worth the money?

[JSHT21]

OK, so I've come to the conclusion that any game that I get that isn't a sports game is a waste of money, they just don't keep my attenton... so is madden worth it? I've never owned a pro football game, usually stay with ncaa..... though with spiller being in the nfl now.. I'm kind of wanting to do a bills dynasty...

but is it a good game? not too many flaws? is offline dynasty decent? it's the only thing i'd play on it.

[Gordy748]

Re: worth the money?

Sure many people will weigh in on this. My reply is... it depends.

If you had Madden 10, I'd say no. Madden 11 is better than Mad 10, but not worth the extra $60. Likewise, if you have NCAA11, you might want to stick to that as the play is apparently marginal (I can't find NCAA in the UK and am too disorganized to order it).

If you don't have Mad 10 or NCAA 11 then I'd say you should get Madden 11 (with reservations). The shockingly bad stock gameplay can be instantly dialled out by using sliders that Playmaker, MikeOwnz, and others have tested. The shockingly bad playcalling can also be instantly dialled out by downloading gameplans that others have fixed. The reservations comes to offline franchise. It is fun enough, but a little vanilla. And if you really want to play only offline franchises, then finding an old copy of Head Coach 09 might be best for you.

[Sort of Irish]

Re: worth the money?

Is the game worth $65? I'm not convinced it is. Offline franchise is seriously lacking any depth. There are a lot of parts of the game that are broken or don't feel natural.

If you've never owned Madden it might be worth a shot to buy but don't expect it to hold your interest anymore than other mediocre games out there.

This is what I'll say: I've got my sliders tuned to where I get close exciting games but it just doesn't feel like the football I see on Sunday.

[JSHT21]

Re: worth the money?

Can you feel the excitement? Even if it isn't just like on Sundays?

Like with ncaa. I can't really feel the excitement to say, but yet when I'm playing I get drawn in, the games are close and it makes me want to win. It makes it exciting to me. Does madden do this for you guys? I just really want another game to play, as i only play ncaa 2011. Imma trade my other games in that just sit there and try to get another.

I'm leaning on either madden 11 or nhl 11.

Either one I would get would be for an offline dynasty, to do a dynasty on here in the forums, like the Clemson one I just started. I feel like it even added to ncaa 2011. Sharing my games, idk makes it feel more and more like the real thing.

[Gordy748]

Re: worth the money?

I don't have NHL11 (yet) so really can't help you choose between that and Madden. But with all the extra games in hockey, it might be worth getting (I'm certainly tempted).

In fact I think I'll get a copy of NHL11 today.

As for Madden not being what you see on Sunday, Sort of Irish is dead right. But close games are still exciting. My 2nd year franchise with the Hawks, my last few games were a win by 5, a win by 3, an overtime win (got my come-from-behind trophy after being down in last 2 minutes), loss by 4, loss by 3, and last night beat the Cardinals by 10 (with a TD extending my lead with 4 minutes to play). All while having significant injuries to my LBs so had to completely alter my defensive strategy.

It's been a lot of fun, and actually renewed my interest in the game (despite all its warts).

[Exonerated]

Re: worth the money?

It depends how rich you think you are.

If you're living in the USA. then no. Everyone 'seems' to be 'hit hard' by the recession.

But dollar for value terms. Madden is worth it. Its fun playing with your team you seen on Sundays.

[Sort of Irish]

Re: worth the money?

Can you feel the excitement? Even if it isn't just like on Sundays?

Sure but purely because it's a close game. The presentation and commentary does absolutely nothing for building excitement. Playoff games feel like regular season games, it doesn't feel like a rivalry when you're playing rivalry games, Sunday and Monday night football is nothing more than a night game. This is where Madden really falls short and games like NHL really excel.

NHL is a great game but then again I'm slightly biased since I played hockey from 7 years old all the way into college. I can definitely appreciate what EA did with NHL whereas Madden just falls short in a lot of respects.

Do I still play Madden? Yeah, I'm still keeping my Raider franchise going with a couple games a week. But the truth is Madden has taken a back seat to NHL, Halo, and eventually the new Call of Duty... and by back seat I really mean Madden is packed away in a trailer hitched to my truck.

[udungoofed]

Re: worth the money?

When I bought Madden 11, I felt that I paid for too many game features I already paid for in the past.

[falconfansince81]

Re: worth the money?

i have 0 interest in college football, yet i bought ncaa11 and loved it...really felt the intensity of big games. offline nonetheless.

i have 100% interest in pro ball, yet i bought madden11 used and became disinterested before the end of the first quarter. if it wasn't for human competition in online franchises i'd still be playing my offline ncaa11 dynasty.

[miaturne]

Re: worth the money?

To directly answer your questions...


1. "so is madden worth it?"

No. M11 is an expansion pack or major patch of M10, period. It is worth about $20 tops for what you get.

2. "but is it a good game?"

For a first time pro-football gamer, you must ask yourself whether you are a sim-gamer, or a casual gamer. If you are a sim gamer, I would honestly tell you to look elsewhere.

What M11 does well is that it is specifically tailored to a VERY casual gamer. It is by far the easiest of the three to pick up and play, and is not entirely difficult to adjust to. Also, it is the only up-to-date NFL licensed game out of the box; thus, official stadiums, players, faces, logos, etc. Finally, EVERYBODY plays it, so you will have the biggest online competition pool.

Sadly, that's about it. The game's biggest problem is that, of the three, it makes no effort to depict any aspect of the sport outside of the authenticity of the NFL licensed players, stadiums, and logos. What's worse is that the game feel "unapologetically" unauthentic; in other words, you can tell that the producers only cared about getting the authenticity of the licensed items right and let the animations, presentations, gameplay, franchise, and AI fall by the wayside.


3. "not too many flaws?"

Once again, it depends on whether you are a casual gamer or not. A sim-gamer, who is accustomed to NBA 2K11, would call this game a bug-ridden joke, while a casual gamer would not care.

4. "is offline dynasty decent?"

If you are used to NCAA, then you will be disappointed with Madden.

[Gordy748]

Re: worth the money?

I'm leaning on either madden 11 or nhl 11.

Well I bought NHL11 at lunch today. Must admit I am clueless and don't know my slapsticks from my 9 inch skates. Only played half a game and spent half of that in the penalty bin.

Who said in hockey you can't body check an opponent without the puck?!?

But the franchise mode? Beats NFL in my opinion. Way more complicated but just feels a little ore fun. And the gameplay... Well it's real time physics. I felt it was real.

And made Madden feel like a joke to play. I'm not sure if even a complete offline franchise revamp of madden next year will help it.

Bottom line, get NHL.

[statum71]

Re: worth the money?

If you already have NCAA then maybe not. Because NCAA is slightly better. If you didn't have that game already I would say yes.

[Trey79]

Re: worth the money?

Noooo. I had NCAA 11 and I sold it.......I sold the wrong game man. Wait until after the season is over and pick it up used for nothing. Don't get me wrong it looks better every year, but if your like me "Pretty" is ok but I want great gameplay.

[ryan36]

Re: worth the money?

Sorry we've closed every other thread like this , gotta close this one too. Btw, I gave mine away for free to someone here on OS, I even paid the shipping...that's how much I liked it. Some people really like it. M11 run blocking is better...the locomotion system is ok, but since defense doesn't have it, it was tough for me to ever get a balanced game. I would've stuck with it, but with the horribly synced up commentary, it killed it for me. If they had Tom Hammond again (he was boring, yet implemented better), I may have kept it.