Madden NFL 11 Impressions Thread (PS3 and 360) (READ FIRST POST!!!!)

[ODogg]

re: Madden NFL 11 Impressions Thread (PS3 and 360) (READ FIRST POST!!!!)

ODOGG, that was a very high scoring game! What level were you playing on?

All Pro - 7 min quarters, accelerated clock off. I think it was just fine except maybe the quarters were too long since i turned off the accelerated clock.

[ODogg]

re: Madden NFL 11 Impressions Thread (PS3 and 360) (READ FIRST POST!!!!)

I think the reason I felt the control was not quite as good as NCAA 11 was I was playing on SLOW, I moved it to normal now and it feels much the same as NCAA 11.

Also, it's comical how controlling Phillip Rivers feels like a freakin' statue. You won't be doing much running around with him at all! LOL!!

[ODogg]

re: Madden NFL 11 Impressions Thread (PS3 and 360) (READ FIRST POST!!!!)

It's cool how they have Phillip Rivers odd stance in the game (before he snaps the ball).

Man the punt return and kick returns feel SO much better in this game than in NCAA 11's. You actually can see lanes and people over run the play and etc...this is one thing Madden destroys NCAA in I think..

Beating the steelers at Heinz Field 14-0....I'm the Chargers..

[ODogg]

re: Madden NFL 11 Impressions Thread (PS3 and 360) (READ FIRST POST!!!!)

Heinz field looks simply incredible btw. I take back what I said about this games graphics from the demo. The full retail is worlds better looking.

Nice touch - you can challenge sideline catches by hitting LT, it says "LT to challenge play" Once you do that it shows the two coaches, the refs reviewing it and plays the Jeopardy theme.

I just noticed a possible issue - when you go to kick, if a friend joins Xbox Live right when you kick it then the kicking bar is partially obscured. Could be an issue for online players with lots of friends (ahem..like me..)

Another possible (small) issue - I'm trying to create a highlight of a play but when I view it then it's the play before it. If i go into instant replay its the right one but in Create Highlight mode it's the play before it. Weird.

-I really like the ability to get pressure just from your front 3 or front 4 in this game! It seems to depend upon fatigue and if you can use the right stick in regards to your pressure you get on the CPU QB..

-One thing that REALLY stands out for me in this game is the fact that the CPU plays play action smart. So for instance if you're in a 3rd and 34 situation the CPU will NOT bite at all on Play Action. It's done so much more realistically than past EA football games..

I destroyed Pittsburgh 35-14! And the boos rain down on me!!!

[ODogg]

re: Madden NFL 11 Impressions Thread (PS3 and 360) (READ FIRST POST!!!!)

Just a cool fact here, I'm playing as the Raiders @ The Chiefs and despite it being a close game (14-6) about 1/3rd of the stadium is empty. I guess either it was that way to begin with (i'm near halftime now) and I didn't notice or the game has just been so terrible they have been leaving. Thought that was a great touch though!!

[ODogg]

re: Madden NFL 11 Impressions Thread (PS3 and 360) (READ FIRST POST!!!!)

Brett Favre is on Minnesotas roster and is rated 92 OVR.

[ODogg]

re: Madden NFL 11 Impressions Thread (PS3 and 360) (READ FIRST POST!!!!)

alright fellas, i'm done for the night, off to bed...

[Noodles121]

re: Madden NFL 11 Impressions Thread (PS3 and 360) (READ FIRST POST!!!!)

Online Servers:

They opened up the online servers yesterday and I was able to get a few games in. The frst game started off pretty smooth but then bogged down, while my second game was fairly smooth. Not many people are on, but they also probably don't have everything turned on yet. I played an OTP match with some guys in my town and that was smooth-ish as well. Not bad over all I guess.

Gameflow:

I noticed something that could be an issue. It seems that regardless of your settings, after every play you will be prompted to select the traditional play calling or Gameflow. And the Gameflow button is the A button, which most of us will be pressing to speed through cut scenes, so it is easy to pick this method accidentally.

If this happens you are stuck here. While in Gameflow you are not able to see what your opponent has chosen, package-wise, which is obviously not ideal.

New Kicking Meter:

Finally, while over all I like the the new kicking method, any sort of lag or stutter can severely affect accuracy this year. With the old thumbstick method maybe your distance would suffer, but accuracy-wise you just had to move up and down on the stick. The fact that you now have to stop the meter on a precises section makes kicking accuracy much more susceptible to botching.

