I typically buy Madden games about 6 months to a year behind on odd years. This way I get them around $20 each every other year and it doesn't break the bank. This year, I got tricked into the Walmart deal and preordered it for $40...I got it yesterday via FedEx.
I'm comparing it directly to Madden 09 in this review.
Rating 8/10
Graphics: Graphics are great. The stadiums look more real than ever and the players themselves are well drawn. I can tell EA spent a lot of time rendering the players and for the star players, the did a good job making many of them look very similar to their real-life counterparts. The overall design of the game is targeted to look and feel more like a TV broadcast. This makes for an interesting game, but I often feel like I'm looking at the screen through a fishbowl when the camera angles change. It takes some getting used to...I think they were attempting to make the stadiums and field appear bigger by doing this.
Play Control: I like having the whole playbook at my fingertips. I'm not a big fan of looking at only 3 plays to choose from and like it when you have to use your knowledge of offense/defense to exploit weaknesses in the other team's plays. The new game takes a lot of guesswork out of it, but it's dumbed down so I could play against anyone and they would have a chance....heck...I could play against anyone and have a chance. I'm more struggling at this point with audibles and line/secondary adjustments. I changed the gamespeed from slow to normal and there's very little time at the line to make adjustments. I'm getting faster, but I miss the old method of using LB/RB to trigger those defensive audibles.
Offense: Player control is a little sluggish at times. I like to rollout as QB and for pocket plays, the QB doesn't turn his hips as easily as 09. This means if you try to rollout or scramble on plays that aren't designed for it, you may end up getting sacked before you can get out of the pocket. I actually was able to shed a few tackles in the pocket and was happy that sacks aren't always guaranteed...even if there's contact. Rushing is probably my favorite feature of the new Madden. Once you start running, you pick up speed and can run over the opponent. It's possible to cut down the field and out of 3 games last night, I was able to break out on multiple 50+ yard runs and many 10+ yard runs just by bouncing inside runs to the outside when the ends were sealed in.
Wide receivers do a good job running their routes and I had quite a few plays that allowed me to throw underneath the coverage or put a wide receiver 1 on 1 with a safety on the long ball. I do better throwing down the field on '11 than '09 because the QB steps up in the pocket and it seems to be able to put more air under the ball.
Defense: I don't know what to say about defense. I feel like I'm always a few steps behind on defense. The speed of the game and the offense makes it difficult for my pass defense. I don't think Madden '11 has the same level of defense control that '09 had. Partially this is because I was testing the 3 play choices that I was given to see how they match up with the offensive plays...they didn't match up well...but did provide me with decent coverage against the rush. As for passing...there were always wide open spots on the sidelines or in the center of the field. It made it apparent that there are always holes to be exploited. I had one or two good sets where I was able to pressure the QB consistantly when I knew he was going to the air all three plays.
Kicking: I prefer the old kicking controls. The new method has more room for error in my opinion, though I was able to kick a 52 yard attempt last night. I can see potential for a lot of missed kicks.
Overall Fun: I played three games and look forward to more. The cinematic experience to mimic broadcast tv is alright...but it seems to be slow with some glitches. It's almost like they put more pressure on the 360 than it could handle. As with all Madden games, game control is slightly different this year....but I'm sure I'll be able to get my timing and get used to the differences in the vision to look downfield and make some big plays.
EA Online Pass....This is the new online pay to play pass that you need in addition to Xbox Live. It comes with the game, or you can buy a pass for $10 from Xbox Live Marketplace. EA is going to start doing this to milk money out of the used game market. I'm not happy with it, but if you don't play online....it doesn't matter as much. I just hate to see it on the madden games since it takes them a year to depreciate and who wants to pay $10 for a game that people won't be playing 6 months later when the new one comes out? It'll be interesting to see how much revenue they get from this process....I'd like to see everyone boycott the online pass until it costs them more to maintain the license codes.
I'm comparing it directly to Madden 09 in this review.
Rating 8/10
Graphics: Graphics are great. The stadiums look more real than ever and the players themselves are well drawn. I can tell EA spent a lot of time rendering the players and for the star players, the did a good job making many of them look very similar to their real-life counterparts. The overall design of the game is targeted to look and feel more like a TV broadcast. This makes for an interesting game, but I often feel like I'm looking at the screen through a fishbowl when the camera angles change. It takes some getting used to...I think they were attempting to make the stadiums and field appear bigger by doing this.
Play Control: I like having the whole playbook at my fingertips. I'm not a big fan of looking at only 3 plays to choose from and like it when you have to use your knowledge of offense/defense to exploit weaknesses in the other team's plays. The new game takes a lot of guesswork out of it, but it's dumbed down so I could play against anyone and they would have a chance....heck...I could play against anyone and have a chance. I'm more struggling at this point with audibles and line/secondary adjustments. I changed the gamespeed from slow to normal and there's very little time at the line to make adjustments. I'm getting faster, but I miss the old method of using LB/RB to trigger those defensive audibles.
Offense: Player control is a little sluggish at times. I like to rollout as QB and for pocket plays, the QB doesn't turn his hips as easily as 09. This means if you try to rollout or scramble on plays that aren't designed for it, you may end up getting sacked before you can get out of the pocket. I actually was able to shed a few tackles in the pocket and was happy that sacks aren't always guaranteed...even if there's contact. Rushing is probably my favorite feature of the new Madden. Once you start running, you pick up speed and can run over the opponent. It's possible to cut down the field and out of 3 games last night, I was able to break out on multiple 50+ yard runs and many 10+ yard runs just by bouncing inside runs to the outside when the ends were sealed in.
Wide receivers do a good job running their routes and I had quite a few plays that allowed me to throw underneath the coverage or put a wide receiver 1 on 1 with a safety on the long ball. I do better throwing down the field on '11 than '09 because the QB steps up in the pocket and it seems to be able to put more air under the ball.
Defense: I don't know what to say about defense. I feel like I'm always a few steps behind on defense. The speed of the game and the offense makes it difficult for my pass defense. I don't think Madden '11 has the same level of defense control that '09 had. Partially this is because I was testing the 3 play choices that I was given to see how they match up with the offensive plays...they didn't match up well...but did provide me with decent coverage against the rush. As for passing...there were always wide open spots on the sidelines or in the center of the field. It made it apparent that there are always holes to be exploited. I had one or two good sets where I was able to pressure the QB consistantly when I knew he was going to the air all three plays.
Kicking: I prefer the old kicking controls. The new method has more room for error in my opinion, though I was able to kick a 52 yard attempt last night. I can see potential for a lot of missed kicks.
Overall Fun: I played three games and look forward to more. The cinematic experience to mimic broadcast tv is alright...but it seems to be slow with some glitches. It's almost like they put more pressure on the 360 than it could handle. As with all Madden games, game control is slightly different this year....but I'm sure I'll be able to get my timing and get used to the differences in the vision to look downfield and make some big plays.
EA Online Pass....This is the new online pay to play pass that you need in addition to Xbox Live. It comes with the game, or you can buy a pass for $10 from Xbox Live Marketplace. EA is going to start doing this to milk money out of the used game market. I'm not happy with it, but if you don't play online....it doesn't matter as much. I just hate to see it on the madden games since it takes them a year to depreciate and who wants to pay $10 for a game that people won't be playing 6 months later when the new one comes out? It'll be interesting to see how much revenue they get from this process....I'd like to see everyone boycott the online pass until it costs them more to maintain the license codes.