Madden NFL 09 (PS3)
It's a big, glorious game, but does it score a touchdown?
8/12/2008 6:08 PM | 2 Comments | Page 3 of 3
What's Hot: Utterly beautiful graphics; BackTrack lets you see rewind the play to learn from mistakes; 80+ enhancements
What's Not: Online league play needs fine tuning; Not enough Madden commentary; BackTrack can be misused
And having Brett Favre on the cover in his no-longer-valid Green Bay Packer uniform does make the game seem somehow dated even on its first day of launch. Favre, after all, is now a New York Jet. (You can download a new cover, but who wants to take the time to do that? And then what do you do? Scotch tape the Jet's Gang Green goods over the Green Bay uniform? I still wonder why EA didn't choose New York Giant and Super Bowl winner Eli Manning for their cover athlete. Favre is the past, albeit an amazing Super Bowl winner, but Manning is the future, not to mention the game's demographic.) If you can forget about the cover, inside the box is one of the most technologically forward Madden games since Madden NFL 05 for the PlayStation 2.
When the Cowboys' Anthony Spencer falls, he looks more like a human this year.
The realism of Madden NFL 09 -- from the Kentucky bluegrass in Lambeau Field to the grit of the virtual players, to the cameramen on the sidelines, to the wondrous variety of weather conditions, is appreciable and worth a hearty "bravo." While they still must vary the number of fan clones in the stands, the expressions of those fans are rendered with more clarity this year. They still need the actual cheerleaders from the NFL teams in the game, however.
Finally, someone needs to add a proper football primer to the game, one that clearly explains the plays in layman's English -- not during play as in BackTrack, but before you play. For instance, when exactly should I play the Nickel, the Dime or the Dollar defense and what are the pros and cons of each? A good designer or writer could strip each play down to a clear, focused sentence or two. So why isn't it there now?
If you haven't given EA your hard-earned duckets for Madden in a few years, now is the time as there are more than 80 upgrades and tweaks to the anniversary game. Then, there's the $90 collector's edition which includes NFL Head Coach 09 and the forward-thinking but cartoony Madden NFL 93. But in these troubled economic times, if you're not a stat and trade junkie, or if you don't have those extra 60 simoleons in a time of recession, last year's Madden will serve you just fine.
This review was based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.
