Madden 11 Is Here. Now Go Get It
I can’t say it enough: Are you ready for some football?!
It seems like this August has snuck up on me this year. One minute, I’m watching fireworks on the 4th of July, the next I’m getting text messages at 12:30 on a Monday night talking about, “Did you get it yet? Hurry up and sign on so we can play!”
“It” is, of course, Madden 11, the latest game in the heralded Madden franchise. And I have to say: Next to the first day of the NCAA college basketball tournament and Super Bowl Sunday, the day (or these days, the night) Madden comes out has to be one of the best days of the whole year. Just like Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, the day Madden comes out marks the unofficial start of the NFL season.
It’s time to get started! And to help kick things off, I’ve come up with five reasons this year’s Madden should have you extra excited. Oh, and if you don’t have the game, go get it. (I don’t even play video games, yet I’m looking forward to spending the next month playing!) Let’s get ready for some football.
1. This year’s version of the game is geared towards the superstars…
Okay, okay, I realize that EVERY Madden game is geared towards the superstars. But hear me out. From the limited time I’ve spent with the game thus far, the game reflects the way the league is right now. And that means plenty of scoring and plenty of big plays from your superstars. Guys like Chris Johnson, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are all ranked 99 (the highest score that can be attributed to a player). Frankly, I’ve struggled to keep up in the last few years with Madden because I’ve always felt like you have to know every single nuance of the game to be successful. Now? Just try to stop me with Chris Johnson. I got this!
2. Gus Johnson is calling the plays…
I could listen to Gus Johnson narrate a dog show. Seriously, the guy is that good when it comes to providing commentary during a sporting event. To have him call plays in Madden is even more of a treat. I usually only get to hear him during the NCAA Tournament and other random events during the year. Kudos to EA for bringing on board for Madden this year.
3. A little feature called GameFlow…
Madden games used to take forever. I haven’t logged enough games to be sure if GameFlow is as effective as advertised, but from what I can tell, it does speed the game up. So I’ve got more time to do other things like, um, play another game of Madden?
4. The online play is, once again, top-notch…
I’ve had Xbox Live for two years now (that’s about $100 total) and I use it for two things: Watching Netflix movies and playing Madden online. This year, you can play “3 vs. 3″ games online, which is new. Regardless of whether you’re doing that or not, the Madden online play is always something to look forward to come August.
5. If you win the Super Bowl, you get to meet President Obama!
As if Madden couldn’t get any better! Outside of improving gameplay with GameFlow, the game also added another new feature: If you play in season mode and go all the way to the Super Bowl and win it…you get to meet President Obama! Seeing as how that’s about as close as I’ll ever get to meeting the Prez, I was excited to hear this is a feature in this year’s game. In order to get to the SB and win it, though, I’m gonna need practice—lots and lots of practice. And I better go get started.
Thank you, Madden. Football season is finally here.
