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Madden NFL 12 Hands-On Impressions (LeagueManager)

05:10 PM - May 19, 2011 by Steve_OS

Casey Mosier of LeagueManager has posted some impressions of Madden NFL 12 from his time at EA Tiburon.

Quote:


	"During my week in Orlando visiting EA Tiburon studio, I, along with other members of the Madden community, had the opportunity to get extensive play time on Madden NFL 12. At the end of the week, we each tallied up around 30 hours of play time amongst the different modes and features, Derek and I focused on game play improvements as well as offline "Franchise" mode. Now that Josh Looman has released the offline franchise improvements, I would like to take a little closer look at some of the new gameplay improvements as well as the offline franchise additions. In the following few passages I will go into further detail on the upgrades that have put Madden NFL 12 at the top of my list for "must have, day 1 purchases" for 2011."

Member Comments

# 21 SeahawkNMD @ 05/20/11 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScriptOhio


	15 per Season! Then its 12 or 15 for the combine, 8 I think for pro days, and I believe 5 for individual workouts

So do you just select your 15 in season prospects and they give you the applicable stats on them or you select them at the beginning of the season and they give you updates per week?

# 22 mrmass413 @ 05/20/11 06:14 AM

Sounds like franchise is all well...how was the dynamic lighting during the game and the commentary

# 23 guaps @ 05/20/11 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScriptOhio


	Actually yes! I did notice Browns long snapped Ryan Pontbriand was.on the roster!

Do you remember if he had LS as his position, or was he listed at a random o-line position? Because if he isn't a true LS by position and there is no rating for long snapping or no animations for missed\poor long snaps, I guess these players would be the first ones you'd cut.

# 24 chen_sc @ 05/20/11 07:11 AM

any new commentary/PA elements?
has the in-game presentation been improved? out of town scores, franchise stats etc...

# 25 LorenzoDC @ 05/20/11 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScriptOhio


	15 per Season! Then its 12 or 15 for the combine, 8 I think for pro days, and I believe 5 for individual workouts

That's seems kinda low, no? I wonder if that's the final build formula.

# 26 GrnEyedBanditTN @ 05/20/11 10:50 AM

Sounds promising!

# 27 ch46647 @ 05/20/11 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScriptOhio


	Yes in game presentation has improved, it has the look of what you see on Sundays. Imo some of the stat overlays look better than what you see on Sunday's. Commentary was only partial in the builds we tested. They had yet to install it fully in game which is the norm. Not sure I can comment on any of your other suggestions.

Two very important things to me regarding atmosphere are:

1. Crowd noise- Has this made a huge jump this year? It seems like every other sports game has really nailed this aspect of the game with a dynamic sounding crowd that sounds real and reacts to appropriate situations on the field. Madden crowds have been absolutely terrible and completely take me out of the "gameday" experience.

2. GREAT to hear that you really like the stat banners! My question is, do you see alot of them? Stat banners should pop up for both offensive and defensive stats multiple times a drive. I think PS2 did a great job with this aspect of presentation. Their stat banners looked great and there were a ton of them.

Thanks in advance if you can answer these!

# 28 guaps @ 05/20/11 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScriptOhio


	Yes, the Browns long snapped had a position. Can't remember what though, maybe tight end

So... long snappers ARE in the game (or at least their name is in) but they are NOT listed as long snappers. Poor guys. They've been ignored by EA for years and when they finally get in the game, they are not even playing as long snappers.

# 29 LorenzoDC @ 05/20/11 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScriptOhio


	Definitely unsure of that as the final build hasn't been achieved... Or atleast while we were there. But I like the lower scouting numbers. It adds more mystery and risk/reward elements.

To me it's a question of balance. NFL teams do have more information about more potential draftees than just their predicted draft rounds.

If the only way to know more than that for franchise mode is to use the few scouting slots you've described, that gives you information about a very few incoming rookies and then. . . what? What information, if any, do you have about guys you have not directly scouted in some form?

If it's just projected round, that seems pretty weak and unrealistic to me.

# 30 dougdeuce @ 05/20/11 11:35 AM

The 15 scouting positions probably work like they did in the past where you can scout a guy for 3-4 weeks and then choose to scout someone else. You get less info, but a larger pool of players that you know something about.

# 31 LorenzoDC @ 05/20/11 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougdeuce


	The 15 scouting positions probably work like they did in the past where you can scout a guy for 3-4 weeks and then choose to scout someone else. You get less info, but a larger pool of players that you know something about.

That would work for me, but it sounded like you got to pick 15 and that's it. Done. Forget scouting anyone else during the season.

# 32 BezO @ 05/20/11 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScriptOhio


	No game is EVER going to satisfy 100% of the consumer focus group. The fact is that most of the things people have asked for are in the game. The absolute fact of the matter is that this game blows Madden 11 away, to the point where I can no longer play Madden 11. The bad thing is that no matter what they do, there will always a group on here that nit picks everything and claims the game is unplayable due to something like "one shoestring is longer than the other" for example. It's not about awesome sauce.... It's about having confidence in the product based on factual information and hands on play testing.

How was the pass rush? Are DEs getting up the field as quick as they should? Are pockets forming?

How are runs to the outside? I haven't seen the engaged player mobility I've been looking for that would help the defense flow towards outside runs while engaged. Do outside runs still end up one-on-ones with DBs too often? Do OLBs have to "win" the engagement before they can pursue?

