EA's popular sports franchise is back with the release of 'Madden NFL 09.' With improved animations, franchise mode, online leagues and the addition of "Madden IQ", will this iteration offer fans of the series enough new stuff to keep it exciting or leave everyone hoping for more? Find out in this X-Play Review.
The Pros
- Improved Gameplay
- Presentation and Graphics
- Online League
- Madden IQ
The Cons
- Minor Glitches
- Minor online lag
The most successful franchise of all time returns for its 20 year anniversary, and gracing this year's cover is former Packers legend and new Jets quarterback, Brett Favre. The next-gen Maddens have been accused of being lazy with little to no improvements but Madden NFL 09 should put critics to rest.
IT'S GAMETIME!
Gameplay is always a vital part of any sports franchise. The running and tackling engines have been upgraded making the game more fluid than previous editions. Madden NFL 09 has made tweaks to all aspects of its gameplay from jukes to collision detection. The animations feel lifelike, with linemen undercutting the offensive line so you can run up the middle with Brandon Jacobs for an easy touchdown. Weather plays a vital role as well. Rain and Snow will cause your players to slip, slide, or bobble the ball when going deep. The improved running game takes an important role under these extreme weather and conditions.
The game also brought back some classic Madden features like bluff plays and slide protections. In-game button instructions are also available, letting you know what to press in order to intercept a pass or to finesse your way to a QB sack.
For all the Chad Johnson fans out there, user celebrations are also available in Madden 09. Yes, you can even Crank That Soulja Boy in the end zone. "EA Rewind" has also been introduced, letting players replay a faltered possession. Though this new option isn't exactly popular with the Madden pros, it can be turned off. Rewind is also unavailable during online play, so all you Falcons fans out there, prepare to take a hit.
GOING ALL THE WAY
Madden NFL 09 is not just a roster update. Many improvements have been implemented into 30-year Franchise Mode as well as the superstar modes, which now allow players to control the incoming rookie class such as Darren McFadden. The game also features the new Madden Moments, where NFL fans can replay real life conditions from last year's season. Remember Devin Hester's two touchdown returns against the Denver Broncos? You have to try and duplicate this phenomenal performance in Madden Moments. Good luck. Another major addition is the Madden IQ. Players go through four rigorous virtual training modes (Rush, Pass, Tackle, Defense drills) in order to measure their skills. The better you do, the higher your "Skills" difficulty level is. As you go through the season, your Madden IQ will fluctuate based on your performance. Taking on other players with better skill levels wont affect the gameplay, as the game features a handicap system which allows users with different IQ’s to take each other on an equal playing field.
EA has also answered the call to their fans by introducing online leagues that can support up to 32 players. All the important features make it online from team schedules, in-depth statistics, trades, and salary caps. There is even a virtual trophy for the Super Bowl winner, which adds that extra incentive to annihilate your friends.
GRIDIRON INTENSITY
The presentation in Madden 09 is superb. The graphics have been improved tremendously. The player models, stadiums, weather, lighting, and field goal nets look authentic and not glossy. The cameras play a big part in the action as well, shacking when landing a thunderous hit or swinging back and forth on breakaway touchdowns. You can even be a show off, creating highlight clips of your TD run and upload it to share with the world. The team of Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond head the Play by Play commentary and do a fantastic job. John Madden makes his appearance as well, giving away tips on defensive and offensive possessions with "Madden’s pick" along with a few lines for the Madden IQ test. Improving the overall broadcast is the all new "Backtrack" replay, where your offensive mistakes are broken down in a televised style analysis. From the audio to the visuals, this game definitely delivers a TV quality experience that immerses people to each weekly match-up.
Electronic Arts and ESPN have also teamed up, letting gamers access ESPN shows as well as daily news updates when connected online. And let's not forget about the music. The classic NFL music returns during replays as well as a vast soundtrack that features The All-American Rejects, Franz Ferdinand, The Offspring, and Busta Rhymes.
CLEAR PATH
The game does have a few minor flaws. The Rewind feature is not going to bode well with the hardcore Madden fans, as it takes away from the realistic NFL sim experience. There are some slight glitches in the game. The occasional online lags can be experienced and your players might magically teleport through the other bodies hanging out on the sidelines. But with the vast improvements and additions made to this year's 20th Anniversary addition, it deserves the highest of praises.
With EA owning the NFL license till 2012, they could have easily milked the franchise with minor tweaks and the occasional roster update till their deal expired. Madden NFL 09 actually reinvents the series with upgrades to previous modes as well as the introduction of new ones like Madden IQ, Online Leagues, and Madden Moments. The new commentating team, Backtrack replays, soundtrack, and improved graphics really packs that extra punch of realism making this game a must buy.
Review by: Albert Iskander
Comments
Displaying 1–4 of 4
Nadrojiskool
5 attempts later I am unable to score a single catch or TD in two whole drills, so I decide to quit and forget about it. Doing it on rookie for 2 skill points isn't even close to worth it.
