Madden NFL 11 News Post

Madden NFL 11 Review

02:01 PM - August 9, 2010 by RaychelSnr

The Madden name carries tremendous weight. It is a decorated franchise that has been equated with football simulation greatness at various points in its life cycle. At other times, some gamers have also been quick to point out its various flaws and have been very critical of the franchise as a whole.

The point is that gamers expect Madden to feature the tightest gameplay controls and an endless amount of on-field strategy. These are the types of expectations that Madden has to attempt to live up to on a yearly basis.

And so with the release of Madden 11 becoming a reality, the developers at EA Sports Tiburon are now going to be fed to the lions once again -- the Operation Sports fans surely being the harshest of critics in the forums of an impassioned sports gaming nation. The game has also been given to a gaggle of media members so they can review and examine every decision and every new feature.

But this year it would seem that the Madden 11 team has answered their critics with a resounding question of their own: Are you not entertained?

Madden returns this summer refined on every level (with some obviously being more refined than others). The gameplay is smoother, the graphics are more vibrant and the game has come to life with added vitality. This is the most entertaining Madden I have played since the Playstation 2 days.

Read More - Madden NFL 11 Review

Game: Madden NFL 11Reader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 96 - View All

Madden NFL 11 Videos

Member Comments

# 61 swaldo @ 08/09/10 03:45 PM

I listened to the OS radio show last night and I got the impression Steve wasn't ready to post the review. He was asked questions from callers about modes such as Franchise and Superstar and his response was "I played that a little bit." Then Chris (the host) was like "Yea, I'm gonna make him go play some more franchise and sim some stats because we gotta get this review up by noon." Who knows if that happened because I don't see any simmed results posted in the review?

Seems like he was rushed or something. And there were so many short paragraphs it seemed as if he wrote a bunch of notes then fired off a paragraph from each of them. There was really no ebb and flow to the text, it just seemed like an expanded preview.

How about the X's and O's? How does the AI handle man-to-man, zone, throwing to the flats, long bombs, screens etc? And what's up with Franchise? I thought the "Head Coach" devs such as Donny Moore were brought over to Madden to pimp it out?

# 62 Rules @ 08/09/10 03:51 PM

Seriously Chris, should you be the one doing reviews on sports games especially FOOTBALL? 9.0 basically means that you prefer arcade games and I am not sure you really see the lack of effort from these past few years of the Madden Franchise.

# 63 goalie @ 08/09/10 03:52 PM

exciting stuff - great review, thanks for all the details!

# 64 jfsolo @ 08/09/10 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rules


	Seriously Chris, should you be the one doing reviews on sports games especially FOOTBALL? 9.0 basically means that you prefer arcade games and I am not sure you really see the lack of effort from these past few years of the Madden Franchise.

Chris didn't write the review, he just posted the link.

# 65 Gotmadskillzson @ 08/09/10 03:57 PM

To me it seems as though Steve was tired and wanted to go to bed when he wrote this. It was kind of like you had a midterm paper to do but you waited to the last minute to do it and just rushed through it to get it done kind of a thing.

But hey things happen.

# 66 bigsmallwood @ 08/09/10 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valdarez


	Haven't played the full game yet, but just from the demo it's easy to see this is not a 9.0 game. This review was obviously written from a fans perspective rather than that of an objective reviewer.

I have had the FULL game (official, not pirated) since Saturday....Trust me when I say it is not a 9/10. That's not "hating" nor is it bashing...it is factual. This "review" really moves me the wrong way....So much that was not discussed.

# 67 RaychelSnr @ 08/09/10 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfsolo


	Chris didn't write the review, he just posted the link.

Yeah, for MY review click the link below

http://www.operationsports.com/MMChr...nfl-10-review/

# 68 Superrandy @ 08/09/10 04:03 PM

Personally I have absolutely no problem with someones opinion on a game, and I have no problem that he gave the game a 9. It's his opinion. I just think what a lot of people are thinking, and that is it doesn't seem to be a very fleshed out review. Not mentioning a lot of things, barely touching on certain features... makes it very comparable to a preview which typically doesn't go into great detail.

Then again a site like IGN also didn't go into great detail. Don't Madden reviewers know that us football fans want to know every possible detail about the game? Yeah franchise is the same, but how are the sim stats? We want detail, just like you as a fan want that detail. I don't understand why these details don't go into the reviews.

It is like reviews are written for the casual player that just want to know the final score and what the back-of-the-box features are all about.

