First Impressions: Madden NFL 11 demo

I’ve spent some time with the Xbox Live demo for Madden NFL 11 and, yes, I plan to purchase it August 10, 2010. (There aren’t many things that could stop me any way.)

I won’t go into a rant about EA’s monopoly on pro football here. That is what it is. Buying this game is one of the ways football fans get ready for the season, as important as fantasy football drafts and tailgate parties. Madden is accused of not switching things up, sometimes to the point of unfairness.

This year, EA has definitely shaken some things up.

Go With the Gameflow

Critics have called this a dressed-up version of “Ask Madden.” John Madden said one of the reasons he agreed to do a videogame was because he thought it was a great teaching tool. Madden NFL 11 has the ability to do that. The AI coach helps me feel a little like a quarterback out there. He not only tells you to run a halfback sweep, he tells you why. As with Ask Madden, I sometimes disagree vehemently with the play calling. I was using the Jets and Shonn Greene was tearing things up on the ground. The offensive coordinator kept wanting me to rely on the less-than-proven arm of Mark Sanchez.

I didn’t like that Gameflow doesn’t show you the name of the play it just called. That was more control over my offense than I cared to surrender. I know there are plenty of gamers who can recognize all the plays instantly, but I don’t think they’re the ones Gameflow is targeting.

Just Stick to the Gameplan

This will be the best use of Gameflow over the long run. Most players use only a fraction of the plays in their book anyway. Once you’ve set all of those into your gameplan, I do expect games to go really fast. That’s especially true once you take the occasional ragequit into account. The demo also mentions scouting features that let you know your opponents’ tendencies. I’m fine with that if it’s free. I’ve got a sneaking suspicion EA might try to charge for it.

The Strategy Pad

A lot of veteran players loathe this feature that maps pre-snap adjustments to the D-pad. I rarely make any pre-snap adjustments, so it did not bother me in the least. I am curious to see how tournament level Madden players feel. If anybody figures out how to make multiple adjustments quickly, it will be them. People on the fence about it will likely just keep playing Madden 10.

There have already been many complaints about the game, as there always are. Bottom line, I’ll be on at 12:01 a.m. (or soon thereafter) playing Madden 11 and I don’t expect to have too much problem finding a game.

Madden NFL 11 will be available on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and PlayStation Portable August 10, 2010.

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