Madden NFL 11--Part 2

It's time to talk about GameFlow.

Let's go to the video tape. There's some really great hype here.

 

It simplifies how plays are called and it’s like having the coach talking to you through the radio in your helmet. It also shortens playing time and eliminates flipping through pages and pages of plays to find the right one for the situation. The AI is supposed to be aware of your position on the field; number of downs, yardage needed for first down, time on the clock, etc. and come up with the right play.

Coach, I swear, the radio in my helmet must be broken.

When I started using GameFlow, I thought, "how cool is this? This is so easy." What a great time saver not having to flip through a play book and come up with my own plays. That is until I discovered that GameFlow knows as much about calling plays as a 3 year old. Now I am in no way an NFL offensive mastermind. I only have a casual interest in the sport. But if you’re interested in winning, then GameFlow cannot be trusted. 

Okay, only 14 more yards to go!

Why, for example, would you call a running play on 3rd and long, (and we’re talking 15 yards here) when you have almost absolutely no chance of making a first down? (The defense in this game isn’t that soft). The passing plays often don’t run routes so that receiver catches the ball beyond the first down marker. (I’m not throwing a lateral pass on 3rd down when the first down is 20 yards away). It also just doesn’t seem savvy enough to alternate frequently between running and passing plays to throw off the defense.

GameFlow will in no way replace human intuition, guile, guts, resourcefulness and instinct. I’ll use GameFlow for defensive plays and at the start of a game, but when the game is on the line and I’m trying to win, GameFlow goes out the window. It’s back to fumbling through the playbooks again.

Speaking of winning, I’m currently undefeated playing against the CPU on default settings. I was challenged to use the Buffalo Bills since they are not one of the more “successful” teams in the NFL. What does it say about a game when I can pick it up after 5 years, not crack open a manual and win every game I play with a bad team? And the highest rated player on this Bills team is—the Punter! I even went up against the Indianapolis Colts and destroyed them. I don’t know if this feature was taken out of Madden 11, but I was under the impression the game would compensate and become more difficult as it learned my style of play. While the games have gotten closer in score, and I haven’t been able to put up 41 points like I did when I first opened the box, it still feels like it’s almost a given that I’m going to win at the start of each game. Super Bowl here I come.

Speaking of easy, the kicking game is a joke. It’s so easy to kick a point after that the same 3 year old who couldn’t call plays could do this. Madden might as well award the point after automatically after a touchdown, it’s that easy—even though my CPU opponent managed to miss one in the rain. Punting and kickoffs are similarly simple to pull off so that the ball lands close to the 1 yard line. The only challenge here is the long range field goal. I failed on a 52 yard attempt. Not because of the controls or lack of accuracy on my part, but because the kicker just didn’t have enough leg strength.

Injuries and Penalties. Usually in a real football game there are more penalties than injuries. In Madden NFL 11, the opposite is true. Most of the games I've played have been relatively penalty free. No off sides, no delay of game, no illegal blocking. I think I've seen a holding call once or twice, and a roughing the passer, but that's it.

Somebody help me! I think I lacerated my liver!

On the other hand, as far as injuries go, players drop like flies and are often found grimacing and moaning on the ground after a majority of the plays. Expect to see at least 5-10 players on either team go out with injuries in every game--with one player being carted off the field. The commentary sometimes doesn't match the injury as one player was said to be walking off the field, but the cut scene showed the player being carried off the field by two of his teammates. Maybe in some circles that's considered walking, but if your legs aren't moving, I somehow doubt it.

Maybe on more difficult levels, the game is more challenging and is more like a simulation of an actual NFL game. But on default, the game is a piece of cake.

Should you buy Madden NFL 11? If you own Madden NFL 10, then my answer would be no. Not enough has changed in the game to warrant this purchase. The Franchise mode was even completely untouched from 10 to 11. If you haven’t purchased Madden in a few years and you can catch it on sale, then it might be worth getting, although the game will feel no different than an earlier version of Madden. It will only look better. I never understood what all the fanfare was about Madden coming from a 2K Sports background. Yes, it can be fun to play, but I feel that die-hard fans are being cheated out of what could have been by now a much better game.

I’m glad the “vision cone” is gone, but it’s time EA starts showing some vision of their own and overhaul this game. Better player models, better use of motion capture, smoothing out the herky-jerky robotic movements of the players, better franchise mode and better real-time physics. After all these years, Madden can still be distinguished from a real NFL game—even at a distance. It will probably be another five years before I purchase another Madden NFL game unless the game finally gets an overhaul. Even though it’s the only NFL game in town, it leaves much to be desired. Out of 5 fingers I’m giving this game 2.5.