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

[ODogg]

Cedric Benson runs right up the gut for 9 yards on the first play from scrimmage. I go into game options and see there are 4 camera styles: Standard, Wide, Zoomed and Broadcast. I stick with Standard for now.

After 1 quarter ends I am down 21-0. Some observations:

-Why is Felix Jones the starting RB instead of Marion Barber?
-No Terrell Owens on the Bengals squad
-Control is not quite as good, IMO, as NCAA 11's...very slight but I notice it.
-It seems kickoffs are done better, like you get the feeling the spacing is better than in NCAA
-Martellus Bennett rated a 66 OVR? I'm not one to complain about ratings but that seems pretty far off considering how well he played last year.
-coaches look great!

So here is why I'm down 21-7. Carson Palmer went 8 for 8 on the drive to open the game. Unable to get much pressure on him. I get close twice but he finds a WR just as I reach him (figures). Bengals go up 7-0.

My turn. I get in a 3rd and 7 and thanks to the strategy pad I get a delay of game. Do it again. Same thing - delay of game. Go to menu - turn OFF the accelerated clock before I break my controller. 3rd and 17, can't convert - punt to Bengals.

Bengals on 1st play find a guy open over the middle, my guys collide into one another and he has only the safety to beat, the safety does not recall how to tackle and falls off of him like Deion Sanders would try to tackle - Bengals up 14-0.

I get the ball back again. Romo sacked on 3rd and 7 doing play action and fumbles. Some fat Bengals dude picks up the ball and runs it in to make it 21-0.

I get the ball down 21-0. Kickoff goes to Felix but I try to move Dez Bryant into get it. The ball goes to no one. There's some panic while both guys try to pick up the ball. Finally Felix picks it up. By now everyone is downfield. Felix hits the hole and is gone for a 90+ yard TD!!

1st quarter ends - Cowboys 7 Bengals 21 but the Cowboys have the momentum..

[ODogg]

I finally get some pressure with DWare on Carson and force the Bengals to punt.

-I notice when a player is injured the announcers and game calls attention to it unlike NCAA - nice!
-I don't notice the huge camera zoom out that was in the demo using the standard camera. I'm going to switch to the wide camera now to see how that is different.

[ODogg]

The wide angle camera is down closer to the field and back. I don't like it but that's probably because I enjoy running the ball a lot. I imagine this would be a good angle for people who like to primarily pass the ball.

-The Play Action seems worthless so far. It seems, and this is early yet I know, but it seems running a play action is just going to get you sacked as it doesn't seem the CPU even looks at the RB.

The Zoomed camera angle is down closer behind the QB and zoomed in. It's great for rushing the ball but for passing it, IMO it cuts off too much of the sides of the field. It's a really cool angle though. I just hit Crayton over the middle for 20 yards. It almost looks as if it's like a camera angle from when you play NCAA RTG and you're the RB.

Broadcast camera looks great but I simply cannot play from the side angle. Back to standard camera!

I manage to cap off a long, time consuming drive with a run by Marion Barber from 5 yards out to make it 21-14. Gus yells - TD AMERICA'S TEAM!

-unlike NCAA 11 this game has a LOT of stats overlays from what I've seen so far...

With just over 2 minutes in the half, Carson Palmer tries to hit a deep out route and Newman pick 6's it for about 50 yards...TIE GAME!!! I get the Old Spice Pick 6 Achievement!!

-kickoffs for the human seem too powerful, everything i've kicked off so far goes about 7 yards deep in the end zone...not the same though for the CPU..

With 2 minute warning they show the Cowboys top 3 players stat overlay. Cool. Unfortunately they only show it for about 4 seconds or so and I don't have time to read it (i didn't click through it either)..

With 1:41 to go I send the house on a blitz, Palmer is nearly killed but he gets the 30 yard lob off to a WR who is covered by a safety and it's TD BENGALS! 28-21 Bengals..

I get the ball back but get KILLED on a sack and it makes me have to punt. Ball lands at the Bengals 4 yard line but time runs out on them.

