Madden NFL 11: Five Reasons Not To Waste Your Money This Year

Video game release days are always one of the best days of the year. The release of Madden NFL 11 has gamers excited to get their hands on EA's new locomotion system.

Besides, how can you not be excited about Gus Johnson making his Madden debut?  Ha-Ha!

But before you go out at drop your hard-earned money on Madden NFL 11, here's a look at some of the negative aspects of the game.

Honarable Mention: The Annoying Little Things

It might be nitpicking, but video game reviews are all about nitpicking.

According to Gametrailers.com, Gus Johnson's excited commentary occasionally doesn't match up with what is happening on the field and is a bit over the top.

Strengthgamer.com says the graphics could use some work.  Evidently, the football still occasionally goes through the player and the field surface looks more like the grass courts of Wimbledon than the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field.

No. 5: Strategy Pad

In an apparent attempt to make defensive hot routes easier for gamers, EA created what they called a Strategy Pad. 

Basically, gamers are forced to scroll through options on the D-Pad and push an extra button to adjust options accordingly. This creates a nerve-racking experience for gamers playing against a fast paced opponent and seems like an unnecessary change.

No. 4: GameFlow

Depending on the individual gamer, shifting through hundreds of possible plays can be a daunting, and more importantly, time consuming, task.  Enter GameFlow, an automated feature that selects plays for gamers in a split second. 

The installation on the feature makes sense, but the early reviews say that the play-calling leaves a bit to be desired.

IGN says that the play calling won't be noticed by casual gamers, but will be enough to frustrate experienced, competitive Madden consumers.

No. 3: No Change in Franchise Mode

The installation of Online Team Play enables up to six players to compete at once. Three on each team can control either the quarterback, wide receiver, or running back.

As cool as this is, the development of Online Team Play detracted from any innovations in Franchise Mode.  The result is an identical package to last year's game, which wasn't warmly received by Madden players.

No. 2: Revamped Locomation System Eliminates Turbo

In an effort to make play more realistic, EA made sweeping changes to its locomotion. Without getting to technical, the general idea is to increase the importance of agility and minimize the idea of turbo, or sprinting.

Although the change has been warmly received by reviewers at IGN and Game Informer, it also places an even greater emphasis on the gamer's reaction time. As always, it will take some time to get used to.

EA not only installed the new agility driven system, but decided to completely eliminate the sprint feature altogether. The same system appears in NCAA 2011 and is likely to be improved upon in the coming years.

No. 1: A More Arcade Feel

As IGN suggests, Madden 11 seems to be heading towards a more arcade feel. That's good news for casual gamers and bad news for the more traditional Madden gamers eager for some serious football.

GameFlow is designed to make the game easier and the Online Team Mode is designed to make the game more fun. For most people, those two additions will make the game better.

But at the same time, the makers at EA can't forget about the football nerds who spend Friday nights deep in Franchise Mode looking to sign players from the scrap heap.