2/2

Madden’s Bread-and-Butter
Madden’s bread-and-butter, the 'Franchise Mode' has been more finely tuned with several adjustments that might seem like a bunch of minor deals, although for all those who put in endless hours in the franchise mode, it makes a world of difference. Without going crazy with detail here are few of the adjustments: Re-created draft classes boasting over 8000 rookies with new names, ratings, and potential. Improved realism to simulation statistics. Adjusted contract values (players sign for less, will resign for the most money) and increased salary caps. These little tweaks are appreciated, but isn't about time Madden put a some more effort into updating this mode? When you see other areas of the series getting silly add-ons and readjusted, it feels strange that Madden's livelihood is skipped over. Bringing in casual gamers is fine, but what about the core audience?

Online
Much like Madden’s franchise mode, the online portion has become a staple in the Madden series. Online, Madden is like a whole other beast that provides endless hours of gaming. Venturing online in 'Madden NFL 11' we also seeing some changes, which introduces a new online experience called ‘Online Team Play’ and another labelled ‘Madden Ultimate Team.’ Online team play is a 3-on-3 co-op mode puts each player in control of a certain facet within a team, split as the running back, quarterback, and receivers. This mode can be enjoyed against one another, or more invitingly teamed up against the CPU. This mode is extremely fun with friends and will test you communication to work as a team. No lonewolfs, no constant bombing here.

The other new mode is ‘Madden Ultimate Team,’ which is patched into the game is a strange Madden-esq card game that has earning points and assembling the ultimate team Madden. The cards are broken down into players, coaches, playbook moves and more. The goal, create a great team and start winning. At first your team will be undervalued, however you will have enough cards to get going. To keep you invested in this mode is options to buy new card packs, search out weekly deals, and auction out cards for an improved deck. Even as interesting as this mode sounds its more of a niche option that will entice collectors more then anyone. I’m sure any long time Madden fan will tell you that all this creativeness and manpower could have been spent in other areas of the game. Oh well, if Pokémon can do it, why not John Madden.

This is How You Do It
The presentation and audio are on the top of their game filling out every angle to bring the real life feeling of the game into your console. Several little touches help portray this feeling including impressive pre-game analysis (over 100 quarterback match-ups) and random shots of the action pre-game in and outside the stadium. As always the animations have been tweaked, although, only the most dedicated Madden fans will likely notice. If anything, Madden will seem less robotic to the end user, which is great.

Along with a tighter focus on the animations you will see more variation in the crowd comprising fan jerseys of the top players, improved resolution and weather specific outerwear. The attendance of the stadium also dynamically shifts based on history and you in-game record. What else? Well, a few minor additions to edit your player, reworked models of coaches and a few other alterations to broaden the games representation to the real deal. The only negative comment I can attach to the graphics is minor hiccups in the framerate, but it’s nothing too irritating and is ultimately forgettable.

Treating your ears, Gus Johnson has recorded over 10’000 lines of dialogue for his new role of Madden’s new play-by-play man. Gus along side Collinsworth is a good combo that shows how much a slight change can make a difference. For an even sharper reproduction of the real-deal authentic sounds from a number of stadiums has been added, so expect to see more variation among cities with all new audio sounds. This year more then others has shaken things up, which is great. Madden is already a solid game, and although it could use a little tweak here and there (namely the commentary flow) it’s a solid showing and one of the better sounding sports games.

Madden NFL 11 follows through with its marketing mantra of SIMPLER, QUICKER, and DEEPER. Now more accessible to newcomers, Madden NFL 11 will quickly get you in-and-out of each game without loosing any of its classic simulation feel. That being said, not much has been done to make Madden appealing to the hardcore crowd that patiently waits for Madden to switch gears away from appeasing the general gaming population. Nevertheless, Madden NFL 11 superb, there is just no way around it. If you like football, then Madden NFL 11 is a must have.

Reviewed by Downtown Jimmy | 08.11.10

		Gameflow makes Madden more accessible Speed of the game has been inimitably improved Production values have been up’d again, what a knockout! Digging the auto-sprint Gus Johnson is a welcomed voice to the commentary team Love the new 3-on-3 multiplayer mode. No “I” in team. If you love football, you can’t go wrong
		What’s with all the menus? menu system is disorienting We like the “GameFlow” idea, just not sure about all the calls Game Planning isn’t as user friendly as we would like Madden Ultimate Team, a waste of development time? The new features might not impress the hardcore audience

Similar Games: Madden NFL 07 (8.0) | Madden NFL 10 (8.7) | Madden NFL 13 (8.2)