All in all, GameFlow does work to speed up games. I can get through a game with six-minute quarters and a 25-second automatic clock runoff in about a half hour, which took closer to an hour last year. I wish I could see the GameFlow play in advance, though, and then opt to either go with it or select plays manually. As it stands now, you have to trust GameFlow and then audible out of it or take a time out. It’s far from perfect.
The running game has improved somewhat. EA has taken the turbo button out of the game altogether, which forces you to wait for your blockers to get to their assignments and rely on jukes, spin moves, and stiff-arms a bit more regularly. Much of the evasive controls have been moved to the right analog stick; left or right to juke, forward to truck, backward to cut, and swirling the stick in a circular motion results in a spin move, which I don’t care for one bit. Thankfully, the actual contoller buttons mimic some of the same moves–in particular, the stiff arm, dive, and spin moves.
The kicking system is also new and definitely dumbed down. It’s a simple three-button left-to-right slider; press A to start the kick, A again near 100% power, and A near the start point to determine accuracy. The bar moves slower for better kickers, faster for bad ones. It takes the mundane act of kicking and makes it less complicated, but you’ll find yourself hitting far more 40+ yard field goals than in previous years.
The audio presentation has been halfway overhauled, with Gus Johnson replacing Tom Hammond for the play-by-play. Johnson is much better and more excitable than the robotic Hammond was, but the end result is still far from seamless as glaring pauses between a specific name and the rest of the sentence still crop up regularly. “The Bears… are on a roll here. Jay Cutler… really showed some poise in the pocket.” Cris Collinsworth’s color commentary is decent but seems unchanged, for the most part, from last year’s version. Team-specific crowd chants add a nice touch but all in all, EA’s audio efforts pale in comparison to just about anything from 2K Sports.
For online play, EA has added three-on-three team multiplayer. You and two friends can play against three other people, with one player controlling the QB, one player controlling the running game, and one controlling the receivers, for instance.
The new Strategy Pad, used for pre-snap shifts and adjustments, takes a once-simple process involving quick button combinations and greatly complicates it by requiring multiple button presses using the digital D-pad. People have complained so much about it that EA has promised to patch the game over the coming weeks to offer the option to use the old system.
What’s Not New?
Not a whole lot. Most glaringly, the franchise mode is pretty much exactly the same as last year. Same menus, same everything. Thankfully it’s already pretty solid but surely there’s room for improvements here and there–maybe a graphical facelift, at least.
The in-game graphical presentation also seems very familiar. As I said before, I’d be hard-pressed to distinguish Madden NFL 10 from Madden NFL 11 without noticing GameFlow and audio from Gus Johnson. That’s not really a negative thing, as the visual presentation in Madden NFL 10 (and 11, by extension) isn’t bad at all. Every game I’ve played in Madden NFL 11 has left me with a “Man, this is just like last year,” feeling, though.
That’s okay because I liked last year’s game, but it’s bound to rub some people the wrong way–especially those looking for sweeping changes. At its most basic, core level–onfield gameplay–there’s not a whole lot new here. Again, that’s not necessarily a bad thing if you liked last year’s version.
Now What?
I need to cater to two distinct consumer types here. If you’ve never played the game before, should you buy it? You could get last year’s version for a steal or shell out $60 for this year’s. This year’s is far less complicated and easier to jump into for the novice player, which makes it a worthwhile purchase over last year’s. There’s no competing console product with the NFL license, so Madden’s just about your only option if you want to play with real teams and players. If you don’t care about that, there are a handful of other options; Backbreaker being a decent alternative.
For the rest of us, the returning Madden players, is the $60 purchase price worth it? That depends. I find the ability to play games in half the time and not having to listen to Tom Hammond almost worth it. There was a deal on Buy.com the other day to get the game for $40, which would have felt much better. I got last year’s version for $30 somehow, which was totally worth it.
This year, I had the same feeling I get when I pay my Comcast and AT&T bills every month. “Man, this is expensive for what I’m getting but, hey, I’ll be damned if I pay money to break my contract, and I can’t get DirecTV or FiOS in my area, nor am I determined enough to dump cable for internet TV.”
If you’re already up in arms about EA’s stranglehold on the console football market, this year’s game won’t make you any less irate. If you liked last year’s game or skipped last year’s game to wait for this year’s, you won’t be disappointed. I find the Madden series to be entertaining enough to come back year after year, and this year’s no different.
Could the series use a little healthy competition from the likes of 2K Sports? Absolutely. Does it have to worry about that until 2013? Nope. Thankfully it’s to the point where the game itself is solid enough to warrant incremental improvements each year instead of needing major overhauls.
GameFlow makes the game accessible to novices and offers a nice option for veteran players who don’t want to put in a lopsided amount of time to get through a season, while die-hard players may scoff that the game’s trying to cater to too many people at too many different skill levels.
Either way, the series will be eyed dubiously until there’s a viable alternative. As this year’s version goes, though, the gameplay is solid and (optionally) simplified, the visual presentation is above average, the audio is average-but-improved, and the overall experience–the most important part–is fun and engaging enough to keep most people playing for quite some time.
Techland Score: 8 out of 10
More on Techland:
Two Minute Video: Quick Look at Madden NFL 11
Backbreaker Review: It’s No Madden, But Maybe That’s Okay
Madden 11 for iPhone Now Available for $8, iPad Version $13