Madden NFL 12 Demo Now Available

My impressions:

I found the defensive improvements to be absolutely stellar. I can now call a multitude of different plays instead of locking people up in man all day. The  Bears O Line is absolutely awful and I get killed trying anything beyond 15 yards. Every now and again I can get a real pocket and I can step up and deliver a strike, only to see it dropped lol I love how frustratingly realistic this is. I do find though that on Defense it seems your DLineman, in my case Peppers, will either get pancaked on a pass rush, or annihilate the O Lineman. There’s no kind of middle ground and no way to apply pressure without beating the O Lineman with a move. This hasn’t changed and is disappointing, but due to improved coverage (man is no longer broken either) coverage sacks happen and Rodgers has even sneaked out of the pocket for positive yards when I’ve smothered the WRs.

Presentation wise, I feel the game looks great, but a lot of the touches aren’t conducive to a game play experience. I hate having to hit R2 on kick offs to see where I’m kicking, and the fact it doesn’t remember my preference is a niggly thing. I hate that you have to hit a button like x or circle to skip the pre play walk to the LOS, I always liked using R2 and getting a quick look at the D before I was set up so I could hot route before I’m lined up and likewise on defense it means if a nickel is wrongly aligned (still not fixed) then I can get them to the correct side without opening my D to a quick snap. With this new cut scene I can’t do this and I wish there was a way to change this.So far, I haven’t found it.
The camera is maybe a bit too tight on the QB as well, I like being able to see my WRs and the angle makes sensing distances between DLineman and your QB a bit harder to judge. In addition to this QBs don’t release the ball quick enough and even if I throw the ball a good 2 secs before a D Lineman jumps at me, the ball won’t be released and the QB will take the sack.

The game feels good, but I think it should e just a LITTLE bit slower.

The ratings I’ve managed to spy are all atrocious.

I find the playcall screen frustrating, with the fact that opponent’s offensive formations are now in the bottom corner, and will need to be adjusted to. In addition to this, the Bears defensive playbook is horrendous. The game also doesn’t stick to the play you selected, so say I wanted to run a bunch shotgun set before the 2 min warning, but didn’t get it in, instead of staying on the bunch set after the 2 min warning, I am now at the formation at the top of the shotgun sets and this is just a niggly annoyance that I hope is fixed.

In terms of visual improvements, they’re excellent, but repetitive animations and glitches are showcased due to the lack of commentary. Regardless of how bad the commentary normally is, not having any really detracts from the experience. Of course this will be addressed when the game comes out, so it’s not really a complaint.

Overall the demo has done enough to confirm that the game will be good enough to buy, and I hope the issues I have are mainly demo specific and can be changed in the final game. If anyone has any info to help me out with these things, like work a rounds, I’d be really appreciative.

Well done balance effects actually work, so does the dpp… blocking looks great too far better play than ncaas trash ass excuse for gameplay… I loved ncaa till this year now the players all play like 99′s and are as fast usain bolt… I think I just figured out why these kid’s cry about Madden every year reference 2k5 then make empty threats to never have anything to do with Madden again … its because Madden is harder to run, pass , sit in pocket and play d… thank god they are 2 different games NCAa is kiddie Madden as far as gameplay goes but but online dynasty is another story

wow this game FUCKING sucks! anyone who actually buys this piece of shit has clearly got a hard-on for EA and that no matter what they put out they will always buy like dumb consumer. 

First off all, everyone is running around like high-speed banshees. Pass accuracy for Jay Cutler was a travesty, I couldn’t even lead my receivers or throw while on foot. Bullshit. All-Madden is more like All-Football-God, I couldn’t score and I’m a seasoned player. Couldn’t get the ball past the 20 on ANY kickoff. The coverage was the exact same everytime and there were NO HOLES EVER in the kick coverage. Fuck that! Are they seriously calling this a demo of their real product? If so, you just lost $60, congratulations EA you swines. 

Shittiest, most unrealistic Madden I’ve ever played.