[ODogg]

re: Madden NFL 11 Impressions Thread (PS3 and 360) (READ FIRST POST!!!!)

Oh just a note - I did see another measurement last night, same exact animation but different outcome (I did get the 1st down) so for those of you who hated the 'see this animation = this result" nonsense of Madden 10 can rest easy, that is taken care of in Madden 11.

[Pared]

re: Madden NFL 11 Impressions Thread (PS3 and 360) (READ FIRST POST!!!!)

Flightwhite is also clear to post impressions.

REMEMBER everyone, this is NOT a questions thread.

[Flightwhite24]

re: Madden NFL 11 Impressions Thread (PS3 and 360) (READ FIRST POST!!!!)

My initial impressions are pretty darn good.

They have Vince Young down to a "T". He is missing wide open recievers downfield, in the flats and that's with no pressure on him. EA has his throwing motion down pat.

Currently I am playing the C-boys vs Titans and I am up 13-7 going into the half.

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT judge this game from the demo. As ODogg said in an earlier post. The demo cannot compare or even give a fair assessment of the retail copy. So much has been ironed out on the PS3 retail version. GOTTA GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I would like to add I am playing All Pro default settings
I did change the penalty sliders and yes I was flagged for a PI on D with the setting at 100

[ODogg]

re: Madden NFL 11 Impressions Thread (PS3 and 360) (READ FIRST POST!!!!)

FLIGHTWHITE - if you are around tomorrow we could play a game or two online and test out various things and post our impressions here. I probably won't have time tonight though.

[Flightwhite24]

re: Madden NFL 11 Impressions Thread (PS3 and 360) (READ FIRST POST!!!!)

FLIGHTWHITE - if you are around tomorrow we could play a game or two online and test out various things and post our impressions here. I probably won't have time tonight though.

I will be at work all day tomorrow plus I'm on the PS3

Dallas D is just beastly. Ware is just a man among boys in this game. Another VY note is he just refuses to get rid of the ball when he is being pressured. Lol!!! I have put so much pressure on him using Dallas it's not even funny and I'm not even Blitzing

I really love the pace of the game using the Gameflow feature. It's not bad but I know in the end I won't be using it as some of the calls are suspect.

EA servers are down at the moment.

Dez B fans this is for you. I hit him on a slant and it was off to the races. Sick coming out of the slot

[Flightwhite24]

re: Madden NFL 11 Impressions Thread (PS3 and 360) (READ FIRST POST!!!!)

Not sure if this was in last years game or not but when some penalties are called they actually show the replay of the hold/clipping by whomever the call was against.

After I mentioned how terrible VY was throwing the ball, VY missed another wide-open reciever by overthrowing him and the announcer started talking about how wild he is and his mechanics.

Just off the top I have to say EA has killed it with Madden this year. Sure the usual game-critiqer's are gonna come out and complain tha his beard is not that long/color, where is his baby/mamma's tattoo and so on. Gotta give EA credit

[ODogg]

re: Madden NFL 11 Impressions Thread (PS3 and 360) (READ FIRST POST!!!!)

This isn't a review, just figured I'd give some more impressions after having played three games.

GRAPHICS - The graphics are significantly better than the demo. The player models don't seem as noticeably bad either, although I wonder if it's because the textures and the absence of that extreme ZOOM-OUT camera angle from the demo make it seem less obvious. As has been mentioned by many there are issues with the players getting dirty on grass fields in the rain. They do get dirty but it's so subtle and so even across all players it's not how it should be. I noticed in the replays at the end of the game the players were much dirtier than they actually were in my game so the coding is obviously there, a tweak just needs made. The coaches and sideline shots look extremely well. It's amazing just how great they are getting at making the coaches look like their real life counterparts. The fields don't seem to get torn up at all, even in a heavy rain page, so that needs added in for Madden 12. The lighting is incredible, it's just sad that it's static is all.

ANIMATIONS - Animations have gotten better but still have a ways to go to match up to previous, unmentioned here, football games. There are some great new added animations you will notice, most of them also in NCAA 11. They generally string together pretty well. The gang tackling is still there, contrary to earlier reports, you just see it less often. I imagine that much like NCAA 11 if you wanted to see more gang tackling you could simply lower the tackle slider to create more situations where tackles are more of the grab-on-and-hold variety as opposed to the take-down-immediately variety. The QB roll out animations and the way they stand under center are uniquely done from what I've seen and very authentic, lending an air of differentiating the various QBs from one another.