Last words. I don't know if this changes on a harder difficulty, but I'm able to abuse the AI's stupidity. If my lane is blocks on a run I can just turn around and wait for the defenders to get on my side of the field and then just run around all of them. They should try to run in front of you rather than at you, they don't. It must be the difficulty, but I don't care because I got tired of getting tackled the SECOND, THE * SECOND I get the ball. I was playing it, getting crushed, on my IQ and wondered to myself. "Is playing it realistically worth it? Would I just have more fun running around all of them." The answers are no and yes.
This game is playable by ANYONE? Yeah, sure. I'll let my dad try and let you know if that's true. With a game this BAD at teaching you, I can't imagine that holds ANY weight.
Bottom line, I'm GLAD I was given this game. I considered buying Madden '11 or '12 because I've heard so much on G4 about how good of a game the newer Maddens are, but wanted to check what rating this pitiful game got because I was assuming the new one would be better and they would have fixed these problems, I wanted to make sure that G4 wasn't full of * and that this was the last year they released a bad Madden game. Then I saw this 5/5 and was a little hurt, because I want to play a good sports game since my hopes were dead after NASCAR '11. Now there's no way I'm going to buy the new Madden because I doubt it will be any more problem free than this one. I guess I'll try playing NFL Street 2 again, and maybe consider buying a used nba game, but I don't think I'll ever buy a Madden game, ESPECIALLY at 60$ over games like Skyrim, Rage and all the million other good games.
I would only recommend this game if you have a friend who really knows what he/she is doing when it comes to Madden. Ultimately I think this game deserves a 3/5 and that's pushing it, probably closer to a 2/5. It is fun to play because It's hard to * up the only consistent thing between all five hundred Madden releases, but it has NO staying power since it won't tell you how to get better and better, doesn't have a definite Career mode, has a lot of filler, and really reflects the 1 year dev cycle.
Nadrojiskool
I choose my visuals and name etc, but I have no idea whether my height will actually affect the game play, so I just try to make it realistic. It then takes me to a menu with a bunch of stats, and I try putting stat points in areas like speed and such, and nothing happens, and I'm wondering what the * is going on, and realize that I guess it's just showing me my stats? How useless. So then I enter the training camp. Fun. "Pull the sticks back to run." "Ok...." I have no idea what I'm doing so I start flinging both sticks in any direction. Time of 6 seconds, is that good? "Push both sticks up and use R2 and L2 to regain stamina". "Hm, ok." This one was simple to grasp, but I'm still not sure whether or not you're supposed to constantly push the triggers while pushing up on the sticks, or only while you lower the bar, whether or not pushing the weights past the green zone causes a loss in stamina, or why I can only do 4 reps. Now to the only drill that is kind of applicable, but barely, the run. It opens up with a menu "X to strip ball, square to dive/tackle, O to spin, triangle to jump". This is the only place in the entire game that gives you the actual controls, besides going into options and looking at controls, but that's for the whole game and doesn't really help. I get like 50k points and only get tackled once because I can just run right around all of them. "That drill was fun."
So I finally enter the actual mode and do the drafting and what not, then take this "IQ test". Really? Is this necessary? Does it actually have any effect on anything? So I play my first game. "Hey, I'm starting? Cool. Wait, why aren't I being played in the second half?" Next game, start but don't play the second half. The game never asked me which difficulty I want, so I'm on my easy custom one, and by the third game I'm full time on offense, and by the end of the season I'm 90% of the way to the hall of fame and win the super bowl.
Leading up to this game, there were a few practices on the schedule. I wondered if they serve a purpose, but they don't. They just have you run one play over and over again to try and help you learn the play, even though all you really need to know is shown with and arrow during the games. I wondering if playing these practices had any effect. They really don't. I thought that practicing might offer you some skill points for speed or something. They don't.
So I start my next season and get some beautiful opportunities to gain some skill points. I choose to up my slow speed of 79 and wonder which difficulty to choose. All-Madden, , how do I know which one I can do? Well, I can EASILY complete the touchdown drill on All-Madden, so lets try that. Six seconds, did I do it? How do I know? It doesn't say what time I need, or how many points I got, so I check if my attribute increased, it didn't. Okay, well there was a "High Score" section in the menu that told me what to do. I start the next training session and look at the spot that says "Highest Score". It says 0. Really? None of the drills even record a high score? Why is that even there!
So I begin to mess around. What if I pull the sticks down faster? What if I pull them down at the speed his legs are moving in the game? Does moving them faster even help? Can they be down at the same time? Eventually I find out that I can complete this on All-Pro at best, but only about 50% of the time. I do the drill the same every single time pressing the sticks at the same time, but one time I got on a streak of like 6 6 second runs in a row after getting 4 5.2 second runs in a row. I have no idea why, and the game doesn't even get close to telling you.
