have already rewritten a ton so I do not come off as a total douche. But I have to tell you that this is one year that you should pass on picking up Madden, unless of course you like playing with friends online. Just do not expect it to be anything more than a slightly better version then last year. So now the year long wait begins, to see if I will get my Football game the way it should be,until then back to 2K5 I go. With EA Sports current contract with the NFL expiring in two years, things can only get better from here.