Madden NFL 11 Review

Posted on 06. Sep, 2010 by Freak_c in Games, News, Reviews

American football is not a sport that is very popular in South Africa let alone played here. We are used to Rugby, so it was strange when I received Madden to review from EA. Firstly the last American football game that I played was on the PC a long time ago called Mike Dikta. So learning this very tactical game was a fun challenge yet enjoyable.

Not having played any of the previous Madden games I had nothing to compare the game to and I took this as an opportunity to view this game as though someone playing it for the first time. And thankfully it was an enjoyable first time.

Well it wasn’t all to simple as American Football can first be very confusing for someone playing the game for the first time. There are always so many button options on the screen, a huge amount of tactics to choose from, all a little overwhelming at first. You will be as confused as you were with in the first 20 minutes of watching Inception, but when you start playing more and more you can start to learn the basics fairly quickly. A friend playing with you who knows the game also seemed to help.

The play options

This year EA have included a feature called GameFlow. It’s an automated play calling feature that shortens a typical gameplay experience to about 30 minutes by theoretically cutting the amount plays from more than 300 to one. I think if you’re someone who’s new to Madden like, I am, or if the complexities of figuring out formation types is too much for you, then you’re going to enjoy the bulk of what GameFlow does for you. On the flipside, if you’re a hardcore football fan who really knows their X’s and O’s, chances are you aren’t going to use the feature all that much and you can still choose your own plays.

The controls are tight and responsive, the beginners will feel comfortable and not be overwhelmed while the vets will feel right at home. Using the dual analogue stick control scheme will allow you to perform all the jukes, spin moves and stutter steps you could ask for. It also gives players the ability to pivot their upper-body to guard the ball from incoming tacklers. It all looks cool and works well on the field. One thing I did find strange was that there is no sprint button as in FIFA. But after a while you don’t miss it as the AI in the game is smart enough to know when to change your players speed as well as theirs.

Speaking of the AI and gameplay, I found that your AI team mates have the ability to actually land successful blocks and hold them long enough for you to utilize them if you can read the defence correctly. On the defensive side of the ball, EA Sports tried to turn all of the hot routing and assignment changing functionality into something called the Strategy Pad, but the results are a bit frustrating and confusing. You navigate through options with the D-Pad, adding one extra button press to access the aforementioned functions. Anyone playing against a fast-paced offence is going to be a bit handcuffed to make their adjustments in time before the snap.

Weather effects

The players have a nice level of polish and they move with the elegance and power you’d expect from top NFL talent. There are still moments when it’s clear that you’re playing a videogame, but it’s not negative at all towards the gameplay.

The online play has the same modes you would expect but the one that did stand out was the online team play. It allows for up to six players (in any permutation) to link up online and compete against each other or against the CPU. One person assumes the role of the quarterback, another plays the running backs and the third plays as the receivers or can choose to roam to any vacant position. And the same combination can be used with the defence. The mode does the unthinkable and actually makes playing on a team with your buddies fun. Well worth a look.

As for the presentation of the game there are some great Super Bowl celebrations that do a great job of delivering the weight of the event. There I suffered no problem from the game and the load times are very decent so you will be playing in a game very soon from loading the disc. The players look nature and the animations are smooth, and their are some great weather effects in the game. The little attention to detail such as the players foot steps in the snow makes it that little more real. The sound of the crowd fills the room and pulls you into the atmosphere, though there were some repeated chants that sound like 5 guys in a room. Over all a pleasing presentation.

The graphics

Conclusion
No question that the gameplay in Madden NFL 11 is great at its core, but some of the AI tuning slants the game a little. This Madden with it’s new GameFlow system will allow anyone new to the game to be able to play it without having to fully understand all the football rules and especially here in South Africa where we don’t play or even watch American Football, it will come in handy. As with all sports games the fun truly comes from playing against your friends either offline or online and with Madden NFL 11 it delivers. This was an enjoyable and refreshing experience that I think sports lovers should definitely try. Lets go and toss the ol’ pig skin around!