PlayStation 3
Released in 2010 by EA Sports
Grade: A-
Madden 11’s tightened control and more balanced football logic make it a clear improvement over the previous games in the PS3 generation. It may not be extremely realistic, and it’s still got some nagging issues, but it’s a lot of fun.
Where it falls in the series
It’s the fifth of 11 Maddens on PS3.
Praises and gripes
Let’s get the new features out of the way to start. This year, EA makes the complex game of football more accessible to the average gamer. Behold “GameFlow,” which picks your plays for you, complete with an offensive coordinator telling you what to do, and usually dumbing it way down, like, “Throw it to the tight end.”
There’s also 3-on-3 “Online Team Play,” and there’s the Madden Ultimate Team mode, where you spend your real-life hard-earned dollars to beef up your squad. Sigh.
The good news is that you can clear this CRAP out of your way, set up a game where you pick the plays, and the game is actually really good! Hooray!
The action is drastically cleaned up compared to the earlier versions. The control is tighter, closer to the intuitive feel of the PS2 Madden games. If you remember, Madden 10 had tons of broken tackles. Not anymore. Players break tackles and push for extra yards at a much more realistic rate. In fact, tackling in general looks and feels more natural this time around.
The playbooks are deep, and there’s solid AI happening on the field. Defensive players knock down passes more often than before. Quarterbacks need to move around the pocket or pass quickly to avoid sacks. It pays off to use crafty tactics, like sending a player in motion to detect a zone vs. man defense. The pre-snap interface got another overhaul, but luckily, you can use the tried-and-true controls as well. My key gripe about the gameplay is that long bombs are caught too often, even on high difficulty settings.
Despite its level of sophistication, the game is sneakily arcade-like. There are hardly any fumbles or penalties, and coach’s challenges don’t present themselves as often (but the refs still make bad calls after the replay, which is pretty frustrating). I like how quarterbacks can move smoothly outside the pocket, and as long as you stop for a moment, you can deliver an accurate pass from anywhere on the field.
I forgot to mention that this version doesn’t have a turbo button! The game decides for you when you sprint, and I had some nice runs up the middle where my guy sped up at just the right moment. Once you make the adjustment, it feels quite natural.
On the downside, some old problems are still in the game after several years. Sometimes receivers mosey out of bounds before the catch. The CPU makes awful coaching decisions. Before the snap on defense, you can toggle through players with only one button, in only one direction. If you try a hurry-up offense, you often need to wait for auto replays to finish. The kick meter is actually restored to the old three-press system, but it’s on a horizontal line and it’s jumpy as it moves along.
In terms of presentation, auto replays and player celebrations add a lot of flair, but you can skip through to the next play very quickly. The graphics look great. The sound is pretty good. The commentary from Gus Johnson and Cris Collinsworth gets old fast, but I turn commentary off on almost every sports video game anyway.