I finally gave Madden a chance, and I love it... Madden 10, that is

[Senator Palmer]

I was pleasantly surprised and flat out shocked at how addicted I was to NCAA when it first came out, and equally so at how turned off I was to Madden 11 out of the box. But somewhere between patch 1 and 3, I can't keep track, NCAA lost its whip appeal for me. While I think it is a very good overall package, there are a few things that Madden 11 (post patches) does very well that make the game for me.

Loco - I still am not in love with all of the movement and velocity at which the legs churn on Madden, but the locomotion and the way that the players are weighted is better than NCAA.

Passing - Madden's passes aren't as tethered to the route as NCAA, which is reminiscent of Madden 10. I can release the ball sooner, throw guys open, etc.

Quarterback Play - when NCAA came out, the game played so real to me. I could fluster a lower rated QB into bad reads, poor throws and an under 50% completion rate, while the better guys like Luck and Moore were razor sharp. The patch and/or tuner brought robo-QB back. Now I go in against a guy that's hitting 53% on the season and he'll proceed to go 25 for 28.

In Madden, with the stretched out accuracy ratings I love the Qb play. Alex Smith plays like Alex Smith. He stayed locked onto his first read, missed a wide open receiver, under-threw another, and only put up 160 yards passing, while on the other end of the spectrum, I got fits trying to fluster Drew Brees who put up over 300 yards against me.

This alone makes Madden 11 for me and puts it a cut above Madden 10 who's defense was not that spectacular. Add to that the run blocking of 11, dual-stick controls, and Madden 10 is just a step back. A very good game, but a step back.

[grunt]

The Madden team finally did the tough and under the hood grunt work. The offensive line play is improved for both running and passing. The blitzes from the 2nd and 3rd level are realistic and vastly improve.

Oh yeah, game flow is not a gimmick. Work better on offense than on defense but I use this "feature' way more than I ever thought. Breaks me from my own pattern off game calling.

Now, I am going to admit something that makes me feel really dirty....I like MUT. Yeah, I am enjoying MUT. I like playing with my under power team and make enough coins to get Madden Moments Live. I decided to get the Eagles/Giants MML. I would never pay but I am enjoying both features.

I would recommend this game to all my 2k friends, why because this game is a few step away from greatness.

[fistofrage]

^^^^I literally have no choice now but to get this tonight.

Can anyone comment on Special Team play specifically are FG's and Returns too easy for the human and can the AI take it to the house on punt & KO returns?

Also, does the AI run the ball?

[Senator Palmer]

Quote: Originally Posted by fistofrage

^^^^I literally have no choice now but to get this tonight. Can anyone comment on Special Team play specifically are FG's and Returns too easy for the human and can the AI take it to the house on punt & KO returns? Also, does the AI run the ball?

Special Teams - the new meter provides a challenge to the process. Can't comment too much on how tough it is. The level of difficulty seems fine to me.

Returns - there was complaint early on on how poor the blocking was, but once again, it seems all right to me. Last year I always had a returner in the Pro Bowl, now there is a huge challenge in returning kicks even to the 20. Special teams play could be better, but it's not killing the game for me. I have to focus more on my returns and focus on field position, rather than taking it to the house, because starting at the 20 or 25 beats starting at the 8, which will happen if you aren't careful. And you'll have to fair catch more than ever on punts... which is another thing I think is realistic vs. last year.

I've heard complaints about the AI not running the ball, but I've found the CPU run game challenging this year. Last year in all my franchise, there was not one season where I gave up even close to a 1,000 total yards rushing. I was always #1. This year, the better running teams are getting some push against me. Cleveland and Hillis being my biggest nemesis.

With the patches, everything is tuned so much better than a few months ago as far as pursuit and gaps.

[DJ]

Quote: Originally Posted by fistofrage

^^^^I literally have no choice now but to get this tonight. Can anyone comment on Special Team play specifically are FG's and Returns too easy for the human and can the AI take it to the house on punt & KO returns? Also, does the AI run the ball?

