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Review
Madden NFL 09 is the latest installment of the always-popular Madden NFL franchise. It sports updated graphics and rosters, and some new features as well. Although it is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, some critics have stated that the franchise does not bring enough freshness to keep people buying year after year. Are they correct? Read on to find out.
Graphics
The improved graphics of Madden 09 are apparent after only a minute or two playing the game. The players move realistically, the textures look wonderful, and the weather effects are phenomenal. One of the situations where all these are most noticeable are when playing on a rainy day. Mud sticks to your players, and it looks appropriately gritty. Your players will be slipping and sliding around, which is fun to see (and occasionally hilarious).
The tackle animations are astoundingly good. Every year the tackles in the game get more and more realistic, and true to what I've come to expect they are much better than previous installments. Tacklers wrap around the ball-carrier, flip him over, and occasionally get a big hit. These big hits are very enjoyable to see on defense, but not so much when you're the one losing yardage. However, there are rare clipping issues that take out of the immersion quite a bit.
Presentation
The presentation in Madden NFL 09 is slightly different from 08. The menus are pretty slick, and easy to get through which is a relief. The play-calling system is a breeze to understand, but if you are a bit of a novice to the world of football, the Ask Madden option gives you an easy way out. The game does seem to have an overall theme, where all the images are composed of bunches of light bulbs, somewhat like a scoreboard. It's interesting, but not that much of an impact on the overall feel of the game. However, one complaint I do have is that the game seems too gloomy. Even on a bright sunny day, there is a blue tinge to everything.
Another undesirable aspect of 2009's presentation is the amount of things that pop up at you all the time. It becomes very aggravating, and sometimes after a disappointing loss I just want to get back to the menu screen. I don't want to have to spam the "A" button for 2 minutes until I can get to another game!
Sound
Ambient sound is an important part of an authentic sports game experience. It needs to seem like you are actually on the field, but Madden 09 fails at that task. The crowd does not seem very interested in the game sometimes, and when big plays are made they just kind of make noise, without it sounding very much like an authentic crowd. The on-field sounds are average, and they become background noise after playing for a while, with the exception of the aforementioned big hits; the smashing sound made on contact is one of the most satisfying things you can hear in video games.
Game Play
I'm very happy to tell you that the important part of the game, the game play, is quite very fun. There is enough freshness to justify buying this new installment of Madden with some to spare, just in case you're stingy. The most important new feature is the addition of what the game calls "Madden IQ". Your Madden IQ, is the game's measurements of how good you are at the game. When you start the game for the first time, you will be taken through four drills - passing, rushing, pass defense, and rush defense - and you will be graded on how well you preform in each drill. This adds up to your Madden IQ. This generates your own difficulty mode, tailored specifically to your abilities. Your Madden IQ will adjust dynamically whenever you play a match, depending on if you played well or not. However, I found that playing on my Madden IQ level can become boring. I recommend taking the IQ test, then making a custom difficulty mode, adding 3-5 points to each of the parameters.
The other two big additions are the Rewind and Backtrack features. The Rewind feature lets you reverse time back on a specific play, so that you can redo it. If you want to be a purist, you can turn this off, but for some newcomers, this can be a lifesaver if they accidentally do something unwanted. The Backtrack feature seems straight from ESPN. Whenever the offense screws up in a big way(big sack, fumble, interception) Cris Collinsworth stops the action, and dissects the play. He shows what was done wrong, and then shows what the player could have done better. The Backtrack segment ends with a breakdown of the statistical probability of the offensive play called succeeding against the defensive play called. This is a great teaching aid as it shows you exactly how to improve; however, it may take some out of the action.
Though I do have numerous complaints about Madden 09. First, after a couple of games in a row, it tires you out to think about playing another game. Also, there is a long delay between plays which is frustrating to say the least. The last of my complains is that the core game play mode, the franchise mode, remains largely unchanged.
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Design Rating:
8
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Story Line Rating:
7
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Game Play Rating:
8
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Overall Rating:
8
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User Rating:
8
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Total Rates: 2 |
Total Comments: 0
Unique Members: 0
Review Rating: 8
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Fans: 0
Haters: 1 |
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