Madden 11 Hits and Misses

by pastapadre
Posted August 24th, 2010 at 11:08 am

With Madden 11 out for two weeks now and having let some of my initial feelings settle with additional play-time I thought it would be interesting to isolate some of the accomplishments in the game along with some areas that it whiffed on. I’ve listed out what I perceive to be the top five hits and top five misses for Madden 11. In addition to this make sure to check out my full impressions and online impressions which present more comprehensive reports on the game. Continue on to check out the top hits and misses and leave your thoughts in the comments!

Hits
Fun Factor
For me this is always a big thing and tends to get overlooked when a game gets analyzed, but due to the the general gameplay enhancements and CPU AI improvements Madden 11 can be extremely fun and very satisfying.

Online Team Play
Though there are some difficulties in terms of setting up games and there is no real incentive to continue playing after the initial “new” feel wears off the mode has a ton of potential. It brings in a totally different focus with communication, strategy, and teamwork being critical to success.

Locomotion
The enhancements to locomotion, though not as obvious as in NCAA, really took Madden to another level on the field. I especially like the “anything can happen” wide-open nature that comes along with it. For too long Madden has at times felt as though it was almost scripted and thankfully that isn’t the case with Madden 11. I also have ended up really liking the removal of a speed burst button which makes the running game more responsive and a blast when in the open field.

GameFlow and GamePlan
Though not perfect (the mobile versions of Madden have superior GameFlow) it did accomplish what it set out to do and that is to make Madden more accessible and the games quicker to play through. I don’t trust it completely and have to audible frequently but I appreciate that it allows for the focus to be on the gameplay instead of rummaging through the playbooks. Setting up a GamePlan can be tedious but it is a nice way to collect favorite plays in one place. Would like to see custom playbooks and/or GamePlan provide the ability to pull plays from all teams and not just one.

Atmosphere and Audio
For the first year with a new broadcaster EA did a remarkable job with Gus Johnson. Obviously there is a lot of work to be done to mesh him with Cris Collinsworth and better blend Gus’ audio dependent on situations with player names and the action being called fitting properly with his voice level and enthusiasm. Bringing in the team specific crowd chants and fight songs also made a big difference. The more of these touches EA can add in the better as they really connect fans with the emotions had from watching real NFL games. Going forward though a home-field advantage and different stadium noise levels should be considered.

Misses
Pro-Tak
The tackling is certainly a weakness this year, with support from teammates being largely ineffective. The number of broken tackles are alarming and not just from players that you’d expect would be tough to take down. This is one of the big reasons why the games trend towards offense having the advantage.

Online Design Decisions
Allowing for people to quit in the first half of games with no repercussions (other than DNF%) and those getting quit on not getting a win or even the chance to play out vs the CPU was a baffling decision. Madden Ultimate Team being in an even worse position with people able to quit at any point, even seconds remaining, and it is like the game never even took place for both parties. Both have since been resolved. EA removed the ability to play friends or challenge others in lobby rooms to ranked games. The kick meter faces some big lag issues which is bad enough that even extra points are occasionally missed. GameFlow sometimes helps to speed games up, other times it just means more waiting around if an opponent chooses to bypass it. There is no central profile to check up on your own record, results, and stats.

Swagger
The “Swagger” rating (sponsored by Old Spice) was supposed to lead to auto-celebrations depending on the player’s rating. However the actual celebrations have been disappointing, outside of the Lambeau Leap. When I saw Chad Johnson catch and run for an 80 yard TD and stop, just stand there, and not celebrate in any way I questioned the effectiveness of “Swagger”. The emotion after scoring TDs seems to be largely missing which is disappointing. The cut scene celebrations often involve players who have no business being there and the “jumping around and into each other” thing got old the first day.

DLC/Coins
This year the downloadable content strategy in Madden 11 has taken a turn to the obnoxious and offensive. “Coins” can be used to purchase online play scouting reports, cheats/boosts in franchise mode and Online Team Play, support Madden Ultimate Team mode, and will be used to purchase upcoming Madden Moments Live weekly offerings. Providing a competitive advantage online to those who pay for it is the worst part of all this.

Isolated Issues That Stand Out
There are a number of problems that on their own can really damage the overall experience. The change to the “Strategy Pad” is one many have disliked. But issues with Play-Action (pretty much calling for a sack), kick return blocking (non-existent), CPU kickers in weather (they miss most field goals and even some extra points), and QB Storylines (one tends to play for most matchups) are impossible to ignore.

