Madden NFL 11 Demo Available Now, Please Post Impressions Here

[twigstudios]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Demo Available Now, Please Post Impressions Here

Wasn't bad. I played with the Colts and won 23-14 (thank you 5 min quarters).

Gameflow was OK. Got annoying a couple of times but overall nice addition. Can't say I'll be using it that often in the retail version though.

Player models were decent. Presentation was nice. Commentary was better but still didn't quite click. Gus Johnson was a welcome breath of fresh air from Tom Hammond however.

I couldn't run the ball to save my life but got 29, 34 and 40 yds passing plays. Garcon was a beast 7 catches for 125 yds!

Kinda reminded me alot of 10 but it looked much cleaner and smoothed out.

All in all I give the demo a 7 out of 10. I'll wait until Madden goes down from 60 bucks maybe catch it on eBay, half.com or something.

Anybody else thought Peyton Manning looked like Frankenstein's monster when he stepped off the bus? I mean it looked like he was wearing his shoulder pads under his suit.

[Ceothachosen1]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Demo Available Now, Please Post Impressions Here

im sorry I was really looking forward to madden cause im loving ncaa but this demo is horrible and all these new features are a disgrace to serious gamers. defensive auto assist are you kiding me?

[hokupguy]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Demo Available Now, Please Post Impressions Here

is it me or this game easy out of the box played the demo twice .1st time as jets blew colts for 49-7 game picked off manning 6 times. Then played again won as the colts 35-14 and got 20 sacks on there QB's.

The only reason i ask if this game is easy because i havent played madden or any football game in early march...

But i do like the improvement in the players speed and there motion captured running. Alot better from the last few try at fixing the players running.

[blklightning]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Demo Available Now, Please Post Impressions Here

^^^ might want to play on a higher difficulty. "out of the box" is defaulted to pro.

however, i have seen manning do some very dumb things on all-pro. once, while protected by a wall of a pocket, he decided to roll to his right where there were no receivers present. then he stood there for 2 seconds until revis, who was in a flat zone, finally decided to take the two steps forward that were necessary to sack him.

im sorry I was really looking forward to madden cause im loving ncaa but this demo is horrible and all these new features are a disgrace to serious gamers. defensive auto assist are you kiding me?

what's the big deal with auto assist. if you just don't do anything when the ball is snapped, the cpu will move your player for you, right? haven't done this in the demo, but i know that's how it worked in past versions. so this seems like a slight step up from that.


my complaint right now is the "i just got unplugged from the matrix" death animation that is triggered when you hit square to dive at the QB. the heck is up with that? i suppose that's yet another odd adjustment made to get more sim results.

[hlhbk]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Demo Available Now, Please Post Impressions Here

im sorry I was really looking forward to madden cause im loving ncaa but this demo is horrible and all these new features are a disgrace to serious gamers. defensive auto assist are you kiding me?

Most if not all of these new features can be turned off.

[PacMan3000]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Demo Available Now, Please Post Impressions Here

Actually, Phil Frazier confirmed that the retail build was only 2 weeks after the demo. Sorry to dissapoint, but gameplay-wise, there won't be many changes between the demo and retail. I really didn't care much about the strategy pad. To me, it would just be something to learn and get used to. I have zero issue with that. I do have an issue with the gameplay. It didn't feel very good at all. I was really disappointed. It still feels very unpolished. I've never purchased an NCAA game before as I am a big NFL fan and not much of an NCAA fan. However, playing the NCAA demo, I felt a polish on the game like I have not experienced in years from an EA Sports title. Madden still feels very unpolished. lots of things that show little attention to detail. Things like the cut scenes, Chris calling Gus Tom, the poor audio dying in between plays, the silly animations, guys running out of bounds, the synchronized running, the lack of a real challenge system, refs stll not throwing flags, the size of the football, sliding, the warping to the ball by receivers and DBs, etc. etc. Admittedly, I'm a converted Madden player. I was a die hard fan until I played 2k football in 2002. I haven't bought a madden game since. I've played all of them and I thought Madden 2005 was an excellent game. I enjoyed 2k5 much more, but still doesn't take away from what the Madden team did that year. So far on this generation, I keep seeing all of these same issues crop up again and again. When I see so few features added, no new innovation, continuous problems with animations, nothing added to highly touted items like pro-tak, adaptive AI and online franchise... I get discouraged. Madden has zero focus. It's ADD each year. Focus on something and really make it polished. Considering this was the year of gameplay, it's rather disturbing to me that they spent over a year on a lot of the gameplay. Really? It's really not very noticeable, at least from the demo. Very stuttery with player movement, the QB passing is still not right. Same problems as before with getting to the QB. He ALWAYS gets rid of the ball before you get him, and you can be dragging him down and he still throws a 100mph rocket right to the receiver. Sorry to be such a downer, but these are just things that can't be ignored.

At this point in football gaming I would have liked to have seen an incredible online league/franchise system. The ability to be a spectator of other games being played in your online league. Fantastic physics based animations with signature styles by players. Massive depth in the ability to manage your team, create/manage playbooks, add a personality to your team. Adaptive AI that follows your tendencies much like the AI did in 2k5, but even better. Make the players look and feel alive, scuffles after the play (see APF 2k8), guys tripping and stumbling from blocks/shoves, guys kneeling down or bent over from fatigue. When it rains/snows, uniforms being torn/dirty, helmets scuffed, etc. etc.

