Madden NFL 09 Review

[bravesdawg9]

Oh, about the sliders, what is the point of messing with those in the first place? Sure it makes the game more difficult but I don't want Rex Grossman torching me for 300 yds---I want to try and stop Peyton Manning from doing it. We all want realism every year and here we are discussing giving them cyber steroids. Thanks to online play, when you figure everything out and get too good, you'll always find somebody out there who's better. I am iffy on this whole adaptive difficulty thing or whatever's designed to replace the sliders but I'm glad to see they used valuable time elsewhere.

[Qb]

Wow. Thanks for taking the time & effort to write such a thorough review, Terry. Still can't make up my mind, but that has nothing to do with a lack of information after reading this. Great job, man...

[Brandwin]

I enjoyed the review, Terry. I have always trusted your opinion when it comes to football games. You just got me a little more excitied.

[Qrashman]

Re: Madden NFL 09 Review

Very fair review. Pretty much spot on from what I've been seeing over the past few days of playing. The Robo QB isn't as much of a problem as other people are saying, but the CPU QB seems to make the completions when it counts, e.g. every 3rd down attempt

[El Greazy 1]

I really respect the reviewer for his opinions. In fact, I've been searching the internet & various forums for 09 reviews (I'm not going to rush out and buy fool's gold) and this is by far THE BEST review I've come across. Great job!

I agree with other posters on here that the AI out-of-bounds issue was glossed over. It, to me, is a gamebreaker because I'd rather lose a game due to me being short-sighted with my gameplan and not because the CPU was too dumb to stay in bounds.

I also agree with the patching issue. EA, especially with the Madden franchise, uses it as a crutch instead of a last resort. While I greatly appreciate that technology has reached a point where we can fix flaws in games, it still irks me that games, especially a big time franchise that sells millions like Madden, are allowed to be shipped & sold without enough testing & quality control.

[Maukey]

Best review on Madden period, and one of the best reviews I've ever read! Job well done.

[Shock6822]

Re: Madden NFL 09 Review

Great review, I'm looking forward to picking up the game today.

[Tomba]

Re: Madden NFL 09 Review

yes have to agree graphically this games gotten a major overhaul BUT more so towards the last gen look of the game. more moviesh so to speak...

8.5 though? i don't know many critics gave 08 9's and i'm BAFFLED rto see this game getting lower just baffled...

[Pierzynski 12]

Re: Madden NFL 09 Review

08 was terrible IMO. How the hell that got a 9 is beyond me.

I'm happy with my purchase this year. 09 > 08 by alot.

[asu666]

Good review but I didn't see anything on if the Owner Mode was back in full force this year. I stuck with the Xbox version last year because the Owner Mode was so stripped down on the current gen versions.

[TCrouch]

Re: Madden NFL 09 Review

Sorry about that...knew there would be some things missed. As for 09 being lower than 08, I didn't review 08, sorry.

Owner mode is there. At the end of the offseason before advancing you are put in owner mode where you can upgrade the stadium, hire and fire staff, relocate, etc. I've never been big on setting ticket prices and whatnot, but there were graphs and charts and all kinds of financial data. Not sure if that's "full on owner mode" for you or not, but that's pretty much what it entails.

[foreversport]

Re: Madden NFL 09 Review

Excellent review, Terry!

[asu666]

Sorry about that...knew there would be some things missed. As for 09 being lower than 08, I didn't review 08, sorry.

Owner mode is there. At the end of the offseason before advancing you are put in owner mode where you can upgrade the stadium, hire and fire staff, relocate, etc. I've never been big on setting ticket prices and whatnot, but there were graphs and charts and all kinds of financial data. Not sure if that's "full on owner mode" for you or not, but that's pretty much what it entails.

Thanks for responding so quickly. Last year's version didn't let the user set prices. The CPU did it, but it still showed the data. I'm hoping they got that feature working this year as managing a teams finances and cap figure to me is a fun aspect of running a Franchise. I love the hard cap and not knowing who is going to win it all every year. The tough decisions that are needed to maintain a high level of performance really seperate out the best from the rest too.

[walliworld]

Thanks for the in-depth review. I would not buy it if there were other options. But I will wait for a patch and used game. There will be plenty of used games after the first week.

[adfletch71]

Getting better EA, but u have to get the presentation up too 2k5 standards and have more life to the game. There is no "soul" still!! Once u get the sidelines and atmosphere with 2k5 presentation, u will be KING. Until then u still behind 2k5 in presentation. Gameplay is good. PLEASE have tv-style broadcast in cpu-vs-cpu games, this behind the qb is killing the gaming experience.