Madden NFL 11 Demo Available Now, Please Post Impressions Here

[matt8204]

I actually enjoyed the demo. It felt like there was a more immersive experience this year. Having the coordinator talking to you before the play is kind of cool, despite the generic-sounding nature of a lot of the dialogue. Gus Johnson sounds pretty good if you ask me. I found it a bit easy to move the ball on offense, but we'll see what happens with the final version. I'm sure I can fiddle with the sliders to make it a bit more challenging if necessary. Couldn't stop anyone to save my life on defense, but that's more of a product of my ineptitude. I've never been a good defensive player in Madden. The game's clearly got some issues (the strategy pad is a bit of a cluster!@#$ IMHO) but I'm looking forward to trying the full version.

[xylocaine]

I liked madden 10 and I truly think I'll like 11 just as good.

But what really gets me every year is many areas always seem kinda 1/2 way done. Madden is one of the top selling games every year, so they have to be making a big profit on the game, but what I always hear from the developers is how they ran out of time, or didn't have the man power... Really EA, do you know that you would sell even more copies and could easily staff more people if you would every year push out an extremely polished product. Just quit making excuses.

Without even going into the game-play improvements they could make, and should have been made by the 6th installment on this generation hardware.

Things like Every team doing the Saints Drew Brees chant before the game.

Like sidelines still looking like cut outs and don't interact with the players on the field, no chain gangs that you could run into, in fact they are missing in action all together and magically appear if you need a measurement.

The new animation of three guys holding hands during close games, think you could mix up a few more or do we have to see that one every close game.

Referees that you run right through (check out All Pro 2k8 they get knocked down and can affect the play.) But I guess since they first appeared in Madden 10 we should be happy just to have them?

Not making better use of stat overlays with info you want to see or using announcers to actually give you stats and info that are important, not prerecorded stories that get old quickly. Why not have the PBP announcers talk about the current injuries of your team and opposing team while in franchise. Or talk about the yardage comparison between the two teams QB's or RB's stuff like that, which is dynamic and won't get stale.

"The extra point" segment is just as lame, pretty much the same as last year.

When you challenge a play and skip through it that jeopardy music can sometimes play through 2-3 more plays because you can hurry things up this year.

What I'm saying is Madden is a cash cow, they have the resources to make an INCREDIBLE experience, but what we get every year seems to be minor changes that sometimes seem less than polished. Why not put more of your resources into Madden, rather than all the unsuccessful games (Madden NFL Arcade for example) you waste time and money on and I bet you will see the reward in sales and definitely in praise.

[DaveDQ]

Quote: Originally Posted by tazdevil20

BTW Dave, wasn't trying to undermine your post, and if it comes across that way, I apologize.

No problem. I didn't think that at all.

On that topic though, something powers the animation system that is Madden. Something is programmed as software to render what happens in that game. That would be Madden's engine. Animations during specific situations would be a branch of that, but all games have an engine that drives what that game does.

Like Texas Ace brought out, if you look at what is happening in Madden on the PS2, it's not all that different than what takes place in what we have now. Yes, the game looks better graphically, and there are different animations, but if you look at "last-gen" versions, the engine of Madden looks pretty much the same.

That's why when I put in Madden 06 I had to disagree that they built it from the ground up. Maybe they coded it for the 360 and PS3, but the game remains the same. And barring a handful of changes in animations and situational schemes, the demo for M11 shows me no different.

[ryan36]

Quote: Originally Posted by DaveDQ

No problem. I didn't think that at all. On that topic though, something powers the animation system that is Madden. Something is programmed as software to render what happens in that game. That would be Madden's engine. Animations during specific situations would be a branch of that, but all games have an engine that drives what that game does. Like Texas Ace brought out, if you look at what is happening in Madden on the PS2, it's not all that different than what takes place in what we have now. Yes, the game looks better graphically, and there are different animations, but if you look at "last-gen" versions, the engine of Madden looks pretty much the same. That's why when I put in Madden 06 I had to disagree that they built it from the ground up. Maybe they coded it for the 360 and PS3, but the game remains the same. And barring a handful of changes in animations and situational schemes, the demo for M11 shows me no different.

Did we just not notice this stuff last gen, Dave? I mean for the most part youtube, etc... all the scrutiny wasn't there, but I DO feel that ps2 Madden played better, at least up until 10, and I don't think that I have that impression from features, etc...but maybe because they were more engaging, I gave on field play a pass.

