Madden NFL 11 Has Bulked Up, But It's Time To Trim The Fat - Review

By James Hawkins in Reviews
Monday, August 16, 2010 at 10:00 am
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Madden 11 makes sure everyone is ready for some football.
​It's that time of year again. It's hot, ESPNU is running last year's big NCAA bowl games day and night, and the newest Madden entry is spinning in disc drives all over the place. It's damn near football season.

Madden NFL 11 has released, and it boasts the same magnificent production as before. The games are big, the music is blaring, and the stadiums are trembling. A New Orleans Saints triumph montage plays at the beginning. It all feels really big.

It is all about additions. EA Tiburon has made sure to reach out to the casual sports gamers by putting in a tool called GameFlow, which removes the coordinating from the games and puts the player right in the quarterback's helmet. It is a mechanic that opens the world of Madden NFL up to everyone. And there are more ways to play it, too, as a three-player cooperative mode has been introduced. But the focus on accessibility has left other issues, long in need of attention, still not dealt with.

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Hide your beagle. Vick's an Eagle.
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As with most years, there are some improvements to the gameplay that threaten to make it perfect. The running game, for instance, is brilliant now. The turbo button has been removed, and the players glide and cut with a natural motor. Each year, the offensive linemen pick up their blocks better and better, and this year is no exception. It is beginning to feel like a sculpted, well-crafted game.

And though I was quite skeptical about the GameFlow system, I can see how anyone with a basic knowledge of football would be able to pick up the game and enjoy it. Last year, and particularly with Madden 09, it took some serious football know-how to put together strong offensive and defensive schemes -- one of the key factors in making the game feel realistic. Now,  you can choose to stay away from the coordinating and execute only predetermined plays: ones that are, most often, strong choices. I personally love trying to out-Chessmaster the opposing team, so I opt to keep my playbooks open. But it is easy to see the success in that realm.

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There are some broken aspects of that game that, year after year, refuse to be fixed. This is a qualm that will be around until the developers can put the kind of effort into the AI that they put into the user mechanics. It feels almost like they don't want to fix the problems, so they can do some for next year and boast great improvements.

For instance, the kick coverage on the return team is horrendous. It is near impossible to get out past the 30 yard line, even with Eddie Royal, who is rated at 99 as a kick returner. When blocking, fullbacks will sprint out a few feet and, if they don't meet a defensive player, just stand there, pretty much asleep to what is going on around them. It isn't game-altering stuff, but it definitely shows why sports games struggle to stand up to the rest of the gaming world when it comes to realism.

But, it is what it is. Another loud, exciting Madden NFL game with its fair share of mechanical problems. It is hard to deny its ability to get the blood pumping, particularly in player vs. player, and the games are as tight as ever. The GameFlow will open up the game to everyone who has been hesitant to try it, and there are some neat game modes available. But, for a game to be truly great, it needs to be more than just big. Right? 

The Official Verdict: 4 out of 5

This review is based on a copy of the game provided by the publisher. 
Tags: madden 11, Review
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