Tags: hits and misses, impressions, latest news

Anonymous

Missing: DEFENSE

It’s part of the game too. I love the open feel of offense, but there’s a way to have that and still keep the balance that was there last year where I had confidence that I could make a stop. Overall I really like the game, but it would be so much better if both sides of the ball were fun.
GeeWiz

A perfect example of this, DB and no A.I. : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo4y6ya9HvU
sorry i keep reverting to youtube; but this huy seems to have a lot of the issues captured for visual referrence.
GeeWiz

So, they never knew they had this problem before they shipped the GAME! And now we have to wait until they are finished they holidays to get a patch? Oh, boy; i’ll be playing NHL11 by then…Madden11 whatever.
http://www.woodsidemediagroup.com/ Amani

Nice article. I would agree with you that Gus Johnson added is a “hit”. They need to spend more time with him adding more phrases and sayings and make it more natural.

I would say that one of the main MISSES is all playbooks. Just no diversity or true authenticity. What happened to the old playbooks of Madden ’08, ’07?? Those were deep and had variety and matched with the teams. These playbooks are watered down and unacceptable. A NG system should have a LARGER playbook and not smaller ones.
Qwerty

New REAL NBA 2K11 vid out from Ronnie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9eJ6OwUkjA
Legendoflegends

Good write….this game is GARBAGE, period.
Legendoflegends

I didn’t find it fun, even the games I won online I felt like the game was cheesy as hell. U can throw passes between 5 defenders with QB’s throwing the ball 200mph. U can break tackles with any running back, but I guess this is EA way of saying, “WE IMPROVE THE RUN GAME”..So now everybody can have success on the ground, regardless of skill, team, or back. this is EA’s way of making the game simpler. Bottom line, the game is wack, no where near realistic and the Dev’s need to be fired or replaced.

Bring on NBA 2k11 please!!! I’m boycotting Madden 11 this year fo’ sho
Megamante360

why does it take a month and a half for a patch for such obvious things?
Rda03c

I remember if there was a player who took control of a wideout or DB, and made plays, then that player had skills – hands down. Now, anyone can do it – it’s not even part of an elite skill-set anymore. If this is your first year playing Madden then, basically, your a pro and have elite stick-skills.

If Phil or Ian are a part of the Dev team for Madden 12 they’ve lost me as a consumer. As a longtime fan, I’m just so utterly disappointed and disenfranchised with the game.
Joeyland

The most telling thing in this years Madden is that the first thing most users do is turn off the new features, the older “new” features have mostly been eliminated, or moved off of default.
All the backs have similar running styles, all the receivers have real limitations in choosing the proper catch animation, all the QB trow the same, and play action doesnt work,
… sounds like real progress
sheredia

yep…i’m seein’ alot more broken tackles this year….maybe even too much.
Tnt from BK

kick returns & punt returns take more good angle use. Its just fine 2 me. I get at least 2 TD returns every game online. Work on it. Trust me, kick return and punt return TDz are very gratifying when u find those lanes and alleys and hit em lightening fast for the break away. it actually takes some skill this year. Madden this year has a very slight learning curve that will eventually straighten out for you. Even tackling becomes rewarding once you catch the timing. I pop more RBz & WRz than jiffy pop popcorn!!!
Anonymous

For all the positives you mentioned I still can’t believe that they are allowing games to be released with the problems that you addressed. There are too many things in the game that are simply broken. I mean come on. You can’t call a play action unless you want to be sacked, nobody blocks on kick returns, and the tackling is a joke. This isn’t anything resembling real football. This happens year after year yet the NHL and FIFA teams have put out consistently quality games for the past 3 or so years. How anyone can consider this anything other than an arcade football experience is beyond me.
Joe0552

Pasta you really have hit the nail on the head. I can only add this, a majority of the time the offensive line blocking is horrible. I play with the Raiders, and yes I do know their offensive line sucks but as you detailed in your impressions, more often than not offensive linemen will just move out of the way letting a defensive lineman run right through. This not only happens on play action, but also on run plays. Yes I understand that it does happen in the NFL but not as often as this. I did play with some better teams (Vikings, Saints) and found the same results. In taking some good steps forward the Madden team has definitely taken some steps back which hurt my overall enjoyment of the game. I can only hope this problem and the ones you stated are being addressed in a patch.
Joe0552

Sorry two more things. Why can’t Madden have more than one broadcast team? Keep Gus, pair him with Collinsworth or maybe someone else from NFL Network but also bringing in actors to add two more teams. This way you get a lot more variety and you don’t have to pay big money to any “talent”. Just like on Sundays, the other broadcast teams can handle the “normal” schedule games. For example when your team gets a Monday night, Sunday Night or “game of the week” you get Gus and Collinsworth any other time you get the generic broadcast team.

