Madden NFL 12 Demo Available Now, Post Impressions Here (360, PS3)

[josef]

loving the demo so far. I'm having a blast with Pro as a casual gamer and All-Pro is pretty challenging. I love the surprise onside kick and I was actually successful with it (1/2). Also love that I got a field goal kick blocked.. that hasn't happened in a video game in a long time. Graphics are stellar.. the players look spot on! ..well, Clay Matthews and AJ Hawk's hair can be frightening at times.. but thats true in real life too. haha. Presentation is awesome. Gameplay is great once you turn it down to slow or very slow. I've already seen some amazing sideline catches. Tackles are a little overpowered looking. I'm not seeing a whole lot of wrap-up tackles, more of the powerful one hit blows. It's not terrible though. The game just feels really fresh to me as opposed to NCAA, which is getting really stale (although it's still pretty great). Looking forward to picking this one up. I even like the new Gameflow playcalling.. excellent demo overall.

[showbo1971]

My first game I played as the Packers....I didn't realize the default level was Pro so I was easily ahead 24-3 at halftime. It was super easy on Pro as I rushed for about 100 yards in the first half and also completed 6 of 7 passes for about 130 yards. Crossing patterns and streak routes seemed to work easily but given I was playing on Pro I guess that should be expected. I then switched to All-Pro in the 2nd half and I could barely run the ball and I threw 3 interceptions. The switch to All-Pro definitely made a difference. The CPU ran a little wild on me in the 2nd half and I was outscored 7 - 0.

One odd note, even though I won they gave the player of the game award to a Bears player.

Pros
Presentation, Lighting, & Graphics were great
More challenging on All-Pro then I expected
CPU actually ran the ball consistently

Cons (really only 1 for me so far)
The Super Linebacker Volleyball spike still occurs

[CajunPunk]

Okay, played two games. The first was on All-Madden and the second on All-Pro.

Pros

+ Graphics are great. Faces (especially eyes) and character models look nice. Dirt, grass and paint stains appear on helmets, jerseys and skin.
+ Intro is great, but after a couple, I can do without it. The presentation during the game is also very nice. The blimp camera angle was different in the second round. I liked the slight change. Replays look good. At one point, Forte fumbled and a Packer picked it up. The booth challenged it, and the camera showed the coordinators and/or officials in the booth looking at computer screens. The crowd sounds great when the home team scores, but seems to get too quiet between plays.
+ Tackles and other animations look great. On the play when Forte fumbled, the Packer picked it up, and Forte was able to regain his composer in order to make a tackle. Unfortunately for him, he missed the tackle but the DB stumbled and regained his balance to avoid going out of bounds before getting tackled by a WR. On another play, Grant was running up the middle and slipped a tackle by a DT who was out of position and being blocked by and o-lineman. The weight and angle of the tackler seems to matter.
+ Stat banners don't pop up too much, but when it comes to QB pressure (I've seen a couple) it's good to see. After the All-Madden game, and Forte torched me in the second half, there was a camera angle of him sitting on the bench talking to the guy next to him and his stat banner popped up. That was pretty cool.
+ Game speed makes a difference. The first game I played on All-Madden had normal speed. The QBs moved around a lot easier in the pocket and were too fast. The second game on All-Pro, the game speed was set to slow and the players seemed to move far more realistically. Weight seemed to matter.
+ The stupid strategy pad can be turned off, and other things can be turned on. Thankfully, the audibles can be changed to the traditional, NCAA way of making audibles. I also turned auto sprint off and switch to the conventional, 3-box playcall methods we've seen in Madden/NCAA for years.

Cons

- Not sure what impact the DPP has. Also, I'm not sure that a WR getting killed over the middle and dropping a pass should lead to a "drops open passes" rating. I think a "drops passes over the middle" rating would make more sense. Some of the greatest receivers have dropped passes when getting hit hard as the ball arrives.
- All-Madden was impossible for me. I could do absolutely nothing on offense as the Packers. I had maybe 1-2 seconds before a DL or LB was getting to the QB. Couldn't pass at all. My defense, however, was pretty solid.
- Pass blocking is awful. Maybe it's just me, but I had to adjust the sliders to 60 pass blocking (second game, All-Pro) to get more realistic protection while still being able to feel pressure. Prior to that, Peppers was beating the OT nearly every time, or just man-handing him. DTs were getting through without a problem.
- Pass projectory is still prone to empower super LBs. When throwing, it feels like the pass is either on a rope or a soft lob. It would be nice if there were a way to put touch on a pass over a LB without the fear of seeing him intercept it.
- CPU AI late in the game is still bad. When I was down 13-0 to the Bears in the first game, the Bears called a time out with 1:33 left in the 4th quarter, saving me a time out. There were no injuries that would have caused them to do that.

To be honest, after playing the first game, I was disappointed with how incredibly hard All-Madden was. I understand that traditionally, it has always been, but I have always been able to do SOMETHING on All-Madden. However, in the second game when I tweaked a couple things, the game came alive (but I still lost). So, although there seems to be as many cons as there are pros in my impression, I am very pleased with the game overall and can't wait to start a franchise.

When good sliders start to come out, this game will be one of the best football games we've ever played. Once you customize the game to your liking, it'll be a good season.

[greenegt]

Quote: Originally Posted by guaps

Still in the game too. Sending 4 receivers deep against 3 defenders doesn't equate a mismatch in Madden 12 as defenders break on the ball no matter what. So a defender covering the tight end will break on the ball as soon as the throwing animation starts - even if it's thrown to another receiver. Just like it normally is in Madden.

Shoot, I was hoping that wouldn't be the case. Oh well.

[AmongTheFearless]

I really like it. The presentation and gameplay are awesome. The tackling is great. I've already pre ordered my copy.

[RedZoneD25]

I enjoyed playing it, but I have yet to go vs CPU.

Some of the pros:

-Presentation looks great, as promised.

-Tackling feels fresh, and the game seems more "open"

-Zone coverage has definitely improved.

-I like how quickly the defense gets to the QB, but some may not.

-Normal game speed appears slowed down

Some of the cons:

-I literally have not made a single XP/FG and most of my punts/kickoffs fail because the 2nd rung of the kick meter refuses to "kick in"

-The tweaked audible system will take some getting used to for experienced Madden users.

[radatdude2]

Quote: Originally Posted by at23steelers

Pastapadre has stated he thinks this demo is worse than what was shown at E3, so this must be a pretty early build. Also, throwing it out there that there is spectate mode so you can watch the new broadcast cameras.

As i continue to play the game im enjoying it more and more, but i do hope this statement is true because the vids from E3 look better.

side note: lol i hated the demo for NCAA and now i really like the game. So a good sign of things to come for Madden cause i do feel it will exceed NCAA this year.

[Dewiel]

Lots of great feedback so far guys. I've been compiling the feedback from across the community and it'll be getting sent over to the development team later today.