Every August, it’s the same old story. Whether it’s the ill-fated quarterback “vision cones” in Madden 06 that were supposed to revolutionize the passing game, or the ghostly “Jedi Madden” testing your “Madden IQ” in 09, we come up with every excuse to breathlessly declare that this year’s Madden is different! Never mind whether or not it actually is — and we in the gaming media are as guilty as anyone in prorogating the lie. Well, guess what? Madden NFL 11 actually is different. And here are three of the top reasons why:
No. 1 — No More Robo-Hammond
On 1UP’s dearly departed Sports Anomaly podcast, Bryan “Fragile Eagle” Intihar always lamented about the lack of intensity and atmosphere in Madden’s presentation. The Super Bowl shouldn’t just feel like another regular-season game, he argued. Over the past couple of years, stoic play-by-play man Tom Hammond — we always called him “Robo-Hammond” on the Anomaly — didn’t help matters. Madden creative director Ian Cummings agrees — in fact, he says that replacing Hammond was the No. 1 priority for the team this year.
