Madden 11, the 11th hour - DJ's Blog

DJ's Blog

Madden 11, the 11th hour

Posted on October 9, 2010 at 07:27 PM.

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Midnight is fast approaching for Madden 11, at least as it relates to playing time in my PS3 console.

I wasn't going to buy the game this year, but wound up purchasing the game as a way of trying to cope with the loss of my dog, Misty, who had to be put down just over a month ago. My initial reaction to Madden 11 was not positive; the numerous broken tackles by the CPU and overall lack of defense on both sides (Human and CPU) had me immediately questioning my purchase.

But, I stuck with it and after taking the time to build a Gameplan for the New York Giants, I dove into Franchise mode with tweaked sliders and began to enjoy the game, but it still wasn't wowing me. Madden, at least on this current generation of consoles, just cannot suck me in like it did in the PS1-PS2 era. Perhaps part of that is having played the game for 20 years, or (more likely) the lack of features leaves the offline game feeling quite bland.

NCAA 11 I felt (and still believe) was the superior on- and off-field product. Madden, no matter if you play Franchise or Play Now, there's no difference in the experience. Recruiting brings so much to NCAA; you work hard to sign recruits then you get to build them up over the next 4 years and see how they impact your team. In Madden, you basically call plays, execute, sign some free agents and draft rookies in the off-season. Rinse and repeat.

EA has made strides towards an improved product the past 2 years, but there's still clearly a lot of work left to do. Madden used to be EA's kingpin, but is now a minor player (not in terms of sales, obviously) when it comes to game quality. Sad thing is, I LOVE football, but it's just not that fun to play anymore. When you play a game like MLB The Show, other games really start to pale in comparison. EA's NHL series is lacking in presentation elements, but the on-ice product is very, very solid and makes up for those weaker areas. I should note that presentation in NHL is improved from last year. I don't like soccer but FIFA is tons of fun to play. NBA 2K brings a lot to the table, both in gameplay and presentation.

So, now I'm stuck with a decision to make: Do I throw in the towel on Madden 11 now and trade it in towards NBA 2K11 while I can still get decent value for it? Or, do I hold onto the game, hope that the final patch fixes some glaring issues (Gameplanning for the CPU is broke) and make the best out of a mediocre situation?

Comments

# 1 GaryT531 @ Oct 14

I was going through the same thing myself, dj. I decided to bail on NCAA Football 11 though. I just couldn't get into it this year, and I have never been a franchise guy. I got $26 for it from amazon along with some other old games and dvd's, and ended up getting nba 2k11 on just trade in credit.

I actually like Madden 11, and I think it's because I havn't really played Madden much since Madden 04. I have always really been more of an NCAA Football guy then Madden since 06, but the crazy amounts of interceptions, fumbles, and a lack of a kick return game killed NCAA 11 for me. I still can't believe none of those issues were addressed in any of the tuning updates.

I'm happy with that decision, because I have always been an NBA guy since I received that Gamepro magazine on Christmas Eve 1990 as a young 7th grader that had a three page feature on Lakers vs Celtics. I was never the same again after getting my Genesis in March 1991, and basketball remains my favorite sport to this day

# 2 GaryT531 @ Oct 14

I use three different slider sets for madden. One if I feel like playing a high scoring 37-34 game, another if I want a game to be a somewhat typical NFL score like 21-17, and another when I want to play a defensive slugfest 10-9, 12-6 type of game. I'm not that good at the game, so that's why I think three different slider sets work for me. Overall I really like Madden 11, but it does not amaze me like it used to on the early days of the ps2, and doesn't even come close to amazing me like NBA 2k11 does.

# 3 DJ @ Oct 14

Thanks for posting, Gary. I loved those b-ball games back on the Genesis.

I'd like to see your slider sets that you are using for Madden. Send me a PM or post 'em here when you get a chance.