A lot of this stuff isn't even necessarily unprecedented. Not trying to wage comparison war here, but 2k8 has a lot of this. This brings a lot of life to the players. It makes them appear to be living beings. When I see the entire special teams crew of a team all getting up and walking in sync to the sideline, it feels robotic to me and reminds me that this is just a video game.

Commentary. How often do you watch a game on Sunday and the commentators don't talk to each other? I mean, it's obvious that Chris Collinsworth wasn't even brought in to work with Gus Johnson. This is the exclusively licensed NFL game. No "an" NFL licensed game. It's also EA, the endless resource company. Is there really an excuse for this? I can pop in much older games and feel like I am really watching a game on Sunday. How about using the Telestrator to draw on replays and highlight a DB out of position or show how Peyton Manning beat the blitz? That would blow people away and add to the immersion.

Madden wreaks of complacency. It's disappointing to face that fact, but it's there. Even the game's biggest apologists and fanboys cannot deny that fact. The question to be asked is what can be done to change it?

From top to bottom, you nailed my issues with the demo and state of football gaming. Very good post.

[josef]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Demo Available Now, Please Post Impressions Here

I guess I am in the minority, but I like the changes that were made. Not comparing to NCAA or anything else. I think that both are good games.

* Gameflow is a nice addition to the pickup and play gamers that don't care to understand formations. Just want to pick a pass or run play.

* The offense coordinator is kinda cool to make you feel like the sidelines is talking to you.

* Toning down Hit Stick was a good idea. I used to use it crazy and caused so many fumbles. Now i have to make sure I use it at the right angles.

* The Quarterback seems like they are a little faster and pass blocking is better. I swear I could never use Manning because I would be sacked 12 times a game.

* Receivers now get separation and keep it on deep routes. I hit Dallas Clark on a 40 yard over the shoulder grab that look great. Last year the DB would have caught up and tipped it away or it would have been a jump ball.

* Along the same lines as above, sideline catches are good as players try to stay in-bounds

* Locomotion is nice too. Can't wait to see Chris Johnson. Actually my brother will be playing with him, so maybe I can wait.

* I like the little tweaks to the atmosphere. Nothing revolutionary, but the booth review looks better, TD celebrations, and Commentating have been improved. I was up by 3 with like a min left and they showed on the sidelines a few players kneeling and holding hands as they waited for the results.

* The strategy stick is a little confusing, but after 10 games I got the hang of it.



Overall, I liked it and can't wait till it comes out. Hopefully, the Dynasty sim stats are improved ,as they claimed, and I should be all set.

I totally agree with everything you said (especially the bolded stuff). I am really enjoying the passing game compared to NCAA 11.. and i'm loving NCAA. I'm actually looking forward to getting my retail copy on day 1. I doubt I will be using GameFlow though. Interesting concept though..

[Krodis]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Demo Available Now, Please Post Impressions Here

All-Pro is too easy, but running on All-Madden is impossible. None of my blockers can hold a block on All-Madden for more than a split second, resulting most of my run plays being stuffed in the backfield.

[nld230]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Demo Available Now, Please Post Impressions Here

Some of the impressions in this thread are making me worried. Everyone is remarking how much easier it is to run and pass.

I don't want to take some scrub quarterback and throw for 440 yards. Last year the passing was obnoxiously easy. You could throw short routes all game and finish 25 for 26. Now people are claiming that the "deep ball" is back. You should get maybe one deep ball a game, if you are lucky. Seeing so many people happy that you can now bomb the ball downfield just worries me.

The running was still a bit too easy last year as well, imo. Routinely the best rated backs that were user controlled got 16 carries and 138 yards, which should be a rare good performance.

I just want a challenging game. I am getting the demo tonight, but could anyone ease my concerns?

[adembroski]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Demo Available Now, Please Post Impressions Here

just tried the ps3 demo. I liked it but something is just not right. I can't really figure it out. What I did notice right away is the beginning cut scene where Manning is getting off the bus and his head is abnormaly too small for his body. lol.

No, that's accurate. Manning never takes his shoulder pads off.

[SubZero97]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Demo Available Now, Please Post Impressions Here

I like that you can finally beat guys one on one deep. Awesome.

[Adawg69690]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Demo Available Now, Please Post Impressions Here

pretty flippin sweet! gameplay is fluid, and the Gameflow is good because you can just audible out if you don't like the call. Gives it a more realistic feel.

[601lileddy]

i jus feel like the game is to easy to score on

[10yard-Fight]

Game doesn't feel as smooth as M10 to me. May just have to get used to it. I didn't think the strategy pad was bad against the cpu, but when I played my dude... Couldn't get any presnap adjustments.

[Coach Espy]

The field looks immaculate and the gameday audio and music are quite good. It would have been nice to see a broadcast cam available in the demo but the traditional view makes the way the game handles far more rewarding. I am not a huge fan of the player visuals and I think that the broadcast view will help out with that .