Are the stunts fixed? Are the twist tighter with the 1st d-lineman attempting to engage 2 o-lineman and the 2nd d-lineman taking a tighter route to beat the adjustment? Or do the d-linemen still aimlessly cross, taking long paths to the QB?

Notice any change for deep passes? Do QBs attempt to arc the ball deep enough for WRs to run under?

How's the safety play? Are safeties turning and running with deep routes or are they always too deep, having to come up to defend deep passes?

Any evidence of contain logic by the defense? Are DEs & OLBs attempting to keep plays inside?

Did you notice any improvements to defensive alignment? In prior years, defenses often allow themselves to be outflanked by offensive formations, leaving the outside wide open.

Any special teams additions? New punt/kick returns? Real double teams on gunners?

Was there ANYTHING you didn't like? I'm also leary of reviews that seem to love everything.

# 33 RGiles36 @ 05/20/11 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScriptOhio


	Yes in game presentation has improved, it has the look of what you see on Sundays. Imo some of the stat overlays look better than what you see on Sunday's.

A very big deal to me

...

I would like the crowd noise to once be impressive though. The chants were nice last year...but without them being amped up, it's hard to appreciate them.

# 34 Only1LT @ 05/20/11 01:06 PM

Thanks for the post, though I got little out of the write up.

Considering he said that they spent 30hrs with the game, I expected a more in depth Gameplay preview.

# 35 Only1LT @ 05/20/11 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmorg


	Eh, they also haven't had months to sit down and pound through season after season to find flaws. All they were able to do was play around with the new mode and see all the flashy new stuff. Probably to in-depth for the amount of time they got to get a real feel for it. All I know is that there is change, and I think this is all change we can believe in.

I've been playing Madden since 92. I'm sure the author has been playing for a long time as well. They had 30hrs with the game. If there are any issues with a Madden game, I can assure you that I could find them in much, much less time than that. I might only need 30mins.

# 36 Only1LT @ 05/20/11 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScriptOhio


	No game is EVER going to satisfy 100% of the consumer focus group. The fact is that most of the things people have asked for are in the game. The absolute fact of the matter is that this game blows Madden 11 away, to the point where I can no longer play Madden 11. The bad thing is that no matter what they do, there will always a group on here that nit picks everything and claims the game is unplayable due to something like "one shoestring is longer than the other" for example. It's not about awesome sauce.... It's about having confidence in the product based on factual information and hands on play testing.

A little over the top, don't you think?

# 37 Bfreecloud @ 05/20/11 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BezO


	How was the pass rush? Are DEs getting up the field as quick as they should? Are pockets forming? How are runs to the outside? I haven't seen the engaged player mobility I've been looking for that would help the defense flow towards outside runs while engaged. Do outside runs still end up one-on-ones with DBs too often? Do OLBs have to "win" the engagement before they can pursue? Are the stunts fixed? Are the twist tighter with the 1st d-lineman attempting to engage 2 o-lineman and the 2nd d-lineman taking a tighter route to beat the adjustment? Or do the d-linemen still aimlessly cross, taking long paths to the QB? Notice any change for deep passes? Do QBs attempt to arc the ball deep enough for WRs to run under? How's the safety play? Are safeties turning and running with deep routes or are they always too deep, having to come up to defend deep passes? Any evidence of contain logic by the defense? Are DEs & OLBs attempting to keep plays inside? Did you notice any improvements to defensive alignment? In prior years, defenses often allow themselves to be outflanked by offensive formations, leaving the outside wide open. Any special teams additions? New punt/kick returns? Real double teams on gunners? Was there ANYTHING you didn't like? I'm also leary of reviews that seem to love everything.

"I'm also leary of reviews that seem to love everything."
agreed, we get this "i loved everything" review every year.

# 38 RGiles36 @ 05/20/11 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Only1LT


	If there are any issues [that I have]* with a Madden game, I can assure you that I could find them in much, much less time than that. I might only need 30mins.*

Fixed.

It's easy to sit back and analyze issues that you yourself may have with the game. If locomotion is your thing, you'll know fairly soon whether it's up to your standards as you'll have an eye out for it. But you're not going to cover all of the bases for the generic Madden consumer in 30 mins, 60 mins, 90 mins, 1 day, a week, whatever. We're all similar in what we want from a NFL game, but we're all very different as well.

# 39 jmurphy31 @ 05/20/11 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScriptOhio


	Yes in game presentation has improved, it has the look of what you see on Sundays. Imo some of the stat overlays look better than what you see on Sunday's. Commentary was only partial in the builds we tested. They had yet to install it fully in game which is the norm. Not sure I can comment on any of your other suggestions.

Are there more than just QB's in the Intro and are there pop up stat banners in game with players heads on it. Also, are other players besides QB's highlighted in stat banners before halftime..>thanks in advance if you can answer these

# 40 Only1LT @ 05/20/11 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgiles36


	Fixed. It's easy to sit back and analyze issues that you yourself may have with the game. If locomotion is your thing, you'll know fairly soon whether it's up to your standards as you'll have an eye out for it. But you're not going to cover all of the bases for the generic Madden consumer in 30 mins, 60 mins, 90 mins, 1 day, a week, whatever. We're all similar in what we want from a NFL game, but we're all very different as well.

Not sure what the point of this post is. Maybe Roadman, jeremy, and Armor can enlighten me?

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