Madden NFL 09 Review

Written by: Darren Cartledge Posted: 3rd September 2008

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We take a look at EA Sports latest Madden NFL game.

Madden NFL 09 Details:

	Sports
	PC/PlayStation 3/Xbox 360/Nintendo Wii/PSP/Nintendo DS
	EA Sports
	EA Sports

Out Now

N/A

EA Sports’ Madden games have been regarded as the benchmark for NFL simulations for sometime now, but despite this EA always find a way to tweak the game a little more even if it is only a minor tweak here and there. Now celebrating its 20th Anniversary EA promised fans some of the biggest changes in recent years for Madden 09 but some may not be that useful after all!

EA Sports have added no less 85 gameplay enhancements to Madden 09, some are more notable then others but it’s fair to say there’s only one major addition that changes the way in which you play the game. That is of course the new “My Skills” feature which adapts the games difficulty to the way you play. This is initially set by taking a Madden IQ test in the games all new Virtual Training centre. In the test you have to complete a series of offensive and defensive passing and rushing tests. At the end of the test you are given an IQ score which is used to set the My Skills difficulty setting of the game. This then adapts every time you play a game and adjusts various aspects based on your performance. While this may sound like a good idea to provide a good enough challenge it is significantly flawed!

The Madden test and exercises you under take in the Virtual Training centre are far to easy and offer little challenge allowing you to quickly achieve the set objectives, this then results in your initial difficulty level been set to high, for the less experienced Madden players this results in you struggling to achieve anything in actual games. This is a shame really as I found the rookie and pro setting to easy whilst the higher difficulty settings proved too much of a challenge for myself.

On a more positive note one of the nicest additions to Madden 09 is the games back track replay system, after a failed play has been called the replay system dissects the play and shows you what you should have done. It’s a very good system that helps rookie players learn to play the game better whilst helping more seasoned Madden gamers refine their game. It also comes in useful with the games rewind play system allowing you to make the correct call and achieve your goal.

Of course Madden 09 includes all the usual game modes and enhaancements we’ve come to expect from the series. Updated rosters, quick play, franchise play and so on. A Madden Moments game mode that allows you to try and replicate key plays and moments in memorable games is also included. Madden 09 also features several mini games. The mini games are set on a training field and include a quarterback, bench press and running back challenge to name but a few.

Most of the other 85 new additions and enhancements are tweaks to the gameplay mechanics and little touches such as user controlled celebrations that are unique to each player in the game. These are activated by running your player into the highlighted area and pressing the relevant button displayed above their head.

Online play in Madden 09 features everything we have come to expect from an EA Sports title, ranked and unranked matches, online leagues and updated rosters. The mini-games included in Madden 09 can also be played online if you’re looking to waste a little time.

Both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game perform pretty well, I did encounter some lag when playing both versions of the game, most notably when passing the ball to a wide receiver the camera would start to jump around and to my frustration caused me to lose sight of my player resulting in an incomplete pass! Other then that when playing online it’s easy to forget you’re not playing against the computer as the game runs exactly the same.

EA Sports promised the best looking Madden game to date with this latest iteration and for the most part the game looks absolutely fantastic. There are occasional blips and players tend to run a little strangely but for the most part the level of detail is excellent. Players have different builds, with some muscle toned and some with their belly hanging over their pants whilst some sport a more athletic look. The game also features differing weather affects, and how dirty player’s uniforms become during a game also seems to be tied in with this. For instance when it’s raining players get covered in far more mud then if the weather was good.

Of the two big console versions the PlayStation 3 version is probably the slightly better looking. The Sony machine seems sharper then the Xbox 360 and handles details such as light reflections on player’s helmets a little better, but the differences between the two are minor.

Sound is of the usual high standard with commentary from Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond which for the most part is pretty fresh, however they do tend to repeat the same thing over and over from time to time. Other sound effects are all fairly authentic from the crashing of helmets to the players talking to each other before the hike. It all adds to the realism of the game. Madden 09 also features a pretty impressive soundtrack featuring hits from Gym Class Heroes, Busta Rhymes feat. Linkin Park, Franz Ferdinand and The Offspring to name but a few of the 26 songs included in the game.

Madden 09 is yet another great game in this long running series with lots of new tweaks, however the games major enhancement of adapting to your style of play is spoilt by the Madden IQ test which is simply far to easy and doesn’t reflect the difficulty of actually playing the game. Despite this most players should be able to find a difficulty setting that matches their skill level and enjoy this video game recreation of the NFL.