Also, they need to really do some tweeking to offline and online franchise modes. They left the same background with the “Extra Point” logo…how lazy can you get? Give us a real free agent period. Have teams let players go because of age and money concerns. Have teams fire coaches more often. Also us to create our own coaches. Give us a real draft atmosphere. Add the NFL Network into the game already because ESPN would cost too much money.

Anyway, those are just more thoughts on future maddens.
Chrisweber5187

@ (I fear we will never see a true sim football game again.)

We will once EA’s NFL License runs out and they either step it up, or get pummeled by 2K. 2 or three more years on the license, correct?
Chrisweber5187

that $hit happens on NCAA too. i can’t even play on heisman anymore because it takes 3 or 4 tackle attempts to take down a 180 pound running back and what should be a tackle for a 1 or 2 yard loss ends up as a 10-15 yard play
Chrisweber5187

Im so sick of getting a good jump on the ball, being right in the RB’s face when he gets the hand off, flicking the hit stick, and not making the tackle. It’s so annoying, like the defender doesn’t even react to the running back getting the ball. He just whiffs right by
X2KFootballG0dX

Madden has always been trash. They improve the graphics in the cut scenes and the sheep totally forget the sub-standard gameplay…smh

Don’t buy this polished turd…BOMB it…Then the exclusive will go away…stop being so damn gullible.

You don’t want to be another DALEY, do you?????
Ramsfan

its funny because these guys have photos too, IM LOOKING AT YOU MARDY GILYARD AND LAURENT ROBINSON. both have dreads in their pictures yet they are nowhere to be seen in game. considering Gilyard is famous for those dreads too…
Wedgie

its the removal of the wedge. we’ll see averages go down in real life too.
Rude Boy

The problem with Madden is all awareness. Run blocking is improved however there still issues where the AI seems clueless & no1 gets blocked. Same on defense DBs & LBs won’t make a play on the ball as it comes towards them. D linemen tend to have better hands than any1 else on the defense in my experience. Awareness is why PA is no longer effective you can successfully run the ball call PA & its as if the D isn’t aware that they need to defend the run. I think the problem is simple EA is getting greedy trying to capture the “casual” fan & while doing so they’re alienating the hardcore fan I bought Madden 11 & enjoy it only bc I am a NFL fan however I won’t purchase it next year until the hardcore fan is the focal point.
Kurupt_az

Some excellent ideas that they should include next year. A practice squad would be nice to have as well. I wish they would also improve the arch on the ball. Too many throws hit lineman or get knocked down on short to medium passes. Also the punting needs some work. Can’t put the ball very high and get good distance like the best punters can.
apparently I’m furious

Because hiring playtesters cuts into the bottom line. Companies know they can dump that stuff off on their users. Why hire an adequate Q+A team when your users will pay to find the bugs for you? It’s no coincidence that QA went to pot as soon as console games gained the ability to be patched after release.
apparently I’m furious

How about some basic fundamentals for you “isolated issues” Padre? The engine is still fundamentally flawed. Until they fix the 3-4 half the teams in the league can’t even play D properly. Wide receivers and DBs can still magically react to balls they haven’t seen, can still catch/swat at balls behind them without turning around (and I’m not talking to over-the-shoulder rainbows), you can still turn a hitch into a go by throwing the ball early (how did the wideout know I was going to do that?! He hasn’t even turned around yet but boom, there’s the over-the-shoulder basket catch.) etc etc etc.

You have a pretty big megaphone here and until you’re willing to actually advocate that the game itself should work properly in all facets — rather than playing along with EA’s game and judging it on whatever piddly crap they added this year — you’re doing people a disservice. I mean people go on about WRs finally making sideline catches as though we should be stoked that it only took five years. Come on, man.
apparently I’m furious

They’ll just cough up more cash to renew it. The only hope is that either a) someone looks at the American Needle lawsuit and decides to try to take the exclusivity deal to court, or b) the NFL becomes convinced that the despite the cash it brings in, Madden is so shitty that it’s ultimately hurting the NFL brand. Probably the only way that happens is if some prominent video-game-playing athlete does an interview or something where they take a dump on Madden. In all likelihood it’ll be EA’s exclusive license for decades to come and the “take what you get and be grateful” approach to sim football will continue.

