I tried playing, but after one drive on defense, I just turned it off. I'm seeing some of the same animations from madden 10 and one of the most annoying was the piggyback pass deflection.But on a positive note, I can definatley tell the diff in the engine. The loco is a good addition. Overall, to me it kinda feels the same. #myopinion
I'm asking this with a 100% sincerity with no sarcasm involved: what have they been working on? This game doesn't have the semblance of a game that has went through an entire one year developing cycle. Same animations from years past, minor cosmetic changes, commentary that sounds disjointed, dis-interesting gameplay on the defensive side of the ball, static and overpowering o-line play, generic overlays, dead sidelines, even WORSE tackling than I can remember, no real discrepancy between players in terms of the way each "feel" despite "locomotion", literally synchronized skating taken place on the field BECAUSE of "locomotion". Then to top it off, one of the most noteworthy features in this years game "gameflow" is pretty much useless to me as I would turn it off when playing the full version of the game. I'm not going to even touch on the "strategy pad...."
This feels more like a patch then it does a brand new game. I'll play more when I return home to see if I can find some new overriding good things but the things I named really stood out to me, and most of it have been plaguing this series for several years & running.
Exactly. Seeing the jump NCAA made, and now seeing Madden's newest release. It honestly looks and feels like barely anything was done.
The stuff that was done seems half assed at best, locomotion and audio are prime examples.
trust me guys,this demo does nothing to show how madden will be.the full game is waaaaayyyyyyy better.There is no fading of the crowd noise in the full game.there r more stadium music and noise and much more in between plays.if uve been to a real game u will know what im talking about.
honestly,i cant play this demo after playing the full game.i wont b buying it the first day but i can tell u not to make a judgement on this crappy dull,boring game..sounds like the player voices r in a tunnel..im just saying dont judge by this demo..play the full.im still liking ncaa a better this year..
How about take a pic of the full version of the game and send to Mods... This way we can open up a Madden Retail Impressions Thread... That would be cool.
The auto turbo is best playing with a dlineman. It will start sprinting right after you get off a block helping prevent you from using it too soon and just get pancaked.
No problem. It updates between 5:00 - 8:00 EST I think. However, if the UK is getting the demo as well you might be able to get it from there if you have a UK account I would assume that would update between 12:00 - 3:00 EST. If not, you can create a UK account.
The Good
Graphics are excellent.
Sideline and endzone catches are spectacular.
Game Flow (w/ a Game Plan) is actually pretty cool.
Gus Johnson is generally great (though not flawless).
Stadium sounds are very good.
Presentation is the best it's ever been.
Locomotion works pretty well.
The Average
The Strategy Pad - it's not this awful thing that people are making it out to be, you just have to get used to it. With that said, it is a much more cumbersome way of controlling things pre-snap. Not to mention how hard it is to go from NCAA (traditional pre-play controls) to Madden w/o screwing things up. I wish that had been considered.
Run blocking - improved in Madden NFL 10, but not as good as NCAA 11. I feel like I can see a hole in NCAA and burst through it. In Madden, I see the same hole, but as soon as I try to go through it, the guy nearest sheds his block 9/10 times and tackles me. It's very frustrating, especially when I know I should have realistically had a big gain. Guess that can be tuned w/ sliders.
The Bad
The game feels a lot like Madden 10, I'll be honest. The sideline catches, locomotion, and Game Flow are all nice additions that make this game feel "new," but the core gameplay is pretty similar. I guess when I heard no Franchise or Superstar changes were made this year, I expected a lot to be done "on field." My expectations may have been too high in so far as what can be accomplished in 9 months or so, but it's a bit frustrating that this year's gameplay is pretty similar to Madden 10, and next year's will be similar as well (assuming Franchise mode is the main focus). I'm hoping something can be done over the next development cycle to alter gameplay significantly (think NHL & NBA 11 real time physics) to really make Madden NFL 12 feel fresh.
Overall - 8/10
A solid effort. Lots to like in this year's game for sure, as presentation is amazing, graphics are excellent, gameplay is improved and Game Flow is pretty cool as well, but I still wish more had been done, on and off the field.
Just tried on normal speed and yea it does play better but still not quite NCAA. But Madden 11 took a step forward this year. Hopefully its realtime physics next year like ive been predicting.
i will never try game flow cuz tha only reason i play madden and ncaa is to prove i could be a deffencive cordinator in the nfl gameflow is the wortst idea ever. the game play is alittle better there is finaly timing in the passing game and run blocking but there is still poor oline dline interaction and no double hit tackles i give it a b- and 2010 got a f
Man, some of ya'll are the biggest nit pickers I've ever encountered. It's like you'll never be happy with anything no matter what you get. Last year people complain about the run blocking, this year its fixed; now the "new complaint" is running is over-powered and too easy. Well thats because you're used to the crap we USED to call the run game in Madden being shutdown out of 3-2 cover4 defense. This time around you have to play it REALISTICLY by blitzing and filling the running lanes instead of sitting back in the same 3-4 cov 2/3 all game long.
Commentary, while not perfect its better than the drivel of previous years, sure there's some cheesy lines, and Gus is extra excited, but that's how he really is.
NCAA on normal speed is too fast, all it looks like is player's on skates. On slow you can actually see the loco-motion take place paly in and play out, huge difference for me. It's already been confirmed NCAA and Madden were built to play on Slow or lower.
NCAA's man defense is ridiculous, DB's running the routes before WR's, no separation on routes that IRL would eat up man such as drags, ins, outs, or deep posts with no safety help. In Madden you can get separation on those routes as you should. Every DB in NCAA is a Revis clone in man coverage.
I do not like the strategy pad...yet. As it's completly new to me and I am too used to the old way which is shared by NCAA.
I really like Gameflow so far, I've had both the Colts and Jets Coordinators make some great calls. When used right gone are the days for the most part of the same 3wr, 1te, 1hb set on every third down, or the same old PA-RO. It's about execution of the GP, and I for one can't wait to stick my nose into my Panther's gameplan with all of our new threats.
I would give the demo a solid 7.5-8 as I await the final build.
In the Madden full version ive noticed the run blocking is not as good as NCAAF.
I am really thinking this strategy pad is going to be be a game killer for me. I'm very used to doing all the pre-play stuff as second nature and changing all of it is going to really disrupt me from the game. I don't mind that they put it in but when they do such a MAJOR control change they should ALWAYS give us the option to turn off the new way and use the old system if we so desire.
Does anyone know if, be it in the demo or retail version, if we can keep Gameflow on but turn off the coordinator's audio and visual "tips" on how to execute the play?