Madden NFL 11 Xbox 360

Released on 13/08/2010

• Madden NFL 11 Review

  Flagship football

  The Madden series has sold more than 85 million copies since its debut over two decades ago, becoming an annual item on the shopping list of American football fanatics. Yet a large portion of the gaming community views the 12-month development cycle of sports games negatively, suggesting little changes between iterations, and Madden is often cited as evidence.

  So, in the hope of appeasing that crowd, the men and women behind Madden NFL 11 went back to the drawing board, outlining and executing a new game plan of Xs and Os. The plan was to get back in the good books of hardcore videogame football purists but also to bring in new fans by simplifying the experience. Their summary for this vision is straightforward: Simpler. Quicker. Deeper.

  The complaint heard most often from those who struggle to get to grips with the Madden series is that the control scheme is as comprehensible as Ozzy Osbourne speaking Greek. As with the NHL 10 series, the right analog stick pretty much controls everything you'll need to fake out your oncoming opponents. Use it to truck over a defensive back, shield the ball or attempt to break free of a tackle and gain extra yardage.

  If doesn't make things easy enough the introduction of GameFlow, or a one-button play selection option, reduces the amount of playbook homework you'll need to do to get the ball down the field. This, along with better clock management, cuts down the game time of a full 60-minute match down to a manageable 30 minutes.

   

  Get with the GameFlow

  The issue we have with GameFlow, however, is that it is awful on the defensive side of the ball. It's not quite adaptive enough, so an opponent who has a tendency to throw down the field will almost always find an open man due to the delinquency of the GF system. The moral of the story is to try to choose your own plays whenever possible.

  Whether or not this is a deeper Madden experience will depend on your playing style, but on paper, there is enough on the table to make it worth a try. The Online Franchise mode makes its triumphant return with all sorts of new tweaks, but doesn't offer anything revelatory in nature. The biggest addition is the new Web management site players can access, allowing them to view automatically-generated game recaps and photo slideshows. Not much to write home about there.

  The same goes for the Franchise Mode, which is a bit disappointing. The only changes more astute gamers may notice is a new Rookie Draft Class with over 8000 generated names and profiles of players to recruit from.

  One of Madden NFL 11's most exciting new offerings is the 3-on-3 Online Team Play (OTP). It's essentially the eponymous mode from NHL 10, but adapted for the gridiron. For the duration of the game you can either control the quarterback, the running back or the wide receivers on offense and the defensive line, linebackers, or defensive backs on defense.

  The point is to learn how to play as a team in order to perform well. The downside is you have to find two other people who aren't complete newbies, or else you'll play much of the game with palm held firmly to face.

   

  Ultimate team

  Another mode, Madden Ultimate Team, is essentially a card-collecting campaign which tasks you to take your team of starter pack nobodies and acquire additional players by winning games. The better you do, the more in-game currency you accrue. This is used to buy card packs that contain unlockable players in order to build your so-called Ultimate Team. It's not exactly a mind-blowing concept and it has been done before, but it's definitely a welcome add-on to beef-up the value proposition.

  The bottom line is that Madden NFL 11 is a solid, highly enjoyable gridiron game. It won't blow your mind but it simulates the sport of football with such specificity that you're left wondering if there is actually anything else left for EA to do to make it any more realistic next year. (Prediction: They'll try. Oh, they'll try.)

  We would've liked a little less cut-and-pasting from some of the publisher's other franchises and more innovation. But considering the time constraints involved with producing a yearly title, what you get in this year's package is a pretty good offering.

  Diehards who pick this one up with no questions asked won't be disappointed. And if you skipped last year's instalment, this is a great time to get back into the series. Let's just hope that next year, EA addresses some of the more neglected parts of the franchise.

  

  All-Star
  + The new Locomotion animation engine is superb.
  + Gus Johnson is the most exciting sports announcer in years.
  + 3-on-3 Online Team Play is fantastic.

  Bench Warmer
  - GameFlow lacks defensive prowess.
  - Too much cut-and-pasting from other EA franchises.
  - The outdated Franchise Mode was barely touched.

As a valued customer we now offer you the facility to sign up to email price alerts. Please enter the price you want to be, or below, and if drops to that level we will let you know...