[DaveDQ]

Quote: Originally Posted by ryan36

Did we just not notice this stuff last gen, Dave? I mean for the most part youtube, etc... all the scrutiny wasn't there, but I DO feel that ps2 Madden played better, at least up until 10, and I don't think that I have that impression from features, etc...but maybe because they were more engaging, I gave on field play a pass.

I played Madden 98 and had a lot of fun with it, but I played it so much that I started to want more from it. Then came 2000 and I won't get into that, but I stopped playing Madden. I didn't play another Madden until 2004 (I think when Vick was on the cover) and it was on the Xbox. I returned it because I didn't like the speed and animations.

I personally have never been a big fan of what is Madden. 2010 really impressed me and gave me the sense that they were making progress. With 2011, I feel everything came to a halt.

[nld230]

Finally got a chance to download and play a few games today.

First play on offense, my friend sees he has a horrible defensive set and tries to audible. Trying to take advantage, I quick snapped the ball. Game freeze. It only happened once, but my first experience was a bad one.

Another of my fears is confirmed. Passing and Running is a bit too easy, even on All-Madden difficulty. However, I am confident that I will be able to adjust sliders so the CPU can score.

I like the sprint button being taken out. And it seems like the removal of the hit stick was a good idea, too.

Didn't see any variation in the kicking meter. That's disappointing. Probably no missed kicks, although Vinatieri is a pretty good kicker. I'd have to playe with a bad kicker to get a good grip on it.

I LOVE how the camera zooms back far enough so you can see the sideline when passing.

Gotta say, I was buying regardless. But if the freezing issue makes it into the retail version, there is no excuse. They hardly did anything to franchise or the gameplay, so the bugs should have been tested an fixed.

One thing I read about, however, was that in co-op play you could assign captains to each squad. However, I didn't notice it in the demo. Any idea?

[instantpop]

Well, haven't read all the pages in here, but I've got to assume from the last couple that the thoughts of the community are similar to mine. Get it right on the field before you worry about showing me a crummy model of Peyton Manning getting off a bus. It adds nothing to the game, nothing to the atmosphere, and in many ways makes the experience even less immersive than intended because it's not executed well at all. It looks terrible and doesn't get me pumped up to play the game - which it should.

They are trying so desperately to mimic an NFL broadcast that they've gotten away from what made playing Madden fun in the first place - actually playing FOOTBALL. If the core experience isn't there, what makes you think I'm going to want to sit through bad pre-game presentations (seriously, what was that, like 20 seconds of Peyton throwing the same pass over and over again before anything happened)? If you're going to try and build pre-game hype with presentation and glossy graphics, the subject of that hype better be waiting for me when I finally get there. Currently, it's not even close.

Still far too many stiff animations in the game. The cut-scenes are not only pointless but are also terrible. I don't get it. They remove the play calling screens (I know you can turn them back on) in favor of Gameflow to speed up the game, yet still slow things down with bad animations of coaches patrolling the sidelines and stiff robots moving back to the huddle. And then, peppered within all of that bland presentation, is the same old 10 seconds of gameplay that has the football going through DB's heads and the back of WR's helmets.

I get a feeling of controlled violence that still feels visceral when I watch the NFL on a Sunday afternoon. Amidst all the broadcast polish, there's a toughness and grit that shines through during the game. That's what Ian and Co. need to focus on finding. It's not about giant team logos slamming in the dirt before the game or some random dudes throwing bean bags in the parking lot - it's about PLAYING THE GAME - to put a turn on a Herm Edwards phrase. And right now, nothing about the game makes me want to play it at all.

EDIT: Anybody remember this? When Madden gets here, let me know and I'll start paying attention again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02ajP...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3h4v3NWiuY

[NDIrish98]

my impressions after playing the demo, didn't like it at all. played about a half and shut it off. i went back to play NCAA right after and, to me, there is no comparison. Madden just doesnt feel like football the way NCAA does to me. a lot of it had to do w/ the player models and just some small graphical glitches that just didn't let me get into the game. don't get me wrong, i'm sure the final build will more than likely play a little better, but as for now, i just didn't come away as impressed as i was after playing NCAA. hopefully the final build will be better.