A game for casual players, not Madden fans.
Madden NFL 11 starts in a pretty cool way. You are hit with an awesome movie starring Drew Brees and his friends. Obviously, you'll be skipping this Intro stuff 99% of the time, but it IS worth watching once, and it's certainly a lot better than the intro movies in previous Madden games.
A few seconds and a few stupid worthless EA pop-ups later, and it's welcome to the main menu screen. The menus changed quite a bit are more fluid and clear, especially because it clearly markets the new features, making them more accessible.
Anyway, presentation wise, there are no surprises here. This is Madden, if you've played a few of the newer games you'll know what to expect here.
Onto the game play.
There are a number of improvements here. The receiving game has been upgraded, so has the running game, the pre-play audible system, and the O-Line.
Receivers in Madden 11 finally know where the sidelines are. They will try to keep their feet inbounds. However, this doesn't always work and you will see a number of situations where you'll be going "What the hell??? Stupid WR!" nothing like last year though, but it is STILL noticeable. One can compare Madden to NCAA here, and it doesn't look good for Madden. I simply can't understand why a lower budget EA game like NCAA can get the receiving right, while Madden cannot. If you play NCAA Football 11, you know that there is NO cussing at your wide outs, because they simply don't mess up.
The running game has also been improved. This improvement comes in form of locomotion, where you use the right stick for a lot of your moves (you'll still use the ABXY buttons like always though). The O-line also helps your running game this year because they're smarter this time around. Madden also advertised this new "feature" called auto-sprint. This is supposed to help your running game as well, but I wouldn't know because I turned that thing off after 5 minutes into an exhibition match. To me, it's a dumb thing. I guess it could prove useful to someone who's too lazy to hold the RT button or too dumb to know when NOT to sprint.
The pre-play audible system has received a MAJOR overhaul, mainly in the form of control changes. No longer do you press the ABXY/RBLB/RTLT buttons to change plays. Everything is mapped to the Digital pad this time. It's a welcome change, but it has a HUGE learning curve if you're a Madden fan that's accustomed to using the previous system. NCAA 11 does not use this control scheme, so if you're playing both games this year you'll have to get used to using both these systems. It's a pain in the butt, but once you get used to it, you'll think it was a good change.
The Lines finally behave like they should this year. The o-line finally blocks like men with IQs of over 10. You still won't have enough time to breathe and pass though, so tweaking the game play settings is your way out (as usual). The d-line is the same as last year. I'd like to establish another comparison here. This time in Madden's favor. In NCAA 11, the d-linemen are like Dwight Howard. They will jump and swat your ball 30% of the time when you pass, and the only way to overcome this is to recruit and use a good scrambling QB and leave the pocket in order to pass the ball (you can't tweak the ball-swatting in the settings menu). Don't worry though; Madden 11 doesn't have this crap.
One thing I absolutely hate this year is the kicking game. I don't know what the heck EA was thinking, but they have reverted back to the Madden 2005 days and changed the kicking mechanics to the dumb old Accuracy/Power bar where you hit the A button twice... you know the drill. What a stupid downgrade. The right analog stick method was such an original, authentic and welcomed upgrade, and they just threw that away.
Gameflow... the sole reason we waited an entire year for this game. It's nice... but that's it. The way I look at gameflow is that it's an "Ask Madden" with an editor. Gameflow will shorten the games a lot, that's true. But you will need to edit gameflow to make this feature worthwhile. The problem is that the editor isn't that polished. You'll be spending more time looking for plays than creating the actual playbook. Madden tries to make this process better by giving you the option to copy entire gameflow situations into a different situation (Gameflow is divided into many game situations such as 1st and Long/Medium/Short, 2nd and Long/Medium/Short, 2-minute drill, etc.). It's a good option to have, but what we really need is the option to copy and paste individual plays from one situation to the other. That option is nowhere to be found.
An OLD Madden problem is still present in '11. And that is the inability to audible a play when you're in Field Goal formation, for instance. A long time ago, in previous-gen Madden games, you were able to audible out of these formations "in the dark". In other words, you could still audible, but without seeing the menus, by hitting the buttons in the correct combination. You can't do this in Madden 11 and this still hasn't been fixed. For once I'd like to audible out of a kickoff return formation into an onside kick formation without having to call timeout. The same goes for punting and kicking field goals.
Another old thing: where is the WIND meter when you need it? This has been going on for years on end. When it's a fourth down, you SHOULD be shown the wind meter to make an educated play call (if its 4th down in the red zone with opposing winds of 50 mph, you do not want to take that field goal... tough luck, there's no way to know before subbing your kicker in).
One minor thing that will probably be overlooked comes in form of weather conditions and their effects. Sure, they're supposed to make catching balls a lot harder, and we all know how they affect field goals. The one thing that appears to be new this year is that your receivers will actually slip due to the slippery, wet grass when running their routes and making their cuts. It's a great new thing, but it's unpolished because it happens just way too often, and there is no apparent difference between Randy Moss slipping and Big Fat Joe slipping.