The best hope for a decent sim football game is that Madden 11 continues to do poorly, EA figures out there are only so many people who are going to buy a sports video game no matter what they do and as a result go back to catering to the diehards who will buy it every year as long as it looks like they’re *trying* to do sim football. So you want Madden to suck less next year? Tell everyone who will listen not to buy it.
apparently I’m furious

Uhh, sadly the D biting on play-action has nothing to do with how well your run game is doing. I try to force myself to be “sim” enough to call PA when it would be appropriate anyway, but it’s strictly a matter of the D’s awareness/play recognition against the QB’s PA ability. You can get the D to bite on PA without running a single rushing play all game.
apparently I’m furious

Right. The only way PA is viable in ’11 is with a mobile qb on a designed rollout, AND the play has to include a crossing route. Take the snap, continue sprinting in the direction of the rollout once you gain control, and hit the guy on the crossing route. I honestly don’t know which is worse for realism, having PA == sack or having it succeed as a gimmick play. Hopefully they can patch this but why were they screwing with it in the first place?
apparently I’m furious

Yeah, it’s pathetic. All-Pro seems to be the best AI EA can offer, so rather than having a smarter AI give you a greater challenge they start gimping your own players. Trying to win a game that’s only difficult because my wideouts drop a 5-yard hitch 3/4 of the time isn’t my idea of fun.
Anonymous

basically its madden 11.5 thats all i see it as. gus johnson is cool but sometimes his commentary is just weird like what he says with certain teams when they score. but all madden is is madden 10 with locomotion and no defensive pressure and people cannot man up.
failz

Yea but pasta is just as spineless at the people over at EA. I wouldn’t get your hopes up if I were you.
Nphillyk

Yes man, we feel your pain. All Madden is completely unenjoyable this year. I’m really interested to know how you even won the game that you did win because I usually end up just turning off my PS3 after 3 quarters of being cheated. I play with the 49ers and it is well known that we have some of the fastest LBs in real life and on the game. Despite this and the fact that our run D was top 10 in the NFL in real life, I still cannot stop mediocre backs. The good ones just look like Jim Brown or Barry Sanders against me. Deangelo Williams ran for 198 yards in 3 quarters against me. He had 134 yards after first contact. Mind you, I usually control Patrick Willis (99 Ovr) on D and got to him in the backfield several times with no success at actually bringing him down. If it weren’t for gang tackles, I would probably have never EVER tackled him one time. Another thing about All Madden is the WR dropped passes. Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree drop EVERY single pass. And I wouldn’t even attempt to throw to Ted Ginn whether he is open or not.
Nphillyk

Yeah man, I’ve been watching my guys who are 89 OVR (Justin Smith) and 90 OVR (Aubrayo Franklin) get pushed off the ball on EVERY play by AVERAGE lineman. And my linebackers can’t even shed blocks untilt he running back has gained at least 7 yards on the play already.
Buc

Although Pasta’s comments give the impression that Madden is not as good of an experience as NCAA, I have both and can tell you that although NCAA Online Dynasty is a great experience, Madden gameplay feels much more realistic and all 7 of my players in our NCAA and Madden leagues agree that Madden is by far the better game. It just doesn’t have some things online like we would have hoped for. The on-the-field experience is second to none. Just our take.
Buc

That’s not the experience in our league online at all. Nor is it the experience of my offline franchise in which I’ve adjusted the sliders. I am getting realistic scores and it’s a blast. You cannot just turn on the game and play on All-Madden level, which is what I done when I first got the game. It took me about two series to figure out the A.I. and breaking tackles must be adjusted.
Buc

I think it’s a blast of fun. Sorry you do not. You must have not found a good set of sliders for the game.
Gak

I think the run game is spot on. You now really have to pick the right plays to stop the run. Also you have to use a LB or Safety this year to hit the right gap or least force the RB to change direction. Even if you LB or Safety does not make the tackle they can slow down the runner so other guys can make the hit.

There are a lot of broken tackles but the replays in the video show a lot of bad angles on the defense when making a tackle. The guy is consistently using a defensive lineman and was running a Cover 3 defense on most of the plays. Cover three opens a lot holes up the gut. You pretty much have to run defensive plays that will fill the gap. Man defense helps especially if your MLB is assigned to the Halfback. He is already keying on the guy. Man QB spy works great as well. One guy is assigned to the half back and the MLB who is spying the QB will go for the ball carrier. QB Containment will stop sweeps dead in the tracks as the DE are already waiting on them when the ball carrier takes it to the outside.
Buc

I agree on the long-drawn out playaction passes, however I do think there is more merit to establishing the run combined with line shifting. I’ve used line Shift (Spread) on many of my recent play-action passes and the pressure has not been near as great. I have adjusted sliders as well so the combo has made playaction passes work for my franchise. Overall I see the gripe, but I know there are ways around it.
Buc