After raging all the way through that I start my first game of the season, and for no apparent reason I don't play in the second half for the first two games like I did as a rookie. Why do I need to prove my self again? Must of been an overlook my the creators. Fail. I get bored, mostly because there isn't as much as a grind in leveling your stats to keep the game interesting, so I decide to make a Wide Receiver.
So I start my first drill. Do I want to increase my "Possession Catching" stat or just "Hands". What do they do? So I choose possession catching. This is the stupidest drill of all time. The defender blocks every single time, and intercepts 75% of the time. What can I do!?!? The game doesn't tell you. So finally after 10 attempts I beat it on All-Madden, it was the first time I even scored above Rookie. So I do the next drill and do the exact same thing, not a single catch. I continue to mess around with pressing or holding the button or not even pressing it, and they all seem to do the EXACT same thing. Every time, my receiver dives and misses the ball completely. The defender sprints past me while I'm sprinting and blocks the ball. He jumps above me and intercepts it. WHY WON'T MY DEFENDER JUMP!?!? I can't figure out how to get him to jump so I can my route short, so I just have to hope
Nadrojiskool
How about having someone who isn't a pro at madden games write the review? The person doing the review clearly loves madden too much to pay attention to the plethora of flaws / is too use to them or is just too good.
This is the first Madden football game that I've played and as a newbie I jumped in and had no clue what I was doing. I didn't see a career mode, so I just chose the one on top which was Franchise mode, and as I looked at the menu to choose which team (or teams?) to franchise I had no idea what I was doing, so I just checked the Chargers, put all the drafts and such on auto, then played my first game.
Over the two or so days that it took me to get pretty tired of this game, I've gotten MUCH better, and I don't really have any gripes with the game play, but I do with everything else. They may have added this "Virtual Trainer", but it's really anything but that, it's only there to train you to get a higher score on the Madden IQ Test, and not to actually train you, but this game is INCREDIBLY daunting for someone who has no idea what they're doing and the game offers next to NO support. Not to mention, the Virtual trainer barely even reflects on how well you can play in an actual game, and the same is true for the IQ test.
When I started the game for the first time I assumed this "Madden IQ Test" they were asking me to take was going to be about football knowledge, and It's weird that they treat it as optional, but I said, "Hey, whatever, I'll try it". It took me in and I was tapping circle, and square, and X when it told me to and I was thinking to myself, "This is pretty cool".
I started my first game and got sacked more times in every one of my preseason games than I have in the Regular and Post seasons. I got use to it pretty fast, but it wasn't until I put in like 10 hours of game play that I started to learn about nuances with button holding and stick slapping that the game didn't even bother to touch on. I was throwing pick after pick for 10 games or so until I remembered the days when I played NFL Street 2, so I held down the button to pass to the receiver and haven't thrown hardly any interceptions since. And then, soon after I figured out that you can even tap the left stick up to get the ball more in the air which made my completion rate even better. Thanks for telling me this, Madden.
I was stuck wondering to myself why I kept getting intercepted, sacked, and tackled on my runs before I even got back to the line and couldn't get anywhere, but I found out the only way to fix this is to play more games since the Virtual Trainer doesn't help at all. The Virtual Trainer only has about 3 people in the drills and thus every single person is always covered and it is ridiculously easy to take your time completing passes, and to run right around the single defenders coming at you on run plays. They don't tell you which button is for stripping the ball, or when to use it, or when to use the stick, or what difference it has. I still don't know when to most efficiently use these because the game doesn't at all tell you, but I do know what their labels are, which doesn't really help.
For my Madden IQ I averaged in All-Pro, then had to quit the game right away and switch it to custom for offenses of Pro and defense of Rookie because I got shut down on O, and scored on every drive on D. And even with my Passing Defense at the lowest difficulty, my opponents continue to complete 2/3 long passes because I don't even bother trying to take control of the defender myself since my reaction time is far too slow since he's off screen and I have no idea which direction he's running so I can get moving in the right direction or anything and I usually end up causing them to score a TD. Especially in the last two minutes when they use audibles and I have no idea which defensive plays to use since the game doesn't teach me anything about defensive play calling. The opposing team scores almost every drive in the last 2 minutes since I don't have the right coverage.
Back to the "Career" modes. After playing a few games in franchise mode I realize that there's a menu, so I check it out. I see all the modes that I put on automatic, and I had/have NO CLUE how to touch any of those things, and the game offers no assistance, so I just let it be.
A quarter of the way through franchise, I decide to try out this other, "Superstar", mode. I make a running back and then enter into my least favorite area of the game.
ritcire
This is the single worst sports game I have ever played. The commentary is painfully bad, there is absolutely no blocking by the AI (I suppose EA thinks this makes it 'realistic'), the training for your players is far too difficult and monotonous, the graphics are simply lackluster, there's no flexibility in uniforms (you might get three authentic ones to choose from), the movement of the players is still blocky and unnatural . . . . I paid $3 for this and I'm still greatly disappointed; I can't even imagine paying $60 for this. In a word, awful.
Displaying 1–4 of 4
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