Madden Preview

Audio
The new commentary from Gus Johnson is great and increases the fun of the game. I love it. Making a big play is sweet. But making a big play AND then hearing a clever/witty/funny remark just puts it over the edge! I found myself laughing out loud several times just at how great it felt to pull off a big play, beat the pants off the other team, and having the Gus Johnson screaming how great the play was that I made!

Half the audio is by Chris Collinsworth, which isn’t bad in and of itself, he has a great voice… but most of it is the same as last year! I hope that they just couldn’t fit a lot of the secondary commentary in the demo and the full game changes it up.

Also, other than the epic NFL style music in between quarters, touchdowns, etc, music in the demo is noticeably absent. There is no sound at all as it shows the teams going into the locker room at half time. I think that it’s likely this is just a limitation of the demo.

Overall graphics and presentation
I think the biggest improvement this year graphically has to do with lighting. Everything looks a lot more realistic. The viewscreens in the background look like the real thing instead of cartoonish. The menus look nicer. No more delays loading up the “chain gang” sequences (Yay!) and it all flows together much better than last year.

Gameflow
Part of the fun for me as a Madden Player is the strategy involved in the game of football. Then again there are some times that I don’t want to think as much, I just want to relax and play the game. Gameflow allows me to do this. A problem with Gameflow is that you don’t really know which play the computer is going to pick. Sure you can audible to a different play but then you don’t have the selection of the whole playbook. But it’s definitely an enhancement anytime I don’t want to be as involved. It’s great, for example, when it’s in the middle of the 1st quarter after a touchdown and I know that I just want to kick a field goal and then do a regular kickoff (choose special teams, choose kickoff, choose punt… aka less button mashing).

New Kicking Mechanic
I love the new kicking mechanic. Just press A 3 times (one to initiate, one for power, and one for accuracy). I can easily do this with one hand and never have to worry about accidentally pushing the stick in the wrong direction.

Animations, locomotion, and overall Gameplay
The very first thing I noticed was how fluid and slick the players control now. I push the stick and it feels very responsive! Madden 10 looks and feels clunky compared to this. Blockers actually block down field now! That was probably one of the most frustrating experience with last years game. Passing feels solid. Line shifts etc have been moved to the D-pad aka “Strategy Pad.” It feels about the same as last year, but it could turn out to be quite an improvement having it all in one place. Not having a “turbo button” has been sort of a mixed bag for me so far. I think that once I get used to it I’ll like it much more.

Closing thoughts
Overall I am loving the demo. I can’t wait to get my hands on the full game and experience what it will be like to play with my favorite team. Madden 11 has definitely made strides in the right direction over last years game. Some questions remain due to what seem like limitations to what can be included in a demo download, but I am very excited to actually go buy the full game this year! What do you think of the demo so far?

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