For the casual gamer only.
The most intolerable thing about Madden 11 is how every single game is a shootout. You can be playing as the Lions and still manage to score 40 points over someone like the Saints. In fact, I honestly don't see the point in playing as your defense. You can call a Cover 2 play and the QB will still find a WR open in the middle of the field. Another nagging complaint, is that big plays happen way too often. I can write a book that lists every time, me or my opponent has scored a TD on the first play of the drive and we were at our own 20 yard line. Is it plausible? Definitely, but how many times do you see this in an actual football game? Definitely, not a lot.
Superstar mode is here again and they've actually made it a lot worse. Basically, this year's mode has the same crappy features from last year:
Generic faces
No combine
Never getting drafted in the first and second rounds by a team with no needs of your respected position yet for some odd reason, you're the immediate starter.
Simming makes the rival QB/ your QB totally incompetent even if it's someone like Brett Favre.
But as said again, they've made it much worse. One notable examples being not knowing what your play is unless pressing RT to view play art; now I know QBs don't actually see the play, but they're at least told what the play is. Also, why can't you audible? What happens if the opposing players are running a spread offense and we call a 2 Man Under? I play as Rolando McClain (an LB for those that don't know), so why can't I audible. Even the loading screen for the game says be an LB if you want to change plays for the defense, so why can't I change them?
Do I hate this game though? No. The developers outdid themselves graphically and for all its gameplay shortcomings, it's a nice game to look at. Taking Tom Hammond's place is Gus Johnson who has much worse and canny dialogue then Tom and Cris Collinsworth, but it's not a big deal. Franchise mode is basically the same but that's okay. I've never had any major complaints about Franchise Mode.
The newest and most controversial feature is GameFlow. Just press the A button and you get some random play. Now you probably think I hate this feature but I don't. After all, I have the power to disable it.
Overall, this game is just okay. Is it the worst sports game, I've ever played. No, but it's definitely not in the top 20 of sports games either. If you're just a casual fan of football, you should give this game a try, but if you're the football expert looking for a hardcore game of pigskin. Just wait and pray for a better game soon.