I went to a panel at PAX with the developers of P.B. Winterbottom. It seemed like a cool concept, but I don't think I ever checked it out when I got home. I'll have to do that.
Madden NFL 11 (Xbox 360) - 9/10
As I've mentioned before, I've bought at least one copy of Madden for the last 9 years. Over that period of time, the series has been pretty steady in terms of quality, with some years bringing more improvements than others, but never being less than good (something that can't be said of the other exclusive-licensed sports series, Take 2's MLB 2K). This year's Madden, from the admittedly short time I've spent with it so far, is one of the biggest improvements the series has seen in a long time.
One of the major new features this year is a revamped animation system, and it shows. Looking at the instant replays the game shows, players move in a much more realistic manner. Another new feature, not as hyped by EA, but in my opinion much more significant, is the new kicking meter. Madden's kicking meter has been changed pretty frequently over the years, with mixed results, but they've finally nailed it. The new meter is essentially the same thing as the meter in Mario Golf and other older golf games, and I love it.
Madden 11 makes a pretty radical change to the game, by getting rid of the sprint button. This, combined with mapping jukes and other movements to the right analog stick, is a significant change to how you control the ball carrier. I like this a lot. In previous years I'd often fall into the pattern of just hammering on the turbo, whereas this year I've found myself more likely to use special moves and look for holes because that's no longer an option. Another change I like is that, when on defense, at any point you can hold down the A button and all your players will be run by the CPU. This lets you make sure not to make a stupid mistake, and then jump in and control it yourself when you need to.
EA's really played up the new GameFlow feature this year, but I heard so many bad things about it that I turned it off without even trying it. It's supposed to automatically pick plays for you, with the option of switching to a different play. It's basically the old Ask Madden feature, but more streamlined. I'd give it a shot if I could use it only on defense, which I've never been any good at calling plays for, but it doesn't give that option, and I want to call my own plays on offense.
In conclusion, this is the best Madden in years. If you were on the fence, or only buy it every few years, you should get this. EA has been on fire recently with their sports games, with amazing entries in the NHL, FIFA, and Tiger Woods series, and while this isn't quite on the level of those games, it's pretty close. No matter how you feel about EA's exclusive NFL license, they're still clearly working at improving the game, and they did a great job of it this year.