# 69 newgen1 @ 08/09/10 04:06 PM

I didn't quite understand the reviewer�s comment about no halftime show for the PS3. Does that mean the XBOX 360 has an actual halftime show where the PS3 doesn't or does it mean that neither version has a halftime show? Could someone please clarify! I have both systems and don�t want to short change myself.
Thanks

# 70 Rbk @ 08/09/10 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMChrisS


	Yeah, for MY review click the link below http://www.operationsports.com/MMChr...nfl-10-review/

Now that's better, ya know actually critiquing the game. I'd replace this one with the main one

# 71 demon_deacon @ 08/09/10 04:23 PM

Quote:


	The Franchise mode is back, and it boasts the same features we have seen in the past.

A bad choice of words, to say the least. I agree with the rest; the review is overtly positive and, at times, almost laughable.

# 72 rudyjuly2 @ 08/09/10 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clutch masta


	im sorry but madden was never a 9/10.why cant people stop giving fan based scores and not be real with it.

I have no problem with the score. It's one person's opinion and many may agree with it. It's the content in the review that is lacking.

# 73 DaveDQ @ 08/09/10 04:32 PM

Unfortunately, the numbered score is going to be what is looked at here, and with that will come a very satisfied executive at EA Sports, which will in turn continue to hurt this franchise.

How this game merits the numbered score of 9.0 is baffling. Can you say they made progress and improved key features that now offer a solid gameplay experience? Sure. But giving this game a numerical value of 9 looks to this game's glaring issues and completely ignores them. A simple example would be that the game's play action system is broken. The review even mentions this...

"If you call a play-action pass with a designed rollout, it’s almost an automatic loss of a play because somebody will usually blow an assignment. I have noticed that the linemen are protecting the pocket instead of where the quarterback is rolling to during these plays."

What does that tell me? It tells me the game's blocking is still broken, and along side the above quote are numerous comments and specific videos that show simple blocking assignments being missed. What about these horrible single defender tackles where all other defenders are virtually rolling off of the offensive player? Why is this continually ignored by countless reviewers? It is a key factor of football, a contact sport. Tackling is broken and remains that way in Madden 11. Tackling. And yet this football game scores a 9. One point away from a 10?

I'm not one to over react about scores and what is attributed to one specific game, but in a situation where this is it, this is our only NFL game, it receiving a 9 should mean it sets very high standards.

Does Madden 11 really do that?

# 74 adembroski @ 08/09/10 04:38 PM

One of the stupidst threads I've ever seen.

Seriously... a review goes up, and instead of using the review to decide if the game is worth the purchase to them, they go in and review the review, giving it low marks if it doesn't match what they want to feel about the game.

Reviews are not written for the purpose of justifying your feelings. It's almost like you guys take pride in seeing Madden get poor reviews.

Let me let you all in on a little secret; these reviews aren't meaningless. The are read and taken into account by the higher ups at EA. Perhaps that seems dumb and short sighted, but that's how they look at it. Peter Moore is a big Metacritic fan. So... if Madden's review scores start tanking now, it's good by Locomotion and Real Assignment AI, and welcome back The Ring and Virtual Trainer.

Personally, even if I disagree with everything the reviewer says, I want to see good reviews. Madden may be a long ways out from what you want, but at least it's pointed in the right direction the past couple of years. The last thing I wanna see is an about face.

# 75 Jistic @ 08/09/10 04:42 PM

Pot meet kettle.

# 76 ryan36 @ 08/09/10 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adembroski


	One of the stupidst threads I've ever seen. Seriously... a review goes up, and instead of using the review to decide if the game is worth the purchase to them, they go in and review the review, giving it low marks if it doesn't match what they want to feel about the game. Reviews are not written for the purpose of justifying your feelings. It's almost like you guys take pride in seeing Madden get poor reviews. Let me let you all in on a little secret; these reviews aren't meaningless. The are read and taken into account by the higher ups at EA. Perhaps that seems dumb and short sighted, but that's how they look at it. Peter Moore is a big Metacritic fan. So... if Madden's review scores start tanking now, it's good by Locomotion and Real Assignment AI, and welcome back The Ring and Virtual Trainer. Personally, even if I disagree with everything the reviewer says, I want to see good reviews. Madden may be a long ways out from what you want, but at least it's pointed in the right direction the past couple of years. The last thing I wanna see is an about face.

