Madden NFL 11 Demo Review (also posted on blog): Madden has been a personal favorite for not only me but for the millions of others who flock to their virtual arena every season. Every year, I have devotedly purchased the newest edition. True, some were great and some good, but I was still impressed enough to at least pick up a used copy....For the 2010-2011 season, this all changes. After listening to the EA developers rant about Gameflow and Locomotion for months now, the demo has been released...precisely why my devoted trend comes to a sad end.

I have to admit, I was doubtful coming in, as the improvements seemed minor at best, but as usual I gave it an honest shot, hoping for a refined Madden 10 experience. Fifteen minutes was all I needed. I will not be purchasing Madden '11 or any future installments for that matter until it receives the attention it deserves. Upon starting it up, I was impressed by a slick menu system--however, no better than '10. Then comes the intro to the match, and am again mildly impressed by the slight improvement. Then the kicking meter....I have no idea why they changed it to this dumbed-down of Madden's best kicking scheme found in '10. It doesn't deliver the same powerful feeling or control as previous ones, making it obvious that it caters to newcomers, not hardcore or even experienced players.

But what of the offensive drive that follows? Same. Gameflow is an unnecessary rehash of ASK MADDEN and the Locomotion physics are again a very mild improvement of PRO-TAK. So, despite the poor kicking meter, it still feels eerily similar to last year's game....except one huge detail: the commentary. Gus Johnson's emergence onto the scene was very promising upon its announcement. In reality though, he might actually be worse than Hammond from the previous games. While he adds some enthusiasm, it feels extremely forced (ie- PEYTON MANNING throws to...DALLAS CLARK....at the NINETEEN!! Second down coming up.) This would be excusable if last year's commentary problems had been fixed. Chris Collensworth, for one, has practically no new lines, flashing us back to '09, and players' names and phrases are prerecorded inserts into the dialogue. In fact, there is no real dialogue. One makes a comment, then five seconds later the other says something remotely related--back in '09, it at least felt like the two were bantering back and forth, but now, with Gus, if feels even more awkward as the personalities clash.

Before shutting off my system in frustration and boredom in the 3rd quarter, I gave it one last shot--pull off a crazy play or two to see the announcers' reactions. After throwing a perfect hailmary to a covered receiver in the endzone, Gus had nothing more to say than, "That's Petyon Manning's 5th touchdown pass." Then upon missing the extra point on purpose, he says drearily, "PAT is no good....Let's look at the drive summary." I simply don't understand why these ugly issues haven't been fixed or why EA seems not to care. I promised myself that even if I thought it was simply good, not great, I'd pick one up. Unfortunately, for me and for the developers who won't be receiving my $60, it doesn't live up to even that standard.

I love watching and playing (real and virtual) football, so I am not some uninformed gamer who's come to bash the Madden Franchise. I respect it for what it's worth, but it appears that its value will decline with this years release. Based on the demo, please do not buy this game--it will not make you anyhappier than continuing with last year's Madden '10.