Everything else = Madden 10 with a 2011 breeze.
Now let's focus on the in-game "aspects".
The narrator has finally changed! The Pre-Madden 11 narrators were always dull. Madden 11 has an awesome new narrator and he'll make you want to play longer with the enthusiasm he brings to the table.
One feature I used to love in Madden 10 was the analysis the game gave you between plays. For instance, every time you threw an incomplete pass, and missed noticing a wide-open receiver, Madden would stop and show you a breakdown of the play, highlighting the receiver you failed to notice. This is either gone in Madden 11 or I missed it (unlikely).
Before the game starts, you'll see the same old pre-game rituals. Once again, EA gives us no reason not to skip these. There is no variation here. You'll watch the same rituals all the time.
Two things I thought were original in NCAA 11, but aren't in Madden 11 (no idea why, after all it's the same company): the home-field advantage feature, where the stadium's crowd actually makes a difference. Your receivers' routes will shake uncontrollably and some receivers' designated buttons will be replaced by a question mark. Regular buttons are only shown after you snap the ball. Also, if you call an audible during this home-field advantage thing, your players will take 3 times as long to understand the information. The only way to stop this is by scoring touchdowns and leading the home team by a few possessions. It's a great feature that absolutely should be implemented into Madden. The second thing is pump-faking. In Madden, pump-fakes are mapped to the LB button. In NCAA, it's mapped to the right-analog stick. This is because, in real-life, you can pump-fake in different directions, hence where the right analog stick comes in. The defensive backs will react differently depending on the direction of your fakes. This makes the game more realistic, so take note Madden developers.
Onto the game modes.
It's exactly the same as Madden 10. Okay, next!
No, seriously. This game offers NOTHING new in terms of Franchise Mode, Superstar Mode, Virtual Trainer mode (which still has the pathetic issues with wide receivers dropping passes AFTER they've caught the ball like they've got hands of butter or something), Mini Games mode, etc. Everything is EXACLTY the same as last year. The Extra Point is still a waste of time, contract talks are still the stupid, vague, process based on guess-timations. Drafting prospects is still dull and completely menu-based. The Lions still trade 1st and 2nd draft picks for a Patriots 1st. Players ratings still "progress" down inexplicably, and progress up either more or A LOT less than they should. Gone are the old-gen days where we could take draft prospects into mini drills and watch the rookie games and the combine.
Superstar mode is still 95% menu-based. There is still no clarity as to what makes your skills go up, how you progress, etc. The IQ test is still a ridiculous thing that makes you wonder what effect it would have if you flunked it. The NFL Draft, important as it is in a rookie's life, is still a worthless event that gets simulated even if you don't want to simulate it. Gone are the days where you had to option to get drafted by your favorite team (you're going to have to save pre-draft and reload every time until you get drafted by your team). The Old-Gen Maddens put you in the Combine, had you running drills to increase your skills, etc. What happened to this game? Why did these cool features get thrown out? I just don't get it. Talks with your agent are still pathetic and there is no such thing as contract negotiations (ask any rookie in the NFL if they think that's important). At least the older Maddens let you hit the free agency market after your deal with the team that drafted you (maybe this is still present in this year's game but I - and probably yourself - wouldn't know because Superstar mode is not worth the time required to complete a 5-year contract).
The game modes are what really make me angry. How can NCAA Football 11 have game modes that absolutely put Madden 11 modes to shame? This is where my two-game comparison really kicks in. Franchise mode in NCAA Football is wonderful. The recruiting system is amazing, making you WANT to stay within the menus. That's how addictive dynasty mode is. So why can't Madden have the same recruiting system adapted to trade talks and contract talks? It really baffles me that there is no apparent sharing of information between the two developing teams.
Superstar mode really pales in comparison to Road To Glory mode in NCAA 11. Don't get me wrong, Road To Glory isn't all that glorious, and there are a lot of things to be desired here like the worthlessness of training, but it is better than Superstar mode... even if by a little bit.
(SPOILER)
There is one fun thing about Franchise mode though, and that is winning the Super Bowl actually provides a cool celebration video with a parade and a visit to the White House for pictures and meeting with president Obama (who gets his famous #44 jersey from your team). Finally winning the big game gets the credit it deserves. I'm curious though, since franchise mode lasts 30 years, if winning the SB in 2016 gets you a meeting with a new president...
(END SPOILER)
In conclusion, Madden 11 is a game molded towards the casual gamers' needs. Every change this year attempts to make this game easier and faster, but not at all better. The revamped pre-play audible system, the downgraded kicking game, the auto-sprint feature, gameflow... EVERYTHING attempts to make this game easier to play... it's almost like EA wants players that can't even hold an Xbox Controller to play this game like a pro. It's a weird approach, that really doesn't make sense to me, and makes Madden 11 a game that doesn't justify its price tag, unless you've never played Madden before and always wanted a football game that you could play when your friends came over, without looking too newbish.
PS: Note to GameSpot: there's got to be something eerily wrong if your readers rate this game a whole 2 points lower than you...