HALFTIME - Bengals 28 Cowboys 21

Palmer is 10 for 14 for 226 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT
Romo is 4 for 8 for 49 yards, 0 TD and 0 INT

Benson is 7 att, 35 yards, avg 5.0
Felix Jones is 6 att, 44 yards, avg 7.3
B.Scott (bengals rb) is 1 att, 1 yard
Tony Romo is 1 att, 19 yards <=== Much faster in this years game and/or EA made scrambling QBs much better able to scramble...

[ODogg]

Cowboys get the kickoff and drive down the field, rushing and passing it. Bengals defense feels like it's starting to wilt. Significantly easier now to move the ball. I like the feeling of fatigue in this game so far.

-I take back what I said earlier about play action. It's fairly realistic I think. After I've set up enough runs the play action starts working. If you don't rush the ball at all though then the play action isn't worth a darn (how it should be).

Felix Jones caps off the drive from 5 yards out to make it Cowboys and Bengals all tied up at 28! 3:15 left in third quarter.

[ODogg]

Man the CPU sure can run the ball! Benson is a BEAST!! 9 rushes for 67 yards so far. I find that I cannot keep playing nickel as it's just killing me. Switching back to 3-4 defense.

On 3rd and 7 Palmer has some time but it eventually runs out and just before he's sacked he overthrows a crossing route greatly so the Bengals are forced to punt with 2:07 left to go in the 3rd. I choose punt block. Dez Bryant fields the punt from his own 1 yard line, the Bengals coverage is nowhere to be found. He starts up the left sideline, cuts it back, the Bengals cannot cut as fast as Bryant, one man to beat to the corner, he beats him and is GONE....99 YARD PUNT RETURN TD DEZ BRYANT!!!

Cowboys take the lead for the first time in the game!!

*I got an achievement for Old Spice Swagger on that play too...

[ODogg]

I go to create a highlight of that 98 yard punt return. First thing I notice is that once you choose to view the highlight you must watch the entire highlight and cannot break out of it. Bleh...NCAA got that right finally, why can't Madden? One nice thing though is they play the NFL films music during the replays like in past games.

-I have noticed some gang tackling but not as much as in NCAA 11.

Bengals 3rd and 2, game cuts to sidelines of Cowboys players on the bench trying to get the fans going, Phillips walking around looking worried (typical Wade look LOL)...then cuts back to the players on the field extolling the crowd to get riled up. Pretty cool.

Benson rushes off tackle for 5 yards and the Bengals pick up the 1st down at the Cowboys 36. Palmer hit as he throws, a somewhat wobbly duck but somehow OchoCinco comes up with it for a 10 yard gain. #85 gets destroyed by Mike Jenkins. We finish up the third quarter. Unto the 4th!

[ODogg]

Palmer is drilled when he throws, again though OchoCinco comes up with a 9 yard TD catch as the safety whiffs on the big hit. ALL TIED 35-35 to start the 4th quarter out.

Cowboys take the ball and drive down the field utilizing some power rushing and the occasional pass to the TE or a WR on a crossing pass. Unfortunately the drive stalls at the 20 yard line when Romo overthrows Miles Austin on an out route (I threw it too soon).

-I can't stress enough how much better fatigue is now modeled! The game really feels alot more realistic in this sense. The rushing game is so much better for it as well.

So I'm forced to settle for a field goal from 37-40 yards out. I nail it and it's 38-35 Cowboys with 2:55 to go.

[ODogg]

Bengals drive stalls when, on 2rd and 2 the Wildcat is denied. On 3rd and 1 they run Wildcat again and Benson is stood up by DWare and on 4th and inches they have to punt from their own 35. Time is running out. Bengals punt the ball out of bounds.

Cowboys get the ball back. Run with Barber for 3 yards. Another run with Barber for 6 and a half yards. They do a measurement, it's just short. Second time I've seen a measurement animation and it was short the other time too. I hope it's not ALWAYS short when this animation comes up. A Bengals player is down so the Bengals lose a timeout while they examine him.

On 3rd and inches Felix takes the ball, breaks a tackle and runs it 17 yards to the Bengals 31!! Bengals burn another timeout at the 1:47 mark. Felix gets the pitch, sidesteps one guy at the 27 yard mark, busts a tackle at the 22 yard line, running down the sidelines, Austin Miles gets a half a block on the safety, Felix is running out of room but somehow stays in bound to get the TD!!! Cowboys 45 Bengals 35!!! 1:38 left to go!