The Premier League's new season may have just started, but for some UK sports fans the real excitement is due next month when the latest NFL season gets under way.
Thanks to a combination of live games at Wembley and more coverage on TV, American football has the highest profile in the UK since the Refrigerator/Channel 4 days of the mid 80s. Luckily then the latest Madden game is full of the series' trademark depth as well as being welcoming to newcomers. If anything, NFL 11 steers more towards the newbies with the "gameflow" option particularly helpful. Rather than flipping through reams of potential moves, gameflow recommends a play and is activated by a simple button click. Newcomers to the sport and the game can at least feel they are making a decent play call. But when the ball is in motion, skill is still paramount. The removal of the turbo button means players need to use more realistic tactics to gain ground and space. While not as viscerally entertaining as the recent Backbreaker game, crunching tackles and collisions are brutally realistic.
As with any sports game, a lot of the fun is had on multiplayer. Madden is no different, although this time round you can also play cooperatively with friends. Unfortunately controlling a running back or lineman just isn't as much fun as playing quarterback. More successful is the Ultimate Team mode, where you build up a team via a trading card system. Using the game's virtual currency you can build up a decent group of players and use them against your friends. You can also buy training tips and other virtual items. Yes, virtual currency is a small but important part of Madden 11.
Downsides? There does seem to be an over-emphasis on offensive plays, with some unnaturally high scores common. The gameflow option too will alienate more hardcore fans. The biggest issue though is that there isn't a huge difference from last year's edition. Yes it looks marginally better and there are some nice online enhancements. But good game that it is, Madden 11 doesn't feel like a huge step forward from 10. If you haven't played Madden for a couple of years then this a good place to jump back in, but only the hardcore need to upgrade to this year's model.