I was ready to give up on Madden 11, but Grunt, Roadman and a few others convinced me to give it one last try with the latest patch. I'm glad I did. It is a better game than Madden 10.

Make some small tweaks to the Gameplan (eliminate vert routes and 8-man blitzes) and Gameflow is real nice.

I'm getting ready to start up a Broncos franchise with Tebow at the helm. I still think NCAA 11 is the better game but Madden 11 is a solid effort.

[AmazingMets]

I absolutely love Madden 11.
Gameflow is probably the best feature to be added in a while. i love it and use it every play of every game.

I've barely touched NCAA 11 as I got both for Christmas. If EA really does focus on Franchise for '12, it'll be one of th best Madden games ever!

[wski]

Own both NCAA and Madden, have to give NCAA the edge in presentation, atmosopher and maybe graphics, but Madden's gameplay(which means the most to me) is now much more polished.

I ended up deleting the patches to play offline on NCAA and that helped, but I tired of the passing game (bullet passes, super leaping LB/DT swats, inability to rely on play action and general lack of variety), bad zone defense, and the fumbles. Madden is really slick in its movement and pursuits and much better in the passing game. The atomosphere can be stale, but i turn off the announcers and that actually has helped.

Anyway, i want to thank those on the forum who explained the benefits of patch 5, as I had sold the game back in Sept. and just bought it over Xmas and am thankful.

[tlc12576]

Quote: Originally Posted by wski

Own both NCAA and Madden, have to give NCAA the edge in presentation, atmosopher and maybe graphics, but Madden's gameplay(which means the most to me) is now much more polished. I ended up deleting the patches to play offline on NCAA and that helped, but I tired of the passing game (bullet passes, super leaping LB/DT swats, inability to rely on play action and general lack of variety), bad zone defense, and the fumbles. Madden is really slick in its movement and pursuits and much better in the passing game. The atomosphere can be stale, but i turn off the announcers and that actually has helped. Anyway, i want to thank those on the forum who explained the benefits of patch 5, as I had sold the game back in Sept. and just bought it over Xmas and am thankful.

This is a serious question to all the guys out there that are enjoying Madden 11, is it just me or .......

Don't you guys get frustrated if you call man defense against a 2 WR set with both WR on the both side and a LB covers the inside WR?

Have you guys tried using defensive assignments to setup certain match ups with certain WR/TE/RB and have plays where WR's are completely uncovered or your LB/SS/FS have switched positions on the field?

Have you guys ever picked a nickel or dime man defense to have extra DBs on the field to cover elite TE only to have the CB cover the RB out the backfield and a LB still covering the TE?

Do you guys constantly see receivers get bumped and grabbed well beyond 5 yds with NO pass interference call?

Do you guys ever have the player you are controlling just do unexplained movements or unresponsive pauses that have you wondering if your PS3/360 controller is malfunctioning?

Have you guys ever pressed the button to switch to the closet defender to the ball but feel like it just randomly placed you on whatever defender in the general area?

Lastly, have you guys ever played a game of Madden, even against another HUM player but regardless of how well you or they play, it seems it doesn't matter because the "fix is in" and the winner has already be predetermined?

I have no intention of trying to affect anyone's enjoyment by listing a bunch of "glitches" or whatever, I know there are threads for that. I am actually hoping the opposite, that maybe some of you guys can give me some pointers on looking past these type things.

I started back to playing Madden 11 offline franchise with a buddy on Wednesday after reading a few good things about the latest patch. He is on vacation for like another week so we have played alot of Madden these last two days, in between girlfriend, wife and children obligations. We hadn't played much since around October, so I was really looking foward to enjoying the game post patch.

Thing is, I'm not and those things I listed are just so ridiculous to me. I can honestly overlook some of the other stuff that we all know isn't quite right but things like constantly, no pass interference after seeing the TE get mugged 10-12 yds down field, C'mon! LOL

I would just love to know how some of you guys are dealing with these issues or new ways I might play so I don't really notice these so much. Right now, Madden is the only NFL we got and I would love to find a way to deal with it until August 2011 and hope Madden 12 is better for me.