The Madden series is long and illustrious and this year’s version is one of the series’ best shots at simulating the NFL experience with 85 new features that enhance the authentic gameplay. It is one of the best football games I have played and definitely the best Madden I have played.
For those of you guys who liked the radio broadcaster from last year’s game then Madden 09 is not a game for you as he has been replaced be some actual broadcasters. No it is not John Madden for some reason they refuse to use the game’s namesake for commentary. This time Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth are in the booth for probably some of the best commentary I’ve seen in any sports game. I think it is probably one of the smartest moves EA could’ve made with the commentary side of things. However having Madden there would be better.
Madden adds new features every year to make the experience feel fresh besides the new roster. Last year EA introduced the weapon system which gives certain playmakers different abilities to use in the game. This edition brings that feature back and adds, what EA has stated, 85 new ones. 85 is kind of a misleading number that EA has flaunted leading up the release of the game. The truth of the matter is that the majority of those “85” new features are graphical upgrades made to the player models, weather effects, grass, and even the field goal net. And while these enhancements are stunning it doesn’t mean that they should be included in the “85” features EA told its fans.
There are some new features however that are somewhat of a nice enhancement to the overall gameplay that have been included in the 20 anniversary to the Madden franchise like the EA Sports Backtrack and Rewind that each have its own advantages and disadvantages to the game.
EA Rewind gives you another shot at a play where you feel that the end result wasn’t exactly fair by using the “X” button. Before you start the game you can change how many of these rewinds you get from 1, 3, 5, unlimited or you can turn it off all together. This feature is a cool idea but is somewhat flawed when you turn it to unlimited, when you get the chance to take back your opponent’s big touchdown that gives them the lead late in the 4, the temptation might be too great for some people. I find it good to turn it off or at least not use the unlimited option.
When you get sacked or throw a horrible pass that results in an interception do you often say to yourself “man I wish Cris Collinsworth could break down that play and tell me what I did wrong”? Well in this game that is exactly what you get with the new EA Sports Backtrack feature. When you make a big mistake in a game, Cris Collinswroth breaks down the play and tells you what you should’ve done from throwing the pass to an open receiver or changing the play after seeing the defense will blitz. It works surprisingly well giving you advice on a big mistake you might have just made and some of his advice does help in the long run. However there are sometimes when his advice is completely useless like when you choose a PA pass play and the defense is hiding a blitz and sacks you before you can fake the run. When this happens Cris tells you that you should’ve thrown the pass to an open receiver even though there is no possibility of a pass. But most of the time it works well.
So by now you’re thinking “wow those new features sound pretty cool but it’s called Madden and you haven’t even mentioned him yet”. Well like in previous games he has minimal commentary when you use the “ask madden” feature in any exhibition game. But in this game he also shows up in the new Madden IQ feature which is a test that determines your “my skill” difficulty which changes after every game to suit you skill level, whether it has grown or has become worse. The test is a combination of mini games from the new virtual trainer which is a holographic field with holographic players which is just a new practice mode. The IQ test is kind of flawed however do to the difficulty of it. The run and passing offense tests are incredibly easy and it makes the game think you’re awesome at those two aspects of the game and makes the overall game slightly difficult at first for new players but it wears off after a while and the difficulty settles in.
The 2007 NFL season was filled with great moments and in Madden 09 you can relive or change some of those great games with the new Madden Moments feature. There are 34 moments that span from the Dolphins finally getting a win against the Ravens to the damn Giants upsetting the Patriots. Sometimes you are asked to relive the moment and other times you are asked to completely change history. It is a very cool addition to the game but. I think you should be able to choose whether you want to relive or change what happened because it’s pretty random which you must perform. But in all it is a cool feature to try when you don’t feel like playing a full game.
The franchise and superstar modes make their return each with very minor changes. The franchise mode now has an off-season feature where you can move your team to a new town which is a pretty cool addition (I moved the Patriots to . Hell ya!). Besides that, it is pretty much undistinguishable from last year’s version.
Brett Favre is on the cover of this year’s edition. When it was announced that the then retired Green Bay QB was to be on the cover it marked the first time that the cover man of Madden would not be an active player. But one week before the game’s release Favre, who had returned to the NFL and was again on the Green Bay Packers, was traded to the New York Jets. If you are to buy the game today the cover will still feature Favre with a Packers jersey and that will not change. But if you are to visit the EA Sports website you can download and print a version of the cover with Favre wearing a Jets uniform and if can play games online you can download a roster update with Favre as the starting QB for the Jets. If not, you can release and trade Favre to the Jets as he is in the game on the NFL greats roster
Madden has been around for 2 decades and this year’s edition is one of the best versions of the infamous franchise. It introduces new features that both increase the gameplay and the NFL experience. Madden 09 is as close to perfection for a football game as it gets, that said it can be better. Considering it is the only licensed NFL game on the market, football fans have no other choice, but this year that doesn’t matter because Madden 09 truly is a good game. There is a 20 anniversary collector’s edition for 90 USD that includes a copy of NFL Head Coach 09 and an updated version of Madden ’93 that might be worth it for the hardcore Madden fan but not for a newcomer. The regular version for the game is available for 60 USD.