Madden 12 News Post

OS at E3: Madden NFL 12 Preview

05:56 AM - June 8, 2011 by ChaseB

During the three years I have been on staff here at OS, I have been one of the more vocal critics of the Madden franchise. It's not that I have anything against the series, I just have never been able to understand how a company's flagship yearly title (in the US), one that carries the weight of an NFL exclusive license, could lag so far behind its genre-specific competition since the jump to the current generation of consoles. Believe me when I say that my expectations for Madden 12 coming into E3 today were pretty low -- Madden 11 felt more like a stopgap in the series than a true upgrade from Madden 10, and I was at the point of simply accepting that Madden would never achieve the completeness seen in games such as NBA 2K11 and the MLB: The Show series.

I'll be honest, I think I may have been wrong in a very big way. Based on what I played today, Madden is back, and it's well on its way to being mentioned with the elite sports games of this generation.

(Please Note: These impressions are based solely upon exhibition gameplay. Franchise mode and Superstar mode were not available for play or discussion at this time.)

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Game: Madden NFL 12Reader Score: 6.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Wii / Xbox 360Votes for game: 44 - View All

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Member Comments

# 21 fb121 @ 06/08/11 03:39 PM

hey chase, is anything being tuned when it comes to running animations? how about the presnap and postsnap animations, players look life-less and move very stiff when going back o the huddle after a play or lining up at their positions before the snap..? any word on these issues?

# 22 RogueHominid @ 06/08/11 03:41 PM

Is the link in the first post to a truncated version of a more substantive and detailed set of impressions? The article introduced by that link doesn't really offer anything new, it lacks detail (aside from the brief suggestion that one hot run early can make a back's ratings increase), and it's incredibly short.

No offense to Chase here--I was just looking for something longer and a little more specific. What exactly leads you to believe that this game has the potential to match The Show as an elite sports game of this generation beyond your observations that the pre-game and post-TD celebrations look cool, the player models are a bit more varied than last year, and DPP *seems* to work?

In most of the videos all I see are clowns playing tourney ball (love the Raiders guy's one play with the slant to the Reece and the fade to Miller), so those videos don't really tell me much about how the game would look and seem to people of our ilk here at OS. I'm assuming you tried to call a more "normal" game--were you able to complete timing routes, notice zones covering certain areas of the field better, or answer any other major questions OSers tend to have?

I know the game time is short at these things, but still . . . perhaps you could speak to a couple of those questions now.

# 23 gbombbay @ 06/08/11 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadman


	I wouldn't go out and ask people if they lost their mind if they are doing a lot of previewing for us. I already stated in here that he has been very critical of Madden the past few years, so, hearing this is encouraging.

i was being sarcastic when i asked if he's lost his mind (im sure he hasn't). Don't take things so serious.. smh

# 24 Nab_Impervious_XII @ 06/08/11 03:48 PM

I'm kinda surprised that this article thinks presentation is finally "up to spec". From what I've seen at E3, it still looks painfully average to underwhelming. The commentary hasn't really noticeably improved and the TV broadcast is scant at best (the game will cut from random TV angles to playable angles without any compelling TV-like transitions). I'll admit, the touchdown sequences are a little more exciting, but those were really never the problem. Madden 11 did a pretty decent job at zooming in the appropriate players, and modifying the scorebug in a cool way to signal a score.

At this point, I'm not sure what to say but sigh when it comes to Madden's prospect of creating a truly engaging presentation element.

# 25 LambertandHam @ 06/08/11 03:49 PM

Looks like everything is shaping up nicely except the commentary. Still, I'm a glass half full kind of guy, so everything is good

# 26 roadman @ 06/08/11 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nab_Impervious_XII


	I'm kinda surprised that this article thinks presentation is finally "up to spec". From what I've seen at E3, it still looks painfully average to underwhelming. The commentary hasn't really noticeably improved and the TV broadcast is scant at best (the game will cut from random TV angles to playable angles without any compelling TV-like transitions). I'll admit, the touchdown sequences are a little more exciting, but those were really never the problem. Madden 11 did a pretty decent job at zooming in the appropriate players, and modifying the scorebug in a cool way to signal a score. At this point, I'm not sure what to say but sigh when it comes to Madden's prospect of creating a truly engaging presentation element.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I think Madden's 12 camera's shots pre and post play kill Madden 11, but to each their own.

# 27 SageInfinite @ 06/08/11 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadman


	Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think Madden's 12 camera's shots pre and post play kill Madden 11, but to each their own.

I agree, it's not even close.

# 28 RGiles36 @ 06/08/11 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SageInfinite


	I agree, it's not even close.

AT ALL. I think I can change my sig

# 29 SageInfinite @ 06/08/11 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgiles36


	AT ALL. I think I can change my sig .

I was thinking the same thing, lol. They finally did it, i give them credit. Hopefully next year the commentary and analysis can go along with it.

# 30 LorenzoDC @ 06/08/11 04:19 PM

Someone at e3 or on twitter should ask if the commentary at e3 is the full, final thing.

I doubt it is, but then again, it's probably close.

# 31 Nab_Impervious_XII @ 06/08/11 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadman


	Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think Madden's 12 camera's shots pre and post play kill Madden 11, but to each their own.

Hmm, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree then.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely think the pre and post play shots are improved, but they're still too disconnected for my tastes (the TV packages still erratically appear in between gameplay, instead of transitioning like an authentic CBS/TV broadcast). In other words, it still feels like I'm watching a bunch of clips instead of a composite presentation package. The same Madden 11 commentary certainly doesn't help either.

# 32 roadman @ 06/08/11 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nab_Impervious_XII


	Hmm, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree then. Don't get me wrong, I definitely think the pre and post play shots are improved, but they're still too disconnected for my tastes (the TV packages still erratically appear in between gameplay, instead of transitioning like an authentic CBS/TV broadcast). In other words, it still feels like I'm watching a bunch of clips instead of a composite presentation package. The same Madden 11 commentary certainly doesn't help either.

Agree with your commentary quote, but based on the fact we didn't hear anything about commentary, I wasn't expecting much. Similar to franchise mode in the past.

As far as the cameras, we all have different tastes.

# 33 truintellectplaya @ 06/08/11 05:32 PM

What about defense? Did not hear a thing about that and that has been my issue with Madden on this generation of consoles.

# 34 savoie2006 @ 06/08/11 06:50 PM

" the game will cut from random TV angles to playable angles without any compelling TV-like transitions"

Did you ever think that maybe part of that is the person playing the game skipping through the sequences, thus it doesn't look as fluid?

# 35 Earl1963 @ 06/08/11 10:01 PM

getting our hopes up again for the 12th season.

# 36 radatdude2 @ 06/08/11 10:23 PM

the camera angles really create a sense of immersion. Graphics and presentation really make the look great. Question about pre-snap is there anyway where they can prevent the DB's from strafing into position ?

# 37 tril @ 06/08/11 11:08 PM

only question I have is about the Commentary, play by play announcers etc. Did they improve on this or is it still stale and dated.

# 38 Demoncrom @ 06/09/11 12:46 PM

Someone working at Gamestop told me an interesting little jewel. From what I understood if the NFL does not have a season and with the NFLPA now officially disbanded, Madden may not be able to use the players names and likeness., if that happens, then I dont know if I will buy this game this time

# 39 K_GUN @ 06/09/11 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demoncrom


	Someone working at Gamestop told me an interesting little jewel. From what I understood if the NFL does not have a season and with the NFLPA now officially disbanded, Madden may not be able to use the players names and likeness., if that happens, then I dont know if I will buy this game this time

not true bud...NFLPA is now a Trade union.....their likenesses can still be used in video games.

EA already confirmed this

http://techland.time.com/2011/03/14/...madden-nfl-12/

# 40 MrRudy @ 06/09/11 06:25 PM

Love this! Seems like Madden is a homerun this year!

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