Madden 11

So I occasionally play the ol' sports games. Guilty as charged. I'm pretty pumped for this football season since the Ravens are looking to be a really good contender this year. And what better way to help get the football blood flowing then playing a little Madden? I know not everyone is a huge sports fan or sports game fan, so I will keep my thoughts short.

Madden 11 is going to be a great game for the casual sports gamer. The flow of the game has picked up a lot. The biggest addition that spans all game modes this year is GameFlow. GameFlow is basically the "Ask Madden" easy button and a play is chosen for you. From there you can call an audible, change your hot routes, or run the play as planned. This option really speeds up the game play. You can still chose plays the old way, but I think hardcore Madden players are going to find it more frustrating than fun. Since I am more of a casual gamer, I love it. This allows you to spend more time on the field and less time going through pages of plays, trying to find just the right one.

The other big addition is being able to play with a party of people online as opposed to just one-on-one. I haven't spent any time with this new feature yet, but it looks promising and I can see how it would make the game a lot more fun if everyone is into it.

Other upgrades include the player models, new tackle animations, and more speed on the field. Madden 10 felt a little sluggish, and Madden 11 definitely feels more fluid.

All in all, if you are a football/Madden fan, your're going to buy it. It's the only way to get your updated rosters without spending your entire life trying to trade and draft every single player for every team in Madden 10. If you're in question about whether it get this, I say if you are more of a casual gamer, then go for it. I think you will find yourself pleasantly surprised by this installment of the Madden series. Hardcore gamers are going to find a lot of the drafts, create-a-player, and franchise mode to be exactly as Madden 10 was. The extra multiplayer modes will be your draw for this game.

Hope to see a bunch of you on the field [as this will probably be the only game I will be playing until Fable III]!