Good reviews are one thing, but my issue is with the aspects of the game there weren't covered. A review should be objective, not a tool for making sure that Madden execs do what we want.

# 77 DaveDQ @ 08/09/10 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adembroski


	One of the stupidst threads I've ever seen. Seriously... a review goes up, and instead of using the review to decide if the game is worth the purchase to them, they go in and review the review, giving it low marks if it doesn't match what they want to feel about the game. Reviews are not written for the purpose of justifying your feelings. It's almost like you guys take pride in seeing Madden get poor reviews. Let me let you all in on a little secret; these reviews aren't meaningless. The are read and taken into account by the higher ups at EA. Perhaps that seems dumb and short sighted, but that's how they look at it. Peter Moore is a big Metacritic fan. So... if Madden's review scores start tanking now, it's good by Locomotion and Real Assignment AI, and welcome back The Ring and Virtual Trainer. Personally, even if I disagree with everything the reviewer says, I want to see good reviews. Madden may be a long ways out from what you want, but at least it's pointed in the right direction the past couple of years. The last thing I wanna see is an about face.

I understand where you are coming from, but this is a discussion forum. We post things for discussion and discuss what is posted. Now, I agree to come on here and write one sentence that says, "Meh...Madden sucks" is ridiculous. However, rather than it being the hopes of seeing Madden score bad, I think it's more along the lines of a strong number of football gaming fans that are certainly displeased with what this title has done this generation, and from that they would like their thoughts and judgments to be affirmed. There's nothing wrong with that, and seeing this game score a 9 on a site that has traditionally held sports games on a high level of accountability is a bit frustrating.

# 78 AndyP @ 08/09/10 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epiffani


	WOW, the Madden series has become a shoe-in to get a 9 or close to on here (Madden 11=9.0 Madden 10= 9.0 Madden 09=8.5). I know different people review certain sports on here, but there should be some consideration of how the other sports games were rated with their + & - and then evaluating how this game stacks up because according to O.S reviews, Madden 11 is a better game than MLB the Show, and in The Show review, it was deducted points because a lot of the gameplay elements and mechanics were tweaked or stayed the same despite some of those elements already being good/great in its current state. A good portion of Madden has stayed the same even by the reviewer's own admission, and that includes the problems that's been in the game for YEARS on in, but yet it isn't a big burden against the game, which would anchor down the score.... I can only imagine what the score will be when they actually start making big changes, and start really innovating .

Excellent points. MLB The Show sets the sports gaming standard imo. That game has recently been criticised (as was NBA 2k10 in the IGN review) for lacking innovation and yet Madden seems immune from that same criticism.

# 79 bigsmallwood @ 08/09/10 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adembroski


	One of the stupidst threads I've ever seen. Seriously... a review goes up, and instead of using the review to decide if the game is worth the purchase to them, they go in and review the review, giving it low marks if it doesn't match what they want to feel about the game. Reviews are not written for the purpose of justifying your feelings. It's almost like you guys take pride in seeing Madden get poor reviews. Let me let you all in on a little secret; these reviews aren't meaningless. The are read and taken into account by the higher ups at EA. Perhaps that seems dumb and short sighted, but that's how they look at it. Peter Moore is a big Metacritic fan. So... if Madden's review scores start tanking now, it's good by Locomotion and Real Assignment AI, and welcome back The Ring and Virtual Trainer. Personally, even if I disagree with everything the reviewer says, I want to see good reviews. Madden may be a long ways out from what you want, but at least it's pointed in the right direction the past couple of years. The last thing I wanna see is an about face.

It is not about the review not matching what people want it to say, it is about the review not being objective. Further more people have the right to an opinion about something that seems to be better suited for the back of a box, rather than a review breaking down the game.

Sidenote: I wish folks would stop saying people want Madden to receive low marks....nothing could be further from the truth. We simply want the review to be genuine and the standard to be upheld across the board...no special treatment.

# 80 joec63 @ 08/09/10 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigsmallwood


	It is not about the review not matching what people want it to say, it is about the review not being objective. Further more people have the right to an opinion about something that seems to be better suited for the back of a box, rather than a review breaking down the game. Sidenote: I wish folks would stop saying people want Madden to receive low marks....nothing could be further from the truth. We simply want the review to be genuine and the standard to be upheld across the board...no special treatment.

Maybe not true for you but an element does exist that desires to see this franchise fail. You can bank on that.

« Previous 1 2 345 6 7 8 Next »

More Links

Madden NFL 11 Review