DeMarcus Ware continues to be surprised at the interest level

There are more replays this year in Madden 11 which is a departure from having to play on "Advanced" play calling style in Madden 10 in order to see a replay. There is a cool swipe that goes back and forth across the screen. There are still stat banners and Gatorade 3 Impact players of the game. The problem is that while it is cool to see the stats, there is no direction or definitive style in what Madden 11 does. There is no ESPN presentation like NCAA 11 or NFL 2K5, nor is there anything that makes it feel uniform. There are cut scenes aplenty...problem is quite often they are out of place. I threw 3INTs with Donovan McNabb in the Super Bowl and he and his offensive linemen chest bumped and slapped each other high fives as if he had just thrown a TD. This is a problem that was around in Madden 10 as well.

The Extra Point in Franchise mode is the same as last year....literally.Jason Witten is shown in the banners, as they should since they are the new sponsor, but the analysts say the Extra Point is brought to you by SPRINT! Cris Collinsworth, who is an excellent announcer in real life, quite a few times will say Tom, as in Tom Hammond, instead of Gus Johnson. And Speaking of Gus Johnson, he brings the much needed excitement to Madden commentary. Gus tends to scream out on big plays and crucial moments in the game, however, he and Chris Collinsworth don't sound like a commentating duo and what makes it difficult to understand is why Collinsworth uses about 97% of his same lines from last year. Not to mention the commentary is about behind the action on the field.

A crowd of 21,539 watched the Cowboys go through a light workout at Cowboys Stadium. How light? A lot of the players were in tennis shoes for the workout.

Even entering his sixth season, DeMarcus Ware continues to be surprised at the interest level.

"A lot of guys that come here, like Jon Kitna, say, 'Let me tell you something, I've been to practices and it's been probably 100 people,'" Ware said. "To have 21,000 at practice, with all the jerseys on, that shows you how committed Cowboys fans are and how ready they are for the season."

No this is not a new feature...at least not one that was intended to make the game. Sliding is a rampant problem in Madden 11 that will cause you to miss tackles, catches (WR and DBs) and watch in wonder. The first game I fired up, featured a sliding Devin Thomas on the kick off return. He did not jog over to receive the ball, he slid over. And if that was not enough there was nothing more baffling than to watch my Special Teams let the defenders run past them leaving me to take on 9-11 members of the other team ready to annihilate me. On punt returns, unless you send the house at the kicking team, your players will run all the way back towards you (some run into you) rather than working their blocking assignments. AI on Special Teams needs to be tuned up. Most kickoff returns will not advance past the 20yd line. Punt returns are wild cards due to the poor blocking.

Gameplay as a whole feels pretty solid despite the hiccups that occur throughout the game. With the exception of special teams there is nothing that is a game killer in Madden 11.

The AI in Madden 11 is a mixture of good, bad and just flat out ugly. The AI is at it's best when presenting a mismatch between good and bad offensive lines taking on good and bad defensive ones. You must use strategy when choosing your blocking scheme.

The run blocking is MUCH improved and it opens up a running experience not Felix Jones felt since last gen. However, there is nothing worse than watching your offensive linemen stand up and dance in place while Demarcus Ware and three other defensive linemen end up in the backfield untouched. Repeatedly. Another head scratching moment is when your Defensive lineman has the chance to sack the QB, yet he stands there like he is blocked out by an invisible force field.

QBs consistently throw INTs or just toss the ball away in situations where they should have taken a sack. This can be frustrating to the user experience, as is the number of dropped balls. They are in the NFL for a reason and it should be noted that Randy Moss catching a ball, taking two steps and dropping it w/o contact is Maddening. There are certain bugs and issues that have no business still plaguing Madden 11 after six years on next-gen.

Injuries are pretty realistic this year. There are a number of injuries just as there are in an actual NFL Season. So be prepared to make changes to your team!

Throwing the ball downfield feels and looks great! As does defending these passes. QBs throw for realistic percentages in Madden 11 and will also miss receivers. This is helps make Madden more realistic in a way that refutes the old Robo-QB. Even Peyton Manning will miss a receiver time to time. For the first time in a long time, it feels realistic to play as a Cornerback on defense against elite receivers or scrubs. You always have a chance to make a play, which is a departure from previous iterations of Madden. Gamers should have fun playing pitch and catch on the gridiron this year!