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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Sport Developer: EA Sports Publisher: Electronic Arts |
The latest release in the “Madden NFL” franchise, “Madden NFL 09” is a rarity in the videogame industry. With a yearly release, the
franchise has managed to stay fairly fresh and fun through its 20 year career. Some claim that the series has done enough to advance
the series, but fans have claimed otherwise, and sales charts will prove that fan still flock to the shelves to but the game whenever
available. The latest release is likely to be well received by fans of the game as it manages to redefine the already realistic football that
was seen in last year’s installment, while bringing it to a whole new level. It may not look entirely different to the casual gamers, but
those who are a fan of the series will be able to appreciate even the smallest of enhancements.
This year there is a large emphasis on making the game accessible, offering different play styles and a user-defined difficulty setting
known as My Skill. These two main features are the largest of the changes to the Madden formula this time around.
When players first turn on “Madden NFL 09,” they will be presented with a Madden Test, which is four drills that determine their Madden
IQ. The results of the test are then used to establish their My Skill difficulty level. The My Skill level is constantly changing; depending on
how players perform in each game they play. It is a neat mechanic in theory, and one that actually works for the most part; however, My
Skill can’t separate the game’s uselessness with the actual skill of the players. This means that if players do very well in a game,
sometimes the My Skill thinks that players need help in the next game. It takes away any real adjustments that are needed in the
game. Also, though it is supposed to be used to create a unique experience for players, they can still change the difficulty with sliders
whenever they want to, making the feature useless.
The game will impress many of its followers in its attention to the smallest of details. For instance, receiving animations have been
tuned to add the ability of players’ arms and hands to react independently from the rest of the animation. This results in much more
instances of the ball hitting the receivers in the head and missing their hands, even though they are only inches away. Running and
juking have also been improved beyond the branching animations from last year’s release. Breaking out of a tackle is much easier to
control. A tackle animation will begin, but if players hit a face button or flick the right analog stick, they could break free. It is all of these
little additions that help bring the game in line with what is expected of the franchise.
One element that many players were hoping for some change is in the presentation values. Over the years a radio announcer and
stylized camera swoops were the standard for games of the past. This time around players will be able to listen to the voices of Cris
Collinsworth and Tom Hammond as they broadcast the games with oftentimes insightful commentary. There are a lot of moments
when their quotes may not be very accurate, but when they do get their facts straight, they sound just as good as they do on actual game
day. Also, players will notice a bit of a redesign with the grass. Though it may sound like a minor change, the grass looks better than
ever. There are also new camera movements, including a hit camera that adds to the drama to a big run, both of these elements add a
lot to the game overall.
The different game modes in “Madden NFL 09” are the standard fare, from Superstar, Exhibition and Franchise modes. All of these
modes remain unchanged from what has been seen in the past. There are two new additions this time around, Madden Moments and
Online Leagues. Online Leagues sound a lot more exciting than they are and Madden Moments, although very simplistic, are still quite
fun.
Though the new features and additions on the presentation side of the game don’t amount to much if the graphics engine does look
good, this is not the case this year. Other than a new, more dramatic lighting and player models that actually look like NFL players,
there is a new camera angle that does a much better job of keeping the action in front of the players while delivering a sense of the
sheer size of things, from the players to the stadium and the crowd. Again, the grass looks amazing this time around, as do the smooth
edges on players. With everything looking so good on the outside, it is still the inner workings that drive the animation that sell the
visuals of the game. Players move fluidly on the field, sometimes a little too fluidly. Of course there are some times when odd things
pop up, but most of the time players will be wishing their favorite players could reenact some of the moves on the game in real life.
Though “Madden NFL 09” could easily be dismissed by the casual gamer, for those who are a fan of the series, there are a lot of
improvements that make the game look much better than in the past. This release of the game is the most realistic translation of
professional football into a videogame. “Madden NFL 09” looks great, plays great and other than a few minor inaccuracies, is still one
of the best sports games available.
franchise has managed to stay fairly fresh and fun through its 20 year career. Some claim that the series has done enough to advance
the series, but fans have claimed otherwise, and sales charts will prove that fan still flock to the shelves to but the game whenever
available. The latest release is likely to be well received by fans of the game as it manages to redefine the already realistic football that
was seen in last year’s installment, while bringing it to a whole new level. It may not look entirely different to the casual gamers, but
those who are a fan of the series will be able to appreciate even the smallest of enhancements.
This year there is a large emphasis on making the game accessible, offering different play styles and a user-defined difficulty setting
known as My Skill. These two main features are the largest of the changes to the Madden formula this time around.
When players first turn on “Madden NFL 09,” they will be presented with a Madden Test, which is four drills that determine their Madden
IQ. The results of the test are then used to establish their My Skill difficulty level. The My Skill level is constantly changing; depending on
how players perform in each game they play. It is a neat mechanic in theory, and one that actually works for the most part; however, My
Skill can’t separate the game’s uselessness with the actual skill of the players. This means that if players do very well in a game,
sometimes the My Skill thinks that players need help in the next game. It takes away any real adjustments that are needed in the
game. Also, though it is supposed to be used to create a unique experience for players, they can still change the difficulty with sliders
whenever they want to, making the feature useless.
The game will impress many of its followers in its attention to the smallest of details. For instance, receiving animations have been
tuned to add the ability of players’ arms and hands to react independently from the rest of the animation. This results in much more
instances of the ball hitting the receivers in the head and missing their hands, even though they are only inches away. Running and
juking have also been improved beyond the branching animations from last year’s release. Breaking out of a tackle is much easier to
control. A tackle animation will begin, but if players hit a face button or flick the right analog stick, they could break free. It is all of these
little additions that help bring the game in line with what is expected of the franchise.
One element that many players were hoping for some change is in the presentation values. Over the years a radio announcer and
stylized camera swoops were the standard for games of the past. This time around players will be able to listen to the voices of Cris
Collinsworth and Tom Hammond as they broadcast the games with oftentimes insightful commentary. There are a lot of moments
when their quotes may not be very accurate, but when they do get their facts straight, they sound just as good as they do on actual game
day. Also, players will notice a bit of a redesign with the grass. Though it may sound like a minor change, the grass looks better than
ever. There are also new camera movements, including a hit camera that adds to the drama to a big run, both of these elements add a
lot to the game overall.
The different game modes in “Madden NFL 09” are the standard fare, from Superstar, Exhibition and Franchise modes. All of these
modes remain unchanged from what has been seen in the past. There are two new additions this time around, Madden Moments and
Online Leagues. Online Leagues sound a lot more exciting than they are and Madden Moments, although very simplistic, are still quite
fun.
Though the new features and additions on the presentation side of the game don’t amount to much if the graphics engine does look
good, this is not the case this year. Other than a new, more dramatic lighting and player models that actually look like NFL players,
there is a new camera angle that does a much better job of keeping the action in front of the players while delivering a sense of the
sheer size of things, from the players to the stadium and the crowd. Again, the grass looks amazing this time around, as do the smooth
edges on players. With everything looking so good on the outside, it is still the inner workings that drive the animation that sell the
visuals of the game. Players move fluidly on the field, sometimes a little too fluidly. Of course there are some times when odd things
pop up, but most of the time players will be wishing their favorite players could reenact some of the moves on the game in real life.
Though “Madden NFL 09” could easily be dismissed by the casual gamer, for those who are a fan of the series, there are a lot of
improvements that make the game look much better than in the past. This release of the game is the most realistic translation of
professional football into a videogame. “Madden NFL 09” looks great, plays great and other than a few minor inaccuracies, is still one
of the best sports games available.
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