Why'd they change so much?

[brycepunk]

My last Madden game was '07 on the PS2, and I was excited to try Madden on the PS3. Wow... It's barely the same video game.

I do think I figured out the "Gameflow" thing, and why it makes the game go faster... I find myself jamming the "x" button to end replays and am suddenly starting a new play. Did they have to make a replay after EVERY play?

And the Strategy Pad? Man, I had the old audible controls down so well... is this a new thing this year or did they change the whole set up when they went to the PS3? Terribly frustrating.

After six games, I have to ask, does it get any better? Is there any way to turn the replays and repetitive animations off? I found the same issues with EA's golf game (Tiger Woods) where I found myself getting more and more angry at having to watch the opponent's animation over and over and over and over... The SAME animation.
It's a bummer because I really want to have a good football game to play, but this mess is just not fun.
I don't play online, so I guess I am asking other solo players... Does it get better after a while? Is it worth it?

[JaymeeAwesome]

Actually offline play isn't getting the same complaints that online play has, so stick to it. Just like any other game you have to learn how to play it, and more than 6 games. There is a slider to turn down replays and such in the setting under "My Madden". For even more fun keep trying to find a starter playbook that you like and then edit it to your liking in gameplanning. This game will grow on you as a madden gamer of the past, as a current madden gamer I have enjoyed it since the demo.

[masterD]

gameflow is complete trash...its just an advanced "ask madden"...and changing the controls for no reason other then "the newbs couldnt back out of pre snap controls when they accidently hit it" doesnt cut it

I dont play cpu im not a loner...i play users and my 10 year old brother can score at will...madden dumb down the game for a bunch of newbs and it makes me sick

[SmashMan]

Quote: Originally Posted by masterD

gameflow is complete trash...its just an advanced "ask madden"

Ah, the EA bashers' mantra. I'm not going to rehash the talking points for the feature, but I'll mention just one: real coaches don't search their entire playbook every play. In that sense, it's a realistic feature. Gameflow makes the calls as they're set up in each team's playbooks, which you can change if you don't like the way a team plays. Where can you do this for "Ask Madden"? Sure, it makes some questionable calls, but I don't think "Ask Madden" ever had this level of "thought" to it.

Quote:

and changing the controls for no reason other then "the newbs couldnt back out of pre snap controls when they accidently hit it" doesnt cut it

While I won't discount that they changed it partially due to people getting stuck in the controls (because that's one of the reasons they gave), the strategy pad is also 100% consistent in itself. There were a lot of different button combos before, and of course I had them memorized too, but it makes a lot of sense as a design decision to have everything in one place -- on the directional pad.

Obviously, it was dumb to not leave the option for both out of the box, but just because people memorized the old way doesn't mean the new way is bad.

[Gordy748]

I only really play offline, and come here for advice. I don't find 11 so bad, though do think that the 10 franchise is overall better. In 10 I had the Seahawks at 94 overall and each game was still a close affair.

One thing I'm finding in 11 is that either I blow out the CPU, or if I'm not concentrating I get blown out. Close games aren't so common any more.

(I use a slightly easier set of sliders from Mike32's set).

[brycepunk]

Thanks for the help. While I couldn't find a specific slider for turning down replays, I just adjusted a bunch of stuff and they calmed down a lot. Made the game experience a lot less frustrating. I also discovered (face-palm) I can turn off the Game Flow-thing. Guess I was too angry to look.

Still not sure about the game, but at least now it was fun. Though a 31- 28 game shouldn't really be the norm for 5-minute quarters (imagine if it were a full game? we'd be triple digits!) and I am not sold on a bunch of it, I appreciate the game more now.
And I thank you.