Madden NFL 09 (DS)

There's no denying that the DS version is the weakest of the Madden NFL 09 formats.
8/20/2008 12:00 AM | 0 Comments | Page 3 of 3

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, though, 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 a game that'll keep your jones for Madden going while you're the road. But it just doesn't have the extra-feature oomph to make it an immediate buy.

Finally, someone needs to add a proper football primer to the game, one that clearly explains the plays in layman's English. 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. On the DS, these tips could simply be text on a colored background, and wouldn't take up too much space on the disk. So why isn't it there now?

Madden NFL 09 for the DS is a disappointing game, and needs more to be a no-brainer addition to your collection on the 20th anniversary of the most important sports game ever made. Remember, these are troubled economic times. If you're not a stat and trade junkie, or if you don't have those extra 30 simoleans in a time of recession, last year's Madden on the DS will serve you just fine.

This review was based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.