Madden 11: a roster update for the masses

If the football-obsessed coworker that normally resides in the cube next to yours is absent from work, we have two words for you: Madden Day. Today is that American pseudo-holiday marking the release of EA Sports’ most up-to-date Madden game. It is celebrated by many in the US by calling in sick to work, parking in front of the TV, and gaming all day. So is this an actual update or is it just another roster update from the folks at EA?

Madden 11 hopes to entice casual fans with a game mode referred to as “GameFlow,” a streamlined gaming experience that EA claims cuts average game time in half by automating the play-calling experience. In a developer series video shot for the Madden website, Senior Producer for Madden 11 Phil Frazier points out that the traditional method of play calling in previous versions of Madden just wasn’t authentic. “That we provide a user with 300 plus plays for any given situation is not how an NFL coach calls a play.”

Instead of having the user call a play in the traditional Madden way, play calling in GameFlow mode is done automatically by the head coach. If the situation is second down and one, what does that team generally do both offensively and defensively? The diehard football fan can tailor the mode by editing those tendencies and ranking plays based on real game situations. It’s the ability to customize tendencies that can allow the CPU to call a game almost identically to the way a human would when picking plays the old fashioned way.

Madden 11

GameFlow mode not only makes it easier for individuals without much football knowledge to play the game effectively, it also allows for a quicker game.

Last year Madden 10 introduced online co-op play; in Madden 11 the concept has been taken to the next level with “Team Play,” which allows for three players on each team. The mode enables each person on a team to control a group of players such as the secondary on defense, or the running backs on offense.

EA has also changed the right analog stick controls this year. The right stick now controls the upper body—pushing forward lowers the shoulder and covers up the ball. Short jukes can be done with a quick flick, while a hold of left or right results in the ball carrier moving the ball away from the potential tackler. The stop-short move has been moved to the left thumb stick and replaced by a “back arch” that is supposed to stop would-be tacklers from bringing a player down from behind. Spin moves can now be performed via the analog stick, which, while taking longer to activate than in previous years, allows you to more easily string moves together.

The presentation in Madden 11 is likewise improved. In-game advertisements from companies such as Verizon and Old Spice are plentiful, but they seem to be more authentic to an actual telecast and not as intrusive as last year. Gus Johnson has replaced Madden in the booth this year, but he is still accompanied by Cris Collinsworth.

Madden 10 was a perfectly serviceable game. Unfortunately, with the exception of GameFlow, Madden 11 seems to be little more than a roster update.