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New Madden NFL 11 Screens Surface
The first details and screens of Madden NFL 11 continue to trickle out.
Yesterday, EA Tiburon started talking about the team's redoubled efforts to get more realistic wide receiver catches and defensive back battles through more precise animations for when a player tip-toes near a sideline or the back of the endzone.
In the official Madden blog posted today, creative director Ian Cummings talks more about how developer EA Tiburon is improving catches in the game. Apart from helping receivers negotiate sidelines better to stay inbounds, the developer's Catch Debugging Tool also increases the number of catch animations you'll see and provides a more realistic context to when certain animations will run. If what Cummings' says comes to pass in Madden NFL 11 (no pun intended), then we should see receivers more or less knowing when to catch the ball in stride versus going up and getting the ball Larry Fitzgerald style.
This will also affect catches made near the first down marker or on screens behind the line of scrimmage. In situations like these, getting upfield for the first down or clearing the line of scrimmage is of the utmost importance. In Madden NFL 11, the players should be aware enough to not float backwards toward the ball in open space when it's third down and the team needs a first down (unless he's coming back to the ball to breakup an possible interception). Instead, receivers will hold their ground near the marker and try to back-peddle into first downs with legs churning as a defender drapes over them trying to stop their forward progress.
Yesterday Cummings also tweeted that the new umpire placing just passed by the NFL owners will make it into the new Madden. We expect the game to implement the new overtime rules as well (which, for the moment, only apply to the playoffs). Stay tuned, as more and more details on the game should surface as the NFL Draft approaches at the end of April.
The Cowboys' Miles Austin demonstrates what we hope is a regular occurrence in Madden NFL 11 – sideline catches
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