Madden 11 - E3 Hands On

[cursive]

Madden 11 - E3 Hands On

I was lucky enough to attend E3 yesterday and was also able to get some solid playing time with the retail version of Madden 11. I played about 3 full hours and tried to break down most of the questions I see on this site. I’ll try to go in order of Main Menu to Completion of a Game.

First of the New Menu layout has changed quite a bit, I can tell you it has more to it but I’m not sure if it’s as easy to navigate as last years. It took a little bit getting used to as most of the changes did and we still saw a horrible amount of lag when choosing a team if the opponent is already on the uniform selection screen. Game options are not done by individual player but on the last screen by the home team. Playbooks and Uniforms are still done on the team select as well as difficulty. First impression was I liked the menus in 10 better that expanded instead of switched to a whole new screen.

Moving on to the Presentation, it is so fluid that I didn’t even really pay attention until the 2nd game. No repeats, no commentary that didn’t match up with the scenario, yes Collinsworth is still there but he does less of the talking so less annoying by default. I did skip through the opening and halftime shows because I had to play random Magazine Writers who were more into the new Gameflow feature.
Gameflow, when turned on as play calling you are will notice after each game you will have the option to either select full playbook or Gameflow. Gameflow will automatically pick the play for you and put you on the field. I guess if you have a headset you will be told the play and who your main target is but besides that you pretty much have to look at the play art. I will say if both players choose game flow through most of the game it seemed to cut the game time in half. I could see this being used and having the option to use the full playbook on 3rd down or when behind might be cool for some.
Play select from the full playbook hasn’t changed much but the way we audible has changed drastically, the first time using it I hated it but after a few games it started to feel better as I got used to it. The new audible system, hot routes, and adjustments are run from the D Pad; the Left stick was totally removed. Pressing a D Pad direction will bring up various options, for example; on defense press up to bring up selections, up to change coverage, and down to use press coverage. Once you pick up on it and remember that all Left stick option is now the D Pad it actually is a lot quicker. Anything that was on the Right Stick is still on the Right Stick.

I tried running a full game using Madden 10 overly effective plays; I could easily tell that the intention in Madden 10 were there but it took them to Madden 11 to clean them up. With the new Run Blocking you can virtually run any run play and be successful. My first game I ran with the Raiders versus the Cowboys, anytime I tried running to the left side Olshansky and Ware either stopped me for a loss or no gain. That’s not to say the Run Blocking isn’t improved, but that the Pursuit Angles and having better players make more of an impact improved. I always felt in Madden 10 that if you didn’t user a D lineman or a Linebacker they never worked of blocks as well when up against a lesser player. The second game I ran I was the Vikings versus the Cowboys and the difference from a mediocre Offensive line and a good line was an immediate difference. There were times were the line had made a small hole that I could squeeze through and then there were times I could drive a truck through the lane. The difference between McFadden on contact and Peterson on contact was night and day as well, you could see the difference in the way each back hit the hole. I don’t know if maybe Peterson has a higher acceleration rating the McFadden but he seemed noticeably quicker when getting through the hole. I also noticed that pulling lineman are actually getting to their spots quicker as well as picking up anyone that might be blitzing. Blocking up to the next level was excellent as well as was down field blocking when using a big WR. Rice sprung Peterson for an extra 15-20 yards because he was simply man handling the CB.

Passing was improved more in the sense that I felt you could pick on lesser rated defenders better in Madden 11. No more 60 rated LB swatting the ball when his back is turned, example; Having Trevor Scott in a Flat Zone trying to cover a WR coming across the field Scott looked absolutely lost on some plays. The WR would run right passed him and he seemed to only react once the ball was in the air making for an easy completion. This wasn’t a every play down but as a lower rated pass defender it was nice to see obvious lapses. On the other hand someone like D Ware was still great in coverage and was able to blanket a TE on most plays.

On Defense I tried running some nanos, using the 1-5-5, F@G D’s, ect. I will say you can still get instant pressure with a good blitz but Ray Lewis splitting a defender compare to Thomas Howard doesn’t get you the same results. It seems like this is the first year that I would rate a players Overall Rating higher then Speed. You simply cannot take advantage of the poor AI like last year, which doesn’t mean good blitzes are eliminated but a team like the Ravens are going to be Beastly on Defense not because of speed but because of the quality players. A team like the Raiders won’t have the same effectiveness as in past years because the blocking AI has improved and the lack of awareness on D will have a player out of position at times.

I almost forgot to touch on the Non-Sprint button; this will take a good while to get used too. Not because there is no button to push, but because not having the left analog stick pushed fully one way. Just like last year when sprinting making a move was less effective, well not having developed the touch for controlling how much I am actually leaning on the left stick made it hard to judge. Players like Percy Harvin and Adrian Peterson in the open don’t feel like they are lacking anything once you are in full stride and I did not get caught once from behind when in the open field. Peterson had some big gains and most were stopped from going the distance because of better pursuit angles but when no one had a good enough angles he was gone. Also for some defenders the time it took them to change direction was all it took to get passed them. On defense you really noticed which players had good acceleration and agility, the time it took to stop and start running in another direction as well as get up to full speed was very noticeable from player to player.

One last thing, during fight for the fumble I noticed they finally took into consideration which two players fighting for the ball were. No more quarterbacks taking the ball from a D Lineman, the player with the greater strength had a greater advantage and needed a lot less button mashing then a weaker player.

I probably missed a lot of things and could probably touch on a lot more so please ask and I’ll try to remember.

[cursive]

One thing I forgot to add was that default audibles are formation based. So on Defense if you are in a 4-3 you have a audible for cover 2, cover 3, man, ect. but all will be from the 4-3 alignment. I actually liked this because your personnel doesn't get all out of sorts.

[jtdribbles25]

thanx for the write up.

[at23steelers]

This is awesome. Thanks so much! Can you touch on challenging plays and penalties? Are there options for challenging and more penalties? Also, would you mind talking more about the announcing. So far, if you wouldn't mind watching some of the videos, but the announcing is mediocre at best, and many of times where there is dead space for about 10 seconds.

[DGuinta1]

How was locomotion? Kicking with the new meter?

[Droopy03]

I love to hear about linemen interaction...... could u tell the difference with safties and what safties can cover a lot of the field

[raguel]

Quote: Originally Posted by cursive

One thing I forgot to add was that default audibles are formation based. So on Defense if you are in a 4-3 you have a audible for cover 2, cover 3, man, ect. but all will be from the 4-3 alignment. I actually liked this because your personnel doesn't get all out of sorts.

Sweet . I've wanted this for awhile now

[warrior7807]

this is great. thank you