I can tell you how. It’s through slider adjustment. I’ve been playing on All-Madden for the last couple weeks, and when you lower the break tackle ratings for the cpu, along with a few other tweaks, the game is fun. I’ve still got the break-tackle rating higher than most, but I want the cpu to break a few here or there. If break tackle is set too low, you’ll shut down even the best of cpu running games if you have good stick skills.
Buc

Lower the cpu break tackles just alittle bit bud.
Buc

Sliders must be tweaked fellas.
Buc

YOU can fix the issues regarding breaking tackles. Just lower the cpu sliders on break tackles, it’s that simple. If you guys want a good set of sliders then check out the link below. It’s a great start for hardcore madden gamers. Keyword hardcore.

http://www.operationsports.com/vBulletin/madden-nfl-football-sliders/434385-mike32ownz-sim-sliders-auto-sub-sliders.html
Buc

I disagree. Madden 11 is a much improved game over Madden 10, which was the best madden of all-time and the majority agree with that statement. If Madden 10 is the best ever, and madden 11 is better interms of gameplay, then it’s still a great game. Maybe some of you were just looking for a night/day improvement, but there are many things in the game and most on-the-field that are different in not just a good way, but a great way over last years game.

If some of you are just turning on the game and playing the game without adjusting sliders at all, then that’s your first mistake. Just like every game every year, sliders must be adjusting to improve the experience because everyone is different as to how good they are. Some (Most) Madden gamers are not that knowledgeable as to X’s and O’s, and most do not understand down and distance, and the high percentage playcalls that come along with moving the chains. All-Madden is the most challenging level Madden has ever had, and I think it should be. Nobody should be able to turn on that level and dominate, and I love that aspect of the game now.

Out of the gate the game cannot be played str8 up on All-Madden. Break Tackle sliders must be adjusted, and when they are the game becomes instantly winnable even if all you do is adjust the break tackles slider and that’s it.

I’m just not sure how some of you can hate the game. It just doesn’t make much sense to me personally. The game is addictively fun, but if you’re just a casual player then I can see where the enjoyment is just not there as much.

If you’re hardcore, you got everything you need. Slider adjustments that work, substitions (individual) on the fly at all times, defensive assignments, hot routing both on defense and offense, I mean, you got it all.

That’s the part I hate about college. The SIM experience is not there mainly due to not being able to substitute guys at anytime. I cannot assign my best CB to a certain player at all times, and I cannot individually sub my players on the fly and it’s very frustrating.

Madden has it all, and aside from a few negatives that you will always find, it’s a fantastic game. It’s the best football game I’ve ever played.
Buc

If you guys want some good sliders, the link below is a perfect start. The sliders are located on the first page of the forum.

http://www.operationsports.com/vBulletin/madden-nfl-football-sliders/434385-mike32ownz-sim-sliders-auto-sub-sliders.html
sheredia

maybe EA and 2k can make a deal……EA does not renew their NFL license and 2k does not renew their MLB license.
Michael

Quicker, Simpler, Deeper?

Very little defense this year. If you don’t sack the qb watch out because there is zero coverage on the back end. Defending the run is next to impossible outside of the red zone.

Games are not any quicker. The game is simpler if you don’t call plays and are fine with a score of 49 to 49 due to ZERO defense. Deeper because you’ll go into OT and read the new OT rules.

Graphics look great, sideline catches are sweet, locomotion will be nice as it’s refined. As a whole this version of madden missed the mark.
LHR witness

biggest miss of all: online franchise still sucks.
Joeyland

The bottom line with Madden is its not going to reward good football strategy, it will however reward foolish play.
Establish the run, go playaction-no effect, generally leads to sacks
Force your opponent to trow to a covered receiver—complete, broken tackle, touchdown, (uasually with a little guy like Welker.

And how long will it take for Madden to allow u to highlight the closest player to the ball?
This hasn’t worked right ever on the current consoles.
Jimmy_j_22

this is the worst version yet. . the defensive AI is non-existent. . half the time a defensive player will not react to a player entering their coverage zone. or a safety wont step forward on a rusher until 5 yards past the line of scrimmage. . .theres zero reaction. . .wich makes it impossible to defend a talented online offensive opponent
Jimmy_j_22

another bug. . . .if im trying to kill the clock. . if u let the play clock run down to about 20 then pick a play. . .when u go to the field the game glock will run off the designated 15 seconds but the play clock remains at 20. . .so your running off an extra 15 seconds every play. . (online – head to head. not sure about others)