Madden 2011

[Trekker4747]

I bought a copy of Madden 2010 recently and, man, was I disappointed in it. Mostly the look, menus, and graphics on the PS3 are just a bit clumsy and unattractive. Looking at some reviews of Madden 11 it looks like a much better game graphically and the on-screen presentation.

One thing I do miss in Madden is the loss of the "newspaper" to get news on how your the game figures your team's local media thinks you're doing. It was interesting to read to get an idea on feedback about the way things are going. I know it's lame and the newspaper wasn't too big of a deal but it was still fun. Even seems that changing the uniform designs for a team is harder to do.

I'm not one to buy a new copy of a sports game every year, normally I'll just buy one for fun to play for a while. But, man, looks like Madden 11 was the one to get, only got 10 because it was half the price, being last year's game.

What are others thoughts on Madden series, particularly the differences between 10 and 11.

 

[Chaos Descending]

To be honest I don't think I've really been "into" Madden since about Madden 2004 or 2005. I have not really tried out the PS3/XB360 generation of Madden titles. I had Madden 10 for about a month, and maybe played two and a half games, and then I bought Madden 11 and haven't even opened it out of the box yet.

 

[Davros]

Madden 11 is the first Madden I've played in years, and so far I like it but I just cannot get the hang of the way kicking works.

 

[Chaos Descending]

I finally dug it out of the box. To be honest I'm glad they went back to this style of kicking meter. It's the same mechanic that Sony uses for pitching in MLB The Show so I'm used to it.

 

[Trekker4747]

Kicking in Madden 10 is a pain in the ass. (On the PS3) you use the right analog stick, pull it back and then push it forward. But you have to do it perfectly straight otherwise the kicker will kick the ball with a strong favor to one side or the other depending on the "favor" you likely give the analog stick naturally. It's all but impossible to, in a perfectly straight line, pull the stick back and hit it forward. I've missed so many field goals, extra points and screwed up many kickoffs and punts because of this stupid kicking system in '10.

 

[BillJ]

The only real upgrades to Madden 2011 was the kicking meter and being able to see who your offensive linemen are suppose to block on running plays.

Then there is the major downgrade... tying line-of-scrimmage adjustments to the d-pad. It sucks.

Other than that... it's the same game.

 

[Trekker4747]

Is there there any way, in 10, to make changes/add to the playbook in Franchise Mode? I want to add a Flea Flicker play to my Chiefs' playbook they don't seem to have one but I believe one of the other teams does. Any way I can copy it over or "create" one without switching my team's playbook to another team's one?

 

[BillJ]

Is there there any way, in 10, to make changes/add to the playbook in Franchise Mode? I want to add a Flea Flicker play to my Chiefs' playbook they don't seem to have one but I believe one of the other teams does. Any way I can copy it over or "create" one without switching my team's playbook to another team's one?

No. Custom playbooks are still something we're waiting to come over from the last-gen version. Along with formation shifts, custom personnel packages... I could go on and on.

 

[Trekker4747]

But in 11 they fixed the whole "successful punt block" thing right.

 

[Trekker4747]

You know, really, Madeen '05 really had the best Franchise mode.

I'm in the off-season following my first season in Madden 10 and Franchise Mode in '10 is just missing something. I know the game is more about the football and the game than it is anything else but, really, it seems like they gutted FM to it's bare bones.

In '05 there was a lot of "micromanaging" you could do in the off season, adjust ticket prices, concession prices, etc. And if I recall you could even build a new stadium or make noticable physical changes to the current stadium. Hell you could even change the uniform desgins!

But in Madden '10 this is all gone. Oh, sure, you can make some changes to the stadium (like personal food replicators at each seat for $500m, or car valet teleporters. ) but I'm uncertain on what impact this has on your franchise. To build a new stadium or have new uniforms you've got to start a new team. () And I mostly miss the E-Mails and the Newspaper.



The gameplay is fun but the micromanaging geek in me misses some of this Owner Mode minutia. I liked changing the uniforms, reading the fan complaints, or getting EMails from prima donna players who feel they're not being used enough (and then releasing them for being bitches), making the concession prices sky-high after going several seasons with superbowl wins, seeing what the attendances were at games.

Ugh. Fucking EA.

 

[BillJ]

Come on. We're only on the sixth installment this generation. I'm sure by Maddden 2020, we'll have all the features back from the PS2/Xbox editions.

 

[DarkHelmet]

Madden '11 is sweet - vast improvement over '10. The game mechanics (engine?) allow for much smoother, realistic play. I love it.