SOUND - The sound is not NEAR as bad as the demo. It's got the custom stadium sounds, chants, etc in it so it makes it much better. I also like how it plays the various music on the PA system. That music is somewhat muffled and I imagine it's to convey a feeling of it being from the PA system but it's still ab it more muffled than I would like. The sound of the crowd is not loud enough so I adjusted in the menu. It's more reactionary IMO but still not as dynamic and/or not enough variance from highs to lows as I would like to make the game more exciting. The announcing is improved, probably some of the best announcing since the early days of Madden but as we all know, that isn't much of a compliment. Gus does a good job overall but I'd like to see more references to names all around and less cute nickname calling (I imagine Steelers fans will want to tear their hair out after a few games hearing Gus call Hines Ward "Psycho" Ward..). Collinsworth is flat and doesn't really interact with Gus much. EA really is trying to improve here so I'm not going to dog on them too much but it's still not a particularly strong area for the game.

CONTROL - At first I felt the control was somewhat, very slightly, lacking but that was because the game boots up on default to slow speed. Once I changed that to normal speed it became very precise control. You really feel player weight, or lack of, in this year's edition. Controlling Phillip Rivers you feel as if you're maneuvering a tank. Then hand off to Sproles and you're a light, bouncy little rabbit. It really feels incredible and gives you a much more unique experience. Unforuntately, the right stick doesn't feel nearly as responsive as the right stick in NCAA 11. I tried several times to do some of the same spin moves and moves like that and just couldn't do it. The kick meter, while looking ridiculously 1990's is functional. One issue though for the Xbox Live users out there is that when a friend comes online it comes up right over where the kick meter is. So if JohnnyZ comes online and Xbox Live announces it to you right as you kick a potentially game winning field goal, you may miss the field goal. I say may because it only happened once to me and I was freaked out by it and wasn't sure how much of it that the Xbox Live message truly covered up but I'm a bit worried about this to be honest. As for the hated strategy pad, the lag doesn't seem as bad as it was in the demo. I still hate it and am glad they are going to allow us the old way though. With that being said I can live with it until we get the patch.

GAME PLAY - I'll be the first to admit that I was completely wrong about this game based on the demo. EA should probably just delete that demo and create a new one because the retail version plays very little like the demo. First of all the crappy wide, zoomed out camera angle is gone from the demo, secondly the game overall looks about 10x better than the demo and lastly the gameplay is much less boring (I'm sure some of that has to do with the terrible audio in the demo as well). I have played three games and all three felt incredibly different. The computer seems to mix up passing and rushing and does so to the team's strengths as well. As you may have guessed if you read my first game summary, the CPU is now very competent at rushing the ball. I've also noticed that the CPU plays smart in other ways as well. For instance if you play Nickel or Dime the CPU will recognize that and run up the gut. If you run constant 4-4 blitzing they will throw the ball. It really seems very realistic and you don't see some of the predictable game play we've seen in past EA football games (the constant, short, swing routes over the middle of the field that the CPU has come to love in past games for example). At first I was worried that I couldn't get any pressure on the QB, but much like NCAA once I had some time with the right stick to put some moves on then it came together (on defense the right stick seems to work better than on offense). I need to get more games in but so far I think the game play vs. the CPU is much improved over Madden 10. Mostly due to the CPU being much more intelligent, much more aggressive and just all around more human-like.

EARLY CONCLUSION - Fun - lots of fun. Maybe it's the newness of it (the honeymoon phase as people say). We'll see. But I don't know. I didn't have much of a honeymoon with that demo and that was new, LOL. Overall though I got to bed late last night. And isn't that usually a pretty good indicator that the game is fun? I know people will want to know if it's better than NCAA 11. I don't think it is but then I enjoy NCAA football more than I do NFL. I will say it's on the same level as NCAA though. And I'll also say yes I do think it's worth the $60 for the new game instead of just playing Madden 10 for another year, especially if you play the CPU primarily. If that's the case it's a must buy IMO. For you online gamers like myself I'd say it's going to be a game you should strongly consider for the improved graphics